Anyone who has ever cast their gaze upon the Town of Fishers´Council District map has drawn one of several conclusions:
- Rand McNally had nothing to do with the design.
- The designer of the districts was drunk at the time of the drawing.
- The designer of the districts was a child trying out his first set of Crayolas.
- The districts were drawn for the purpose of political gerrymandering; specifically, to permit sitting Council members to retain seats despite the growth of the Town which would cause two or more Councilors to wind up in the same district had a sensible map been drawn.
- The districts reveal a fishy annexation, which allowed a Council member to live technically within the Town limits, while in reality being in an area that is overwhelmingly not in the Town.
As study aids for the student, I will direct you to the district map of the Town of Fishers via the County website (you will have to download a map reader program in order to view), and to an article by Tom Britt, from the AtGeist website, which has a snapshot capture of the curious annexation that includes Fishers Town Council president Scott Faultless´parcel.
In the meantime, I call upon Council President Scott Faultless to immediately resign his seat on the Council. Whether the annexation was illegal or merely unethical, the result is the same. It is disgraceful to my home Town beyond the insult that is the fact that my Town tries to forcibly annex properties against the wishes of those property owners.
It would be interesting to see the minutes of the Council meeting that approved the annexation. Did Mr. Faultless even recuse himself from the vote, or did he participate in the vote that directly affected his property. Either way, it´s slimy. If he recused himself, he acknowledged the reality of the unethical action as directly affecting him. If he voted, he disregarded the impropriety inherent in a government official voting on their own property, where they are obviously an interested party.
Those Council members who voted in support of the annexation of the Faultless property should also resign their seats immediately.
Republican Party County Chair Charlie White is a member of the Fishers Town Council.
Full disclosure: I am a resident of the Town of Fishers. I am a Libertarian candidate for Secretary of State.
4 comments:
I forwarded the AtGeist column by Tom Britt to the newsmedia-this ought to be interesting!
Ole'
Bob Thompson
2006 Candidate for Fall Creek Township Board
Yes, I expect fireworks.
Congratulations on your run for Township office! A shame I couldn´t convince you to run on the Libertarian ticket, but the people of Geist will be pleased to be able to back you as an opponent of forced annexation.
I look forward to the formation of a full slate of candidates similarly opposed. It may well consist of both Republicans such as yourself and Libertarians.
If you're up for some good old fashion protesting, show up at Bella Vita between 4:30 and 5:30 PM Thursday, grab a sign and give 'em hell!
-----Original Message-----
From: Rachel Quade [mailto:rachelquade@insightbb.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2006 11:31 AM
To: Patrick A. Elward
Subject: Rally Being Held This Thursday Against Hamilton County Republicans
Rally Against Hamilton County Republican Party This Thursday
I wanted to let you know of a gathering I heard about for this Thursday from 4:30-5:30 p.m. on the sidewalk along Fall Creek in front of Bella Vita.
As many of you know, the Fishers Town Council, the group behind the forced annexation of Geist, is made up entirely of Republicans. The Hamilton County Republican Party (HCRP) gives money to the members of the Town Council to help keep them in office. Due to this fact, many Geist residents are reconsidering giving to the HCRP this year. Also, the chairman of the HCRP is on the Fishers Town Council.
The HCRP is hosting a fundraiser at Bella Vita at 5:00 pm this Thursday, January 26th. Geist residents opposed to annexation are being asked to gather along the sidewalk with signs (which will be provided) to display Geist residents' discontent with the Fishers Town Council. The hope is that if enough powerful, elected Hamilton County Republicans see a large gathering, they might be able to influence the few people on the Town Council to rethink this forced annexation attempt. Right or wrong, money speaks, and Hamilton County Republicans are well aware that there are some generous contributors in this area. Our elected officials need to know that they shouldn't take this area's support for granted.
The media will definitely be there. The organizers of this gathering ask that people start gathering around 4:30 so that we have a good sized group there in time for the 5:00 newscasts. I told the organizers that I had a good group of volunteers to whom I could send this message. The bigger the gathering, the bigger the impact. We know it's cold out and it's a tough time of day, but please make the effort to be there. A lot of people are working very hard on this issue, and this would be a great way to show your support. Please e-mail me back so I can let the organizers know how many signs they will need. Also, please forward this message on to other Geist residents! If you have any questions, please reply back to this e-mail or call me at home at 335-1632. Hope to see you this Thursday, January 26th from 4:30-5:30 p.m. on the sidewalk along Fall Creek in front of Bella Vita!
Sincerely:
Rachel Quade
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
email: rachelquade@insightbb.com
phone: 317-335-1632
web: http://SayNOtoFishers.com
Looks like it´s time for a full post on the Geist Freedom Rally!
Sadly, I will still be in the air at the time of the Governor´s arrival at Bella Vita. I encourage all supporters of property rights and self-determination to go to Bella Vita and supporter the property owners of Geist.
The Republican Party has shown that it is has only contempt for the Geist property owners. The Libertarian Party will show only support.
Post a Comment