Post Election Day Recap

(photo credit: themovement1.blogspot.com)

Yesterday, the Save Roberts Stadium movement saw quite a few peaks and quite a few valleys on the road to preserving Roberts Stadium. Of the 8 candidates endorsed by this blog, 4 are still alive so right now we are batting right at .500. Here are some of my thoughts on yesterdays results...

Rick Davis defeats Troy Tornatta

This is EXCELLENT news and was definitely a must-win for Roberts Stadium. Rick has supported our efforts 110% since day 1 of this blog. With Rick in office, we'll be in the driver's seat at city hall. Mr. Tornatta's comment last week that he did not want Roberts Stadium to turn into a "black hole" reminded me of the days when city officials felt like our Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Coliseum would turn into a "white elephant."

http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2011/01/history-repeats-itself-before-save.html

The Coliseum did not turn into a white elephant and Roberts Stadium will not turn into a black hole. Furthermore, I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict that our new downtown arena WILL NOT become a gray albatross either.

Rick Davis defeated Mr. Tornatta by a pretty good 59-41% margin. Let's make sure he does this again in the general election! Thank you Rick for your support and CONGRATULATIONS!

The defeat of Patrick McBride

This one stung quite a bit. I've been working with Patrick almost every other day these past few months and it pains me greatly to see him lose. Patrick cares deeply for the 2nd Ward, he cares deeply about getting things going in the right direction, and he cares deeply about Roberts Stadium. If Evansville would have elected Patrick, there's no doubt in my mind that he would have done everything in his power to keep this great icon around.

Patrick has told me that he is unsure if he will stay active in government. Let's hope he makes the right decision and stays active. We cannot afford to completely lose great people like Mr. Mcbride. That goes for Roberts Stadium AND the rest of the city of Evansville. Losing is tough but the battle to get back up when you've been knocked down is even tougher. Let's hope Patrick wins that battle! Thank you for all the support you have given us Patrick!

Al Lindsey wins the 6th Ward

Of all the elections of any kind that I have been apart of, whether it was here, Lexington,KY, Seattle, Wa, or Arlington,VA, this is by far and away my favorite victory.

Nobody has wanted the City Council seat in the 6th Ward more than Al Lindsey. This was Al's 3rd try at this and the 3rd time was a charm. Al has had to fight and battle a ridiculous amount of people on the west side who did not want him in office simply because he wasn't family. Al is the perfect role model to those who lost today (like Patrick Mcbride) that you don't ever give up. I'm also hoping that you the supporters of Roberts Stadium will buy into this message as well.

Rest assure, Al Lindsey is one of Roberts Stadium's greatest allies. He has said numerous times that he is fully behind saving Roberts Stadium, and he will do whatever it takes to make sure we get to keep Roberts Stadium. Al never backs down from a challenge and that is just what we need for Roberts Stadium.

I'm thrilled beyond thrilled that Al Lindsey is on the fast lane to city hall where we will finally get a voice for Roberts Stadium. Thank you Al for your support and CONGRATULATIONS!

Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley wins the 3rd Ward

This is more good news for Roberts Stadium. I talked with Stephanie a few weeks ago and she, like I, is ready to see city hall start investigating and evaluating reuse options for Roberts Stadium. I talked to her about the plan and ideas for Roberts Stadium and she agreed that we can and should keep the venue intact.

Hopefully, the GOP will pass on challenging Stephanie in the fall and we will have our 3rd Ward City Council member who, like Rick Davis, Al Lindsey, and Dr. H. Dan Adams, will help us preserve Roberts Stadium. Thank you Stephanie for your support and CONGRATULATIONS!

Dr. H. Dan Adams makes the democratic cut for City Council At-Large

We got more good news last night when Dr. H. Dan Adams was victorious in making the final cut for City Council At-Large. Dr. Adams has great respect from both sides of the political aisle which will pay great dividends for Roberts Stadium.

Dr. Adams has done a wonderful job on the council and the voters of Evansville confirmed that last night. He is fully committed to helping us keep Roberts Stadium standing, and I hope you the voters will reward him once more in November. Thank you Dr. Adams for your support and CONGRATULATIONS!

The loss of Steven Smith, Jeremy Heath, and Sylvia Trabits-Niemeier

I really hated to lose these three Roberts Stadium supporters last night. Although I'm excited about the great opportunity we have with Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley, I hate that Sylvia could not win as well. Sylvia has done many great things for the Save Roberts Stadium movement including gathering ideas, making phone calls, and flyering. I hope she will remain active with the Roberts Stadium issue.

Jeremy Heath's loss last night did not surprise me for the simple reason that I know that it is dang near impossible to run for any office in this town when your 25. Evansville should be ashamed of their record with young professionals. The only hope for people my age in Evansville is to either dramatically change Evansville's leadership or just bide your time for several years.

I was really pulling for Jeremy to get on the council this year but what he has accomplished is already great. He has sent a message loud and clear that people our age want some real leadership. We want a new vision for Evansville, we want a complete change in the way Evansville does business, and most importantly, we want our Roberts Stadium that was built by our grandparents to stick around another 55 years. It took guts for Jeremy to run for the council and I'm glad he did. Jeremy told me last night that he is still going to be active in local government and that is great news for both Roberts Stadium and the city of Evansville. Jeremy refuses to give up and that has got to start becoming the number one trait of city officials here in Evansville.

And then there was the loss of Steven L. Smith another Save Roberts Stadium supporter. This loss will hurt as well. Steven has a wide array of financial knowledge and would have helped us greatly in the battle to convince city hall that Roberts Stadium is still economically feasible.

Steven's loss caught me off guard. I'm still in shock at why this town passed on his great knowledge, experience and talent. Steven has already proved that he refuses to quit simply by filing to run after losing last year's election for District 78's Indiana House Representative. Steven has great leadership and like Patrick, Sylvia, and Jeremy, I strongly urge him to stay active in government. Evansville still needs his skills and talents.

Final Analysis

Overall, I have mixed feelings about last night's election. I'm excited for Rick, Al, Stephanie, and Dr. H. Dan Adams while being letdown by the loss of our other four supporters Steven Smith, Sylvia Trabits-Niemeier, Jeremy Heath, and Patrick Mcbride.

I think the election gave us a pretty good indication that we are winning against those who support demolition but we still have a very long way to go. It is now going to be EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that we get every single Roberts Stadium supporter out to the polls in November.

We must make sure Rick Davis, Al Lindsey, Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley (if she has a challenger), and Dr. H. Dan Adams make it into city hall. Without their support, it will be extremely difficult to pull this off.

I'm also hoping many more candidates will come aboard the Save Roberts Stadium Express. There's no doubt that you the viewers of this blog played a pivotal role in yesterday's election. Hopefully, that will convince others to work with the Save Roberts Stadium movement and not against it.

In the next few months, I hope candidates in the 1st Ward, 2nd Ward, 4th Ward, 5th Ward, and City Council At-Large will strongly consider giving verbal commitments to give a good faith effort to keep our Evansville icon Roberts Stadium. For those living in those areas, please email your candidates and tell them how much Roberts Stadium means to you. Let's keep this momentum going by recruiting more candidates to the Save Roberts Stadium movement!