The regular portion of tonight’s city council meeting began with the annual council leadership election, which pitted current president Jeff Gahan against the Wizard of Westside, Dan Coffey.CM Larry Kochert broke ranks with the Gang of Four and cast his ballot for CM Gahan, leaving those of a skeptical bent to ponder the usual whys and what fors, but the salutary result was a crushing defeat for CM Coffey, who to the surprise of no one outside the deepest Amazon Basin was nominated by fellow Siamese Councilman Steve Price, following weeks of shoddy coyness as to whether the position interested him.
That done, the council turned to the balloting for vice president, and while the Gang of Four displayed its accustomed solidarity in backing CM Bill Schmidt, he nonetheless lost to CM Donnie Blevins.
Any thoughts on the meeting that followed? We’ll be back on Tuesday morning to consider other aspects of the meeting.
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A friendly source with access to census tract data provides this information:
According to the 2004 Census data from the FFEIC website, the six "urban" (my definition) NA census tracts have 7,435 units. Only 3,133 (42.1%) are owner-occupied. The 57.9% remainder: 16.4% are multifamily rental (more than 4 units), 49% are single-family rental (1-4 units) and 8.8% are vacant rental.
The Indiana state average is somewhere around 76% owner-occupied.
Notable: Apparently for the first time in ordinance form, the council authorized the Sewer Board to grant waivers for new tap-in fees. This must be considered a great victory for the inner city, making room for the city-owned utility to demonstrate the progressive commitment to revitalize our urban core by encouraging owner-occupied new housing.
Notable: Council's clear repudiation of the behavior of the Gang of Four during the past year. Coffey earns only the vote of Price in his bid for the presidency.
Notable: As I noted to a first-time attendee, Mr. Coffey is well known for his insistence on doing his preparation for meetings DURING the meetings. Ten days after everyone reading this knew about the sanitation contract's completion, he used the Jan. 9 meeting to say "I'd like to see the sanitation contract. I was upset to discover it on the Internet."
Notable: The attendance of County Council member Randy Stumler, presumably prepared to expand his duties in 2006.
Best Paraphrase: Of developer and former(?) politician Gary McCartin, who said, in essence: "How dare you call me arrogant. Don't you know who I am?"
Class Acts: AFSCME Local president Mickey Thompson, who cogently stated his opposition to any rise in user fees for sanitation, and the combo of Valla Ann Bolovschak and James Garner, who showed a pleasant civility in bringing good news about a cross-Ohio pedestrian walkway.
Telling Moment: The lingering caress one attendee gave to another while departing the room early.
Activist Huzzahs: Powerful attendance by progressive interests, and a 100% turnout by the regressoblog faction - only Professor Erik was missing.
Journo Boos: Other than Web part-timers, The Tribune's Amany Ali was the only journalist who saw fit to cover the event. Guess Ben will call Larry for his assignment.
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