Forum Report

I was pleased to appear at the Greenbriar Elementary School last night at a candidate forum featuring those on the ballot in Washington Township. I appreciated the invitation and the opportunity, as this community is very in-tune with issues.

The organizers framed this as a job interview, with the citizens as the boss. I like these metaphors. They work.

I gave my standard stump speech on my platform items of increasing voter turnout, promoting and end to gerrymandering of districts, and the adaptation of voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) voting machines. I capped off in the spirit of the Woody Allen Rule, which is, "90% of success is showing up".

Oh, look! Empty seats surround me yet again. The statewide ballot is loaded with paper candidates.

I pointed out that once again, I was the only statewide candidate, for any statewide office, from any party to show up, and that this happens very routinely. I asked, "would you hire a prospect who failed to turn up for the job interview"? This was well received, and I found myself with pledges of support and votes.

Update: There is an amusing story in the Indy Star about the Republican candidates for statewide office, touring the state in a bus... today. From the Star report:

Three Republicans running for office, including Secretary of State Todd Rokita, set off today on a one-day bus tour to promote their campaigns.

On the bus with Rokita: Tim Berry, the current state treasurer and now candidate for state auditor, and Evansville businessman Richard Mourdock, who is running to replace Berry.

The three left Indianapolis this morning and planned to stop in five cities before returning tonight.

Wow. Five cities. Tra-la-la! I've made over 200 campaign events this year, and have been actively running a real campaign for over two years. These guys get on the bus for one little day. It's such sad commentary that they will get so many votes for bringing so little to the table.

Rokita brags on visiting all 92 counties as SOS. Guess what? That's his job. There's nothing extraordinary in that.