We are a little over 3 weeks away from primary election day, and the Hamilton County Commissioner Republican primary race has had a major development, courtesy of a news release issued by a Northern Indiana Democrat Party Chairman.  That may sound strange, but it has been a strange political year.

Here is the story as I can best piece it together from a variety of news sources.  Jason Critchlow, Democrat Party Chairman in St. Joseph County (South Bend), issued a news release the afternoon of April 6th, showing an e-mail exchange between Hamilton County Commissioner Mark Heirbrandt and St. Joseph County Commissioner Deb Fleming.

Here is how Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ) reporter Lindsey Erdody described the e-mail documents released by Chritchlow:

“In the emails, Heirbrandt discusses Fleming’s campaign with her at the same time the company he works for was bidding on a St. Joseph County project.”

I won’t go into further detail.  If you want more, IBJ.com and IndyStar.com have plenty of details on the e-mails.

Although Democrat Critchlow called the content of those e-mails “troubling and at minimum gives an appearance of impropriety,” he did not file a complaint with election officials.

Heirbrandt told IBJ he could not comment because of employment agreements he has in place.  However, his campaign said in a statement this is a “ridiculous accusation” that was “a blatant attempt to mischaracterize the truth.”

In a statement to WSBT-TV in South Bend, Fleming said Democrats are “trying to make these emails come across a certain way that they’re not.”

Chris Sikich of the Indianapolis Star had Julia Vaughn of Common Cause, an advocacy group specializing in campaign finance, review the e-mail documents.  She describes the e-mail conversation as crass but no laws were broken, in her view.

“Clearly this illustrates how rampant pay to play is in local government,” Vaughn told the Star. “There is a very small universe of people who contribute to local campaigns, and way too often they are the same people doing business with local government. It just clouds decisions. They should be having these conversations separately.”

Mark Heirbrandt is one of 3 Hamilton County Commissioners, representing District 3, which includes the City of Fishers.  He is running for reelection, although he was originally placed in office to fill a vacancy through a Republican Party caucus.  Heirbrandt replaced Doug Carter, who was appointed to head the Indiana State Police by Governor Mike Pence.

Bill Smythe, a local Fishers restaurant owner, is running against Heirbrandt in the primary election.  Smythe’s campaign issued a news release April 8th saying this e-mail situation is “precisely why I got into this race in the first place.”

“I have confidence in the voters of Hamilton County,” Smythe was quoted as saying in the news release. “I believe on May 3, Hamilton County Republicans will reject crony capitalism in favor of a businessman who will listen to voters, and who will consider the benefits the people will receive from County contractors, as opposed to the benefits the contractors will receive from the people.”

There is no question Mark Heirbrandt has raised much more money for this campaign compared to Smythe.  Heirbrandt has been running ads on cable TV and is utilizing direct mail in his campaign.

Here’s my view on all this.  There is a reason Mark Heirbrandt is in the middle of this e-mail mess.  There is a reason Bill Smythe is not able to raise the same amount of cash as his opponent.  It’s all about our campaign laws – or, more precisely, our lack of effective campaign laws.

There are only 12 states that have no limits on individual campaign donors, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.  It sadly does not surprise me that Indiana is one of those 12.  The remaining 38 states have varying limits on the amount of money one can contribute to a state campaign.

A 1976 United States Supreme Court decision continues to confound me.  In Buckley v. Valeo, a majority of justices ruled that money is speech.  No matter how many times I attempt to read this opinion, I still fail to understand how that can be right.

So, if you can get enough other people to finance your campaign, or you are independently wealthy (think Ross Perot or Donald Trump) you can be a competitive candidate.  Even good people, not wealthy on their own, are forced to find others with money in order to finance their campaigns.  Even if the political funds don’t influence them once in office, just the appearance can be bad, very bad.

Our current system for funding political campaigns is hurting both Mark Heirbrandt and Bill Smythe in their respective campaigns for Hamilton County Commissioner District 3.  Anyone think we might need a new system?

The weather lately may not be very spring-like, but road and street construction moves forward in the Fishers are for the work week starting Monday, April 11th.  The listing from the City of Fishers is below.

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FALL CREEK TRAIL

Fall Creek Trail reconstruction work continues; the pedestrian bridges and section of sidewalk along the trail have been removed. Pedestrians should not use the trail within the sections that have been removed. In addition, there will be periodic lane closures along the project throughout the week of April 11^th. In addition, Fall Creek Road, just east of Geist Road will be temporarily closed on April 15 to offload a new pedestrian bridge. Ongoing updates, including the anticipated closure time will be released on the @DriveFishers Twitter account as that information is available.

LANTERN ROAD

• The parking stalls on the west side of Lantern Road between North Street and Station Street along with the parking stalls on the south side of North Street between Lantern Road and Maple Street will be closed from March 18 until April 17 for construction activities.
• There will also be periodic lane restrictions between 116^th Street and North Street for construction on Four Day Ray Brewing.

96^TH STREET AND CUMBERLAND ROAD

The Hamilton County Highway Department has closed 96^th Street and Cumberland Road for 100 calendar days in order to construct a roundabout at this intersection. Anyone with concerns about this project should call 773-7770. Please visit www.Fishers.in.us/DriveFishers to view a detour map.

106^TH STREET INTERCHANGE

INDOT has begun work on the 106^th Street interchange, and a lane shift is currently in place on I-69. On April 11^th, 106^th Street will close as construction continues. Additional details about this project will be released through INDOT and shared on the weekly construction update.

116^TH STREET

There may be short-term lane restrictions on westbound 116^th Street, west of Exit 5 Parkway while utility work is being completed.

The Hamilton County Republican Party should be smiling ear-to-ear.  The party controls most all the elective offices in the county.  Hamilton County is likely the most Republican county in the State of Indiana, possibly one of the most Republican counties in the nation.

That should set the stage for a celebratory annual event, the Lincoln Day Dinner, set for April 13th.   There’s one fact, however, that may throw a damper on the festivities.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness will not be attending the Lincoln Day Dinner.  Fishers City Council President John Weingardt will also be elsewhere during the dinner.  I haven’t asked everyone, but I haven’t found a Fishers elected official that plans to attend.

So, the top elected officials of the fastest growing city in the county will not be present for the biggest party bash of the year.  What’s going on?

There are still bad feelings over the handling of the vacancy for the party chairmanship when long-time party chief Pete Emigh resigned last year.  Emigh appointed a number of people to fill vacant precinct positions.  Those precinct officials were fired by Laura Cambell, who became acting chair (she had been county party vice chair before Emigh left).  The Emigh appointees were believed to be supporters of Fishers City Councilman and county party treasurer Pete Peterson.

One of Emigh’s appointees was Fadness.  He appealed to the state party, objecting to his firing as a precinct official.  The precinct people vote on the new county chair.

The Indiana State Republican Party ruled in favor of Fadness and the other precinct appointees by Emigh and they were allowed to vote in a caucus that elected Peterson as Hamilton County Republican Party Chairman.  But, the votes were coded so party officials knew how many votes came from Emigh appointees.  The late appointees by Emigh provided the margin of victory.  Without the Emigh appointee votes, Laura Campbell would have been elected chair.

Laura Campbell appealed the vote and the state party ruled in her favor, installing her as county party chair, until a new election can be held next year after precinct level officials are elected in the May 3rd primary election.

There are still bad feelings in Fishers over this mess.  Many of the appointees in question were people in Fishers, many Peterson supporters.

But that’s not what irked some people in Fishers the most.  Those supporting Campbell brought up items from Pete Peterson’s past.  Peterson has always been up-front about his past, but those brushes with the law happened many years ago when he was undergoing some difficult times personally.  Many of Peterson’s supporters remain angry that those backing Campbell dredged up some old news about Peterson to undermine his campaign for party chairman.

It should be noted that Pete Peterson has overcome those personal issues he faced a long time ago and has had no problems in many years.

When Governor Pence delivers the Lincoln Day address to the party faithful in Carmel April 13th, I suspect many top Fishers officials will be missing.  The fissure in the Hamilton County Republican Party remains deep.

This split does not have to be permanent.  There are ways to heal this trouble.  But time is running out.  Republicans state-wide depend on Hamilton County to get-out the GOP voters in the November general election.  If that doesn’t happen, the important state-wide races, such as Governor and US Senate, will be in jeopardy for the Indiana Republican Party.

Will Governor Pence strike the right tone and begin the healing process for Hamilton County Republicans?  Time will tell.

Lindsey Erdody of the Indianapolis Business Journal talked with me about recent developments in Fishers and surrounding communities.

Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Superintendent Allen Bourff told LarryInFishers that school administrators are preparing a school board recommendation aimed at lowering textbook costs for all HSE families, but especially at the elementary level.

That was one comment Dr. Bourff made during a Podcast Interview with Larry Lannan. You can listen to the entire Podcast interview below.

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is preparing to shift the lanes along I-69 at 106th Street in coming days.  Below is text from the INDOT news release on what to expect:

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On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., crews will close up to three lanes of northbound and southbound I-69 in order to paint new lane markings and shift traffic lanes away from the median.  Lane widths will be reduced to 11 feet to accommodate temporary concrete barrier and space for center pier construction for two new bridges.

The existing 106th Street bridge will be removed as part of the project, which will require closing the 106th Street overpass on or after Monday, April 11.  Traffic will be detoured south to 96th Street via Allisonville and Lantern Roads during construction. 

The speed limit near the construction zone at mile marker 204 will be reduced to 55 mph and may be reduced to 45 mph during overnight working hours.  Motorists are advised to abide by work zone warning signage and posted speed limits.

Construction will require various overnight lane restrictions on I-69 between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. throughout the project. Interstate traffic restrictions for construction are not expected to take place outside of these hours.

After 106th Street is closed, Walsh plans to begin demolition of the existing bridge in mid-April.  This will require consecutive overnight lane closures and rolling slowdowns on I-69 lasting up to 20 minutes at a time to create gaps in interstate traffic that will allow for removal of the bridge deck above.

INDOT awarded a $21.7 million contract to Walsh Construction Company to build the new interchange.  Hamilton County and the city of Fishers are partnering to contribute up to $12 million toward the total cost of construction.  

The interchange will feature a two-lane, oval-shaped roundabout on 106th Street over I-69 and ramps to and from both directions of the interstate.  Two separate two-lane bridges will each carry one direction of traffic. The bridge to carry westbound traffic on the north side of 106th Street is also designed to accommodate pedestrians.

The project is intended to reduce congestion at existing I-69 interchanges at 96th and 116th streets, increase traffic safety in the area and provide direct interstate access at 106th Street.  Direct access will serve existing residential and commercial destinations and accommodate development and population growth in the area.

The new I-69 Exit 204 to 106th Street is scheduled to open before the end of this year.

The Fishers Police Department has a juvenile in custody and is searching for a suspect they say is connected to a March 26th robbery attempt at the Kroger Pharmacy, 116th Street and Allisonville Road.

Below is the full text of the police department news release….

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The Fishers Police Department is currently investigating an attempted robbery that occurred on March 26th at the Kroger, located at 7272 Fishers Crossing Drive, (116th Street and Allisonville Road).

According to Kroger employees and evidence collected in the store it appears a juvenile male gave the Pharmacist a note indicating his intent to rob the Pharmacy of prescription medication. The Pharmacist complied and gave the suspect some medication. The juvenile was detained by other employees as he attempted to flee the store. Fishers police officers arrived and took the suspect into custody. The suspect was arrested transported to the Hamilton County Juvenile Detention Center.

Based on the investigation, Detectives believe there was another suspect involved in this attempted robbery. The second suspect was last seen driving a 2000 model tan Buick passenger car. The second suspect remains at large.

Anyone with information regarding this attempted robbery or the identity of the second suspect is encouraged to call Detective Robbie Ruble at 317-595-3319.

Let’s talk about treating medical conditions.  If you contract a lung disease, your primary care physician does the preliminary diagnosis and you are referred to a specialist in order to evaluate your condition and treat the ailment.

If you feel heart palpitations, you go to a heart specialist and the physician will recommend treatment for your issue.

This is how a medical condition is supposed to be treated.  But there are people with a special kind of medical condition.  They need treatment, but society doesn’t always view it that way.

I’m talking about mental health conditions.  One of the most common of the mental health category of illnesses is depression.  Many people still look at depression as some kind of character flaw.  We all go through rough times, many say, just get over it and go forward.

There’s only one problem with that approach.  Depression is no character flaw.  It’s a chemical imbalance in your body.  Individuals have no more control over depression than heart disease.  Heart disease is not a character flaw.  It’s a medical condition in need of treatment.  Depression needs to be treated medically.

The word stigma is the term that applies here.  People with a mental illness, such as depression, often suffer from the stigma that their depression is their own fault.  Here’s a fact – it’s not the patient’s fault.

I recently recorded a Podcast featuring Mike Riekhof and Todd Zimmerman.  Mike founded The Peyton Riekhof Foundation for Youth Hope after his daughter Peyton took her own life while suffering from depression.  Todd is a member of the Fishers City Council and believes strongly in removing the stigma of diseases like depression.  Both men have served on Mayor Scott Fadness’ Mental Health Initiative Task Force.  You can listen to the Podcast at this link.  It’s a little over 30 minutes long.

Mayor Fadness started this task force shortly after being sworn-in as the first Mayor of Fishers in 2015.  As the town manager previous to that, he had seen the statistics and heard the stories from local public safety employees about the toll mental health issues were taking on those suffering with mental illness, as well as their families and friends.

You will be hearing more about the mayor’s mental health initiative.  My suggestion is to pay attention and support this initiative.  It’s all about the place where you live, Fishers, Indiana.

Video from April 13, 2015 announcement of Fishers Sports Complex

It was nearly one year ago when a big announcement was made at Fishers City hall.  Mayor Scott Fadness and the (then) City Community Development Director Tom Dickey announced a $75 million sports complex in the Saxony area of Fishers, near I-69.  It would host major Olympic-style events, contain a 4,200 seat arena and allow access for Fishers residents to use on a regular basis.  The complex would include a 600-car parking garage.

A series of public meetings were held for residents of the area to be briefed and make comments on the plans.  Everything appeared to be moving forward.

Then I began to hear rumblings that appraisals were being done and that the financing for the project was not a sure thing.  We are nearly one year later, and there is still no financing in place for this mammoth sports complex.

The Indianapolis Business Journal April 4-10 edition carries a front page banner headline – “$77 Million Sports Complex Appears Stalled.”  In the piece, reporter Lindsey Erdody writes the project (is it $75 million or $77 million?  Who knows?) is no closer to a construction date now than when the plans were unveiled April 13, 2015.

GK Sports, the developer of the proposed complex, is now peddling a similar structure in a growing suburb of Madison, Wisconsin.

I have periodically asked city officials what is happening with the sports complex, and I receive the same answer each time…nothing new to report, no financing is yet in place. Mayor Scott Fadness said as much to Erdody, telling her of his weekly updates he receives but the most recent update indicated “no breakthrough.”

Erdody goes into some detail in her story about Barry Kiesel, a principal of GK Sports, the proposed developer of the Sports Complex, and several court proceedings where he has been a party to litigation.

Fishers City Council President John Weingardt told Erdody he won’t get “fired up” about the sports complex until a closing is proposed.  “It’s a definite maybe,” Weingardt told Erdody.

You can read Lindsey Erdody’s story at this link. (NOTE:  If you are not an IBJ subscriber, your access to this story link may be limited)

Most of the road construction projects in Fishers for the work week beginning Monday, April 4th, are ongoing.  However, State Highway contractors will begin work on the 106th Street interchange with I-69 beginning April 4th, with the bridge over the interstate set to close April 11th.

Also, watch for bridge work on Promise Road, south of 131st Street, near Fishers High School.

Below is a full listing from the City of Fishers…

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FALL CREEK TRAIL

Fall Creek Trail reconstruction work continues; the pedestrian bridges and section of sidewalk along the trail have been removed. Pedestrians should not use the trail within the sections that have been removed. In addition, there will be periodic lane closures along the project throughout the week of April 4^th.

HAMILTON COUNTY HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT

Hamilton County Highway Department will continue guardrail maintenance at several bridge locations during the week of April 4^th. There will be lane restrictions with flaggers at each location, and locations include:

Promise Road just south of 131^st Street

LANTERN ROAD

• The parking stalls on the west side of Lantern Road between North Street and Station Street along with the parking stalls on the south side of North Street between Lantern Road and Maple Street will be closed from March 18 until April 17 for construction activities.
• There will also be periodic lane restrictions between 116^th Street and North Street for construction on Four Day Ray Brewing.

96^TH STREET AND CUMBERLAND ROAD

The Hamilton County Highway Department has closed 96^th Street and Cumberland Road for 100 calendar days in order to construct a roundabout at this intersection. Anyone with concerns about this project should call 773-7770. Please click here to view a detour map.

106^TH STREET INTERCHANGE

INDOT will begin work on the 106^th Street interchange the week of April 4^th. On April 4^th a lane shift on I-69 will take place in conjunction with the closure of 106^th Street on April 11^th. Additional details about this project will be released through INDOT and shared on the weekly construction update.

116^TH STREET

There may be short-term lane restrictions on 116^th Street and Oak Drive as equipment is being brought on and off site. This project includes demolition of homes along 116^th Street and Oak Drive in preparation for a road improvement project.