Brown County Democratic Party News Page

It appears Hoosiers favor retaining township government, according to a statewide poll conducted by the Indiana Township Association.

Nashville - May 29, 2008 - The Republican County Commissioners are at it again. This time they've reportedly hired someone against his will.

At their May 20 meeting the Commissioners announced they were hiring an individual for County Highway Superintendent to replace their earlier hire, who they just fired. Trouble is, they didn't first make sure their chosen one really wants to work for them.

Maybe the local party of Lincoln has forgotten slavery has been outlawed and plans to make him serve anyway. Of course, everything the Commissioners have been up to recently must have Honest Abe rolling in his grave.

Commissioner Bill Austin formed another of his endless series of advisory committees to help him through the difficult and complex process of deciding who he felt was best qualified for the job. But he then forgot to make a motion to hire his choice.

The first of the lame duck commissioners then moved to re-advertise the job, but he couldn't get a second. The second lame duck moved to hire the unwilling applicant, and her motion was seconded by the first lame duck. The ducks voted for the hiring. Austin, without the benefit of a committee or the time to ~~blame it~~ consult with it, voted against the hiring.

UPDATE: At their June 2, 2008, meeting, the commissioners decided to re-advertise for applicants. Sure, it's not like they actually hired somebody, but they did actually make a decision.

Rumor has it they are looking for applicants with experience. So, if you've ever driven on a county road, dust off your resume. That'll probably be enough experience for them.

Nashville - May 29, 2008 - About 30 Brown County residents attended a town hall meeting with Congressman Baron Hill in Nashville May 28.

Congressman Hill discussed legislation that had been passed by the Democratic-led 110th Congress. Highlights included increasing the minimum wage, the largest funding increase for veterans' health care in the history of the VA, lobbying and ethics reform, conducting oversight of the executive branch relating to the Iraq war, and energy independence.

The Congressman highlighted passage of provisions he had sponsored requiring automakers to increase gas mileage on their products, strengthening penalties for persons who smuggle undocumented workers into the United States, providing a federal income tax deduction for property taxes, providing a tax credit for those who send care packages to troops through the America Supports You program, and authorizing a public awareness campaign to provide parents tools to

keep their children safe from internet predators.

Following the update, Congressman Hill opened the floor to questions, many of which related to global warming and energy independence, and providing health care for all Americans. The Congressman indicated he was gathering as much information as possible.

Congressman Hill reasoned that careful study of energy and health care is necessary since actions taken by Congress in those areas will have sweeping and long-term effects, and it is vital to our nation that the decisions made be the best ones possible. He encouraged people to contact him with information they would like him to consider.

Nashville - May 6, 2008 - The voters spoke at the polls during this year's primary election, and the Brown County Democratic Party has nominated a strong field of candidates for the general election in November.

Information about candidates for county offices can be found by clicking here. Primary vote totals can be found by clicking here.

The public also spoke clearly about the performance of the two incumbent Republican county commissioners. They were roundly defeated in their primary contests. Guess the "rancorous few" (see Fire District Lawsuit Commenced story below) turned out to be the "voting many."

Nashville - March 5, 2008 - Brown County's Democratic Precinct Committeepersons voted unanimously to endorse Tona Martin Nelson for Brown County Treasurer in the May 6 primary election.

"Tona Martin Nelson has excellent qualifications for the office and will work in a spirit of cooperation with other county offices for the benefit of all Brown County citizens," said County Chairperson Kurt Young. The party encourages its voters to support her in the May 6 Democratic Primary Election.

All other primary races were left as they were, open and without endorsements.

The party believes the endorsement is necessary because the county is still suffering from the reassessment mess created by the former assessor, who has filed her candidacy in opposition to Tona Martin Nelson.

"Local government units have been forced to take out loans and incur interest payments that would not have been necessary had Tona's opponent properly done her job," said Young. "We did not endorse the former assessor during the last election because of her abysmal performance in office, and we will not in this election. We believe it would be extremely unwise to place her in another position of public trust, particularly the office of Treasurer," Young concluded.

Nashville - February 7, 2008 - The Brown County Democratic Party is pleased to welcome incumbent at-large Brown County Council member David Rudd, who announced today that he is running for reelection as a Democrat.

During the debate on the fire district, Commissioner Bill Austin said, 'if the Republican Party is the party that is going to take this approach' of not listening to the public, 'then I don't want to be a part of the Republican Party.' I have decided to take his words and put them into action.

The statement by Austin referred to by Rudd was reported as follows in the September 5, 2007, Bloomington Herald-Times newspaper:

"'We are setting a pattern of asking the public what they want and then ignoring them,' said Bill Austin, the commissioner who initially pursued the idea of a fire district then changed his mind after a committee of firefighters came out against it. 'You have made this an issue of whether we will listen to the public, not whether there’s a (fire) district.'

He went on, denouncing his fellow commissioners, Stephanie Yager and Blake Wolpert. 'If the Republican Party is the party that is going to take this approach to politics, then I don’t want to be part of the Republican Party.'"

Nashville - October 6, 2007 - A group of Brown County property owners has filed a lawsuit to stop the creation of a county-wide fire district.

The suit, filed September 11, 2007, alleges that the Republican-dominated Board of Commissioners of Brown County failed to comply with state statutes, which require petitions from property owners to start the process of creating the district.

On September 4, 2007, the commissioners, over the objections of a large number of citizens, including the majority of the county's fire departments, passed an ordinance to create the district. No petitions for the district had been received, and petitions submitted against the district were not considered by the commissioners.

At the September 4 meeting, one of the three Republican commissioners, referring to his cohorts' refusal to listen to their constituents, said, "There comes a time when integrity outweighs and position we want to take." He added, "If the Republican Party is the party that is going to take this approach to politics, then I don't want to be a part of the Republican Party."

Also during the debate, a local resident told the commissioners, " I resent your arrogance and your ignorance." He also referred to an August 29, 2007, letter written by one of the Republican commissioners to The Brown County Democrat newspaper describing opponents of the district as a "rancorous few; those who disrupt and instigate and stand for nothing." The resident pointed to the firefighters throughout the room and said, "Tell these people that they stand for nothing."

UPDATE: On February 8, 2008, the special judge appointed to hear the case ruled against the citizens who filed the suit. However, on February 11, 2008, the citizens filed a notice of appeal. the case will now be heard in the Indiana Court of Appeals. The citizens, who strongly disagree with both the result reached and the reasoning used by the Bartholomew County judge who heard the case, believe their position is sound and that the Court of Appeals will reach a different result when it considers the case. The case was fully briefed on May 5, 2008, and it is before the court for a decision.

Senator Vi Simpson, who represents Brown County, may be contacted at 1-800-382-9467 or by visiting her State Senate web page. She can also be contacted through the State Senate Democratic Caucus web site, which contains additional legislative links.

Contact information for Congressman Baron Hill:

223 Cannon House Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-5315    Fax: 202-226-6866

320 West 8th St., Suite 114
Bloomington, IN 47404
Phone: 812-336-2692    Fax: 812-336-3355

279 Quartermaster Court
Jeffersonville, IN 47130
Phone: 812-288-3999    Fax: 812-288-3873

Congressman Hill's web site: http://baronhill.house.gov/index.shtml.

IMPORTANT: Voters should be aware that the Bureau of Motor Vehicles has revoked the drivers licenses of many Indiana citizens whose names differ from their Social Security records. Remember, Indiana still requires citizens to show some form of ID (most often a drivers license or state-issued ID card) to vote. Since the State of Indiana seems determined to do all it can to disenfranchise its citizens, be sure to check with the Clerk to see that your registration is still on file. If your drivers license has been cancelled because of a mismatch with Social Security records, you should also consider contacting the Indiana Civil Liberties Union, which is challenging the action of the BMV. The ICLU telephone number is (317) 635-4059. GUARD YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE!

Click here to download the registration form. For more information contact the Brown County Clerk's Office at (812) 988-5511.

Absentee Ballot Applications Now Available

Absentee ballot applications are now available from the Brown County Clerk's Office. The applications are also available on our website at the Absentee Voting tab.

Send mail to acouch5130@aol.com with questions or comments about this web site. Last modified: 07/09/08

Send mail to acouch5130@aol.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: 07/09/08