Baron Hill leads on Passage of Energy Bill

From the Floyd County Democratic Party

The fact that 9th District Congressman Baron Hill has been working hard to represents Southern Indiana is no surprise to the citizens of Floyd County. This year alone he has once again championed efforts to move forward the Ohio River Greenway, provide bank stabilization along the Ohio, and bring much needed funds to countless programs in our hometown.

But some might find it surprising to also learn that Congressman Hill has also been leading in other, much more national issues. Case in point, look at the recently passed Energy Bill. As part of the legislation, CAFE standards, better know as average fleet wide fuel efficient standards, where increased to 35 miles-per-gallon for cars for the first time in over thirty years. Congressman Hill was the leader of this push and even sponsored the original legislation increasing these standards which was adopted in the final energy bill.

Hear an audio clip from Congressman Hill on this issue.

Once again, Baron Hill is bringing change in Washington for his constituents. Thanks Baron!

Floyd County Superior Court judge files for re-election

STAFF REPORTS
newsroom@newsandtribune.com

— Floyd County Superior Court Judge Susan Orth filed papers Tuesday for re-election in 2008.
Under the new format, Floyd County Superior Court will become Superior Court 1. There will also be Superior Court 2 and Superior Court 3, and well as Floyd County Circuit Court. The three superior courts will elect judges next year.

Orth, 48, was appointed by Judge Frank O’Bannon in 2004 to replace Richard Striegel, who retired after 25 years. She is the first female judge in Floyd County history. Superior Court hears two-thirds of the felony cases in Floyd County, she said.

“I’m fortunate to have a job I love,” she said. “I served 15 years in the Floyd County prosecutor’s office as chief deputy prosecutor, and I think this has been a natural progression. I’m really excited about next year for the opportunity to continue to serve this community.”

This will be Orth’s first election. She is the first candidate to file for the Superior Court 1 seat.

Thompson to run New Albany Street Department

By ERIC SCOTT CAMPBELL
Eric.Campbell@newsandtribune.com

The longtime union president for Street Department workers will become their boss in 2008, New Albany Mayor-elect Doug England has decided.

England chose Mickey Thompson, a 14-year public-works employee, to replace Chuck Simons, an accountant Mayor James Garner appointed in August 2006 to a three-month interim stint that became permanent. Simons said Wednesday he was surprised and disappointed to be shut out.

England also named confidant John Wilcox his director of operations. Like predecessor Anthony B. Toran under Garner, Wilcox was campaign manager for the successful mayoral bid.

Thompson’s eighth and final year as local American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees president expires as his new job begins Jan. 1. He said he’d focus on reassigning more workers to cleaning and maintaining road surfaces. The department has wrestled with a budget deficit for years.

“The guys are staying pretty tied up trying to run behind sanitation [trucks] and pick up what they don’t pick up,” Thompson said.

Thompson also vowed to be “a little more employee-friendly” than Simons has been.

“We had a lot of problems with him when he first came in — I don’t know if it was the fact he didn’t understand the contracts,” Thompson said. “I believe he had good intentions ... but he alienated most of the guys right away. Hopefully, I can avoid that.”

Simons denied that characterization, saying some employees told him personally they felt treated well.

“As far as the employees are concerned, I alienated nobody but Mickey,” Simons said. “We had the right to put people to work. We went tooth and nail over it on several occasions. ... Out of 22 people [in the department], there’s probably four or five that their feelings were hurt.”

From the feedback Simons had heard, he was confident he’d be retained.

“Everyone had commented on how good a job I had done in the short year I had been there. I just assumed he wanted to have something for me in the future,” Simons said.

Instead, he got the bad news in a letter on Friday.

“For somebody that supported him in the campaign after the primary, I just expected a little bit better treatment than that,” said Simons, who has no other employment plans yet.

Wilcox said the England camp “would have preferred that it not be done by mail,” but noted that he had tried to see Simons at department headquarters four times and never found him in the office: “There was no opportunity to meet in person.”

Wilcox has logged decades of government service, including a job in New Albany Mayor Warren Nash’s administration from 1972 to 1975.

Read more at the New Albany Tribune online.

Majority Leader Hoyer on 2008 Appropriations

By Majority Leader Steny Hoyer
U.S. House of Representatives

WASHINGTON - House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer released the following statement tonight on the consolidated appropriations bill being voted on tonight in the House: "Unfortunately for the American people, the President has chosen to engage in political posturing on this year’s appropriations bills. "Although his policies over the last seven years have instigated record budget deficits and added more than $3 trillion to the national debt, the President has deliberately concocted a fight on domestic funding in a vain effort to establish his bona fides with his right-wing political base. "And thus, he has refused to strike a reasonable compromise over the $23 billion difference in domestic funding that separates Democrats in Congress and the Administration. "Let’s be clear: The President's position on domestic appropriations is not fiscally responsible. Especially not when he is demanding, at the very same time, that we add $50 billion to the debt to pay for a one-year patch of the alternative minimum tax and another $196 billion for Iraq – none of it paid for. "As Bill Hoagland, the budget advisor for former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, told the Washington Post on Saturday: 'I have difficulty seeing how $11 billion or $22 billion in discretionary spending on the domestic side of the equation is so fiscally responsible when juxtaposed against these major AMT provisions of $50 billion, or certainly against the $70 billion plus they want for the global war on terror, Iraq and Afghanistan.' "The fact is, the domestic funding provided in this consolidated appropriations bill denies the American people the full investment they need in priorities such as life-saving medical research, kindergarten through 12th-grade education, Pell Grants and college financial aid, energy independence, and home heating assistance. "However, in the face of an intransigent President and his allies in Congress, this legislation is the best we can do for the American people. "Furthermore, in this consolidated appropriations bill, Democrats reject the President’s misguided budget cuts and begin to reinvest in the priorities of the American people. "Specifically, this omnibus appropriations bill invests in medical research, providing $607 million above the President’s request to study diseases such as Alzheimer’s, cancer, Parkinson’s, and diabetes. "It invests in health care access, providing $1 billion above the President’s request for programs such as Community Health Centers to provide 280,000 uninsured Americans with access to health care. "And, it invests more than the President requested for K-through-12 education, for student aid, for vocational education, for state and local law enforcement, for homeland security grants, for highway infrastructure, and for renewable energy and energy efficiency. "In the final analysis, this legislation is far from perfect. But it does reject many of the President’s misguided budget cuts, and reflects many of the policy priorities of the American people – which Democrats have fought for all year long. "The fact is, most of the appropriations bills passed the House with large bipartisan majorities. However, the President refuses to compromise, and the Senate is unable to produce the 60 votes needed to move legislation forward. "This bill is the best we can do this year."

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Congress Moves America in a New Direction

December 19, 2007 Congress Moves America in New Direction… … As “Roadblock Republicans” Try to Obstruct People’s Agenda Over the last year, Democrats have begun to move our nation in a new direction, and our record shows significant progress in making America safer, restoring the American dream, and restoring accountability - despite repeated Republican roadblocks. While the American people made clear in the last election that they wanted a new direction, Republicans apparently did not get the message. The Do-Nothing Republican Party spent all year blocking bipartisan policies broadly supported by the American people, and looking to charge more debt on the nation's credit card. Despite these roadblocks, Democrats will continue to fight for America's priorities in 2008. Read more about how Democrats have moved this nation in a new direction this year, despite Roadblock Republicans voting against the wishes of the American people. ###

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Remembering Julia Carson

By the Floyd County Democratic Party

It is with great sadness that the Floyd County Democratic Party has learned of the passing of Congresswoman Julia Carson at the age of 69. A dynamic Democratic leader of our state for the past three decades, her life touched the lives and hearts of countless people here in Indiana and across the country.

News reports outlining her life and its accomplishments can be found at the Indianapolis Star.

There is a blog set up at thankyoujulia.com for people to leave thoughts and memories of the Congresswoman. A friend and inspiration, Julia will be missed.