It's " The Day After" in Evansville. After yesterday's big election letdown, I decided to rest on it for a few hours before making this post. For those who are deeply concerned about the fate of Roberts Stadium like I am, yesterday didn't give us any more assurance. If you're looking for a simple answer from me with regards to the next move we need to make for Roberts Stadium, you simply won't get it as it does not exist. For the time being, we need to let the next 2 months play out before we know what's next.
As it stands right now, by my calculations, we are looking at a mayor who is 50-50 on Roberts Stadium ( If it's genuinely 50-50 I can certainly live with that) and a council that will be 3 on our side, 3 or 4 on the other side, and then 2-3 that have yet to take a position. Hopefully, we will be given a committee, and hopefully we will have the opportunity to prove to these 2-3 swing votes that we can deliver for Roberts Stadium.
Let's take a look at some of yesterday's headlines that are relevant towards our movement...
Rick Davis Loses His Bid To Become Mayor
Unfortunately, our primary source of political support has been knocked offline. With the loss of Rick Davis, I am now beginning to feel like I am on an island at city hall.
Don't get me wrong, I do have confidence that Commissioner, and soon to be mayor, Lloyd Winnecke will take seriously the fact that Hank Robert's stadium is now in his hands. He has ALWAYS been a class act and I hope he keeps this up and follows in the footsteps of the past two Republican mayors- Russ Lloyd Jr. and Hank Roberts. I congratulate him on his victory and look forward to what he plans to do with Evansville and Roberts Stadium. I will do whatever he asks of me to do to help us deliver Roberts Stadium for our community.
But what has really taken all of the life out of me is the fact that we lost a candidate who genuinely understands what the battle to save Roberts Stadium is all about. He understands the sports industry, he understands the history of Roberts Stadium, and he understands that this isn't just a building, it is an Evansville icon. We didn't just lose a candidate, we lost a leader who took this blog to new heights and has changed minds about Roberts Stadium by the thousands.
With the loss of Rick Davis, we know we have an uphill battle to climb but a battle we can win if we chip away at the idea of demolition one person at a time. It is extremely important that we remain united.
City-Council Races- We Went 3-2
Yesterday was a bag of mixed emotions on the City Council front. Overall, we went 3-2 with the candidates who took the pledge to give a good faith effort to save Roberts Stadium. Therefore, we will still need 2 City Council Members to come over to the Save Roberts Stadium side.
By my calculations, Mr. Dan McGinn, Mr. Conor O'Daniel, and Mr. John Friend are all on the fence and would very easily come to our side once they have all of our ideas in front of them (I've got a desk full of ideas and leads I'm following) and have the opportunity to genuinely think about the great opportunity we have with Roberts Stadium versus the dark and gloomy future of an open parking lot with no funds to build anything on. Congratulations to these three candidates, and I am more than willing to meet with these City Council Members any time they are interested (JordanBaer1@gmail.com).
Lon Walters Loses The 2nd Ward
Like the primary election, we failed to take back the 2nd Ward. For those in the 2nd Ward who did not vote for Mr. Lon Walters, I just don't understand you. The differences in the candidates in the 2nd Ward was night and day.
Mr. Lon Walters knows how to run a business, he knows how to get things done, and he knows how to think for himself. He would do anything for anyone at anytime, and I am honored to have been a part of his campaign. Like I said with Mr. Patrick McBride, I hope Lon Walters doesn't give up on serving Evansville in an elected position. The hardest part of defeat is having to get back up. Let's hope Lon doesn't let this defeat knock him down permanently.
For the time being, the 2nd Ward is the only Ward and/or position that is a total loss, and I am writing it off til 2016. It was that bad of a loss, and I want no part of it. Thankfully, neither Roberts Stadium nor Bosse Field is in the 2nd Ward.
Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley Wins Roberts Stadium's 3rd Ward
Our victory in the 3rd Ward was definitely a bright spot last night. I cannot express how thankful I am for Stephanie coming to the Rick Davis Election Watch Party and giving us a much, much needed speech that lifted all of us up. In her speech, Stephanie announced that she was proud of the work that Rick Davis' supporters gave and as a result, she has left the Democratic Central Committee.
Stephanie's determination to do what is right and not what is politically convenient to do is admirable, heroic, and deserved to be rewarded. I'm not going to lie, I felt like last night was a lost cause until I heard her speech. Now, I'm confident we still have enough pieces to get this job done.
I would also like to say thank you to Mr. Alan Leibundguth who ran for the position as well. Mr. Leibundguth, on his own, reached out to me to view the 2001 Master Plan and went page by page with me to gather ideas on how to implement it. Mr. Leibundguth, please stay active in government!
Now that we have Stephanie in the 3rd Ward, Roberts Stadium isn't going to be an easy out for those seeking to knock it over. Finally, and I mean finally, those living around Roberts Stadium who have filled the entire district up with Save Roberts Stadium yard signs will have their voice heard. Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley is one of our candidates, and I couldn't be any more happier for her. Congratulations Stephanie!
It's Mission Accomplished For Al Lindsey In The 6th Ward
Of all the election results we have ever witnessed in the history of Evansville, Al Lindsey being elected in the 6th Ward is by far and away the biggest and most needed change to Evansville. For those living in the 6th Ward, you know how awful it has been living under a Mosby tyranny that finally ran its course. The demise of this evil empire couldn't have come fast enough. I just hate that it came on the same night as the defeat of Rick Davis.
Let me be perfectly clear, yesterday's election was not Mr. Lindsey versus the Mosby empire, that was decided during the primary. Rather, we saw a much cleaner and well fought election yesterday between Mr. Al Lindsey and Mr. Shaun Short. I was glad to see change come to the 6th Ward but I hated to see two great candidates face each other at the same time.
For those who don't know Shaun Short, please get to know him. Listen to his ideas, his dedication to Evansville, and his willingness to do whatever it takes to promote each and every one of us in Evansville. Shaun, if you decide to run for the next office to open up, please let me know as I will be the first person to help you get the process going!
With Al Lindsey moving into the 6th Ward City Council position, we will finally have a government representative who is concerned about the citizens and not about themselves. We will finally have a person who is more concerned about what you are willing to do to help Evansville and not about what kind of political people you are hanging out with that may affect their own career. Lastly, we will have an independent person and not a machine puppet.
Thank you Al Lindsey for not giving up on cleaning David Mosby and his good ole boy system of self-serving cronies out of city hall. We can all be rest assured that Al will fight day in and day out for Roberts Stadium. He is one of the primary corner stones of the Save Roberts Stadium movement! Congratulations Al!
Dr. Dan Adams Holds Serve in The City-Council At-Large Position
Over the past 4 years, Dr. Adams has gotten to know a lot of people. Yesterday, all of these people, who Dr. Adams has taken care of these past four years, rewarded him with another term. This is excellent news for the Save Roberts Stadium movement as Councilman Adams is the only existing Councilman who took it upon himself to look into keeping Roberts Stadium. The rest were content with letting it go for no reason.
Dr. Adams, like Stephanie and Al, is going to make sure we get a good faith effort from city hall for Roberts Stadium. He will never do what is politically convenient to do as his primary and only concern is doing what is right for Evansville. Dr. Adams has a lot of talent, a lot of determination, and a lot of desire to make sure that Evansville gets what its people want, and that is saving Roberts Stadium.
Dr. Adams, congratulations, thank you for standing up for Roberts Stadium, and let's get this project done!
Bill Kramer Fails To Make City Council At-Large
Once more, I just don't understand the moves Evansville made last night. Of the 20,000 + people who made it to the polls, how many of those voters managed to meet Mr. Bill Kramer, listen to his ideas, and take note of his willingness to listen and serve all citizens of Evansville? Something tells me that if all 20,000 + voters would have actually done this, Mr. Kramer would have gotten 100% of the vote.
I am VERY thankful for Mr. Kramer hosting a meet-n-greet, listening to EVERYTHING I had to say about both Roberts Stadium and the ball fields at Kleymeyer Park, and for willing to fight to save Roberts Stadium. Losing Bill Kramer will certainly hurt us as we will not have his voice on the Evansville City Council.
Bill, thank you for running, thank you for giving Roberts Stadium a voice, and PLEASE stay active in government. Evansville cannot afford to lose your talent!
Overall View
Well, we now know who will be deciding the fate of Roberts Stadium, we now know who has the ability to do something for Roberts Stadium and who doesn't, and we now know which political leaders will have their entire career judged on what they do with Roberts Stadium.
What we don't know is what will happen next with city hall, when it will happen, what it will entail , who it will involve, and how much an effort we will see from city hall to save Roberts Stadium.
At this point, all we can do is remain patient for a few more months, remain united even though some of our political supporters have been defeated, and remain committed to getting the word out about Roberts Stadium. We've come a long way but we've got a long way to go as well.
New members of the Evansville City Council and Mayor-Elect Winnecke, congratulations and SAVE ROBERTS STADIUM!
No comments:
Post a Comment