They took a risk, or as the magazine Evansville Living summed it up, "A Calculated Pitch." They thought they would have Roberts Stadium buried six feet under before we even knew it. They never gave Roberts Stadium an ounce of consideration. They never intended for this iconic structure to still be standing this far into 2012. No, they would rather have 8 dull, boring, and generic ball fields for which they worked with the previous ECVB on constructing.
They are the Vanderburgh County Democratic Central Committee and its political allies on both sides of the aisle who have been working hand-in-hand to make sure that all of the local political power is centralized and funneled into Evansville's politically elite. They have been known for many years and decades as "The Machine." They are Evansville's good ole boy system.
It is important to understand that no one person, thing, or period in time makes up the VCDCC or their allies on both sides of the aisle that are the main components of The Machine. In fact, The Machine has controlled the Evansville City Council and the Evansville Mayor's office for the vast majority of Evansville's 200 year history. They have a staggering amount of elected positions in general that has allowed them to do whatever they have wanted to do with the city for generations.
As I talked about in an earlier post about their position on building the ball fields at Kleymeyer Park...
http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2011/12/democratic-central-committees-last-move.html
The Machine has chewed up and spit out a countless amount of weak minded political leaders who came into the field of politics with the goal of furthering their own career instead of doing what is best for the city of Evansville.
The amazing thing about the Vanderburgh County Democratic Central Committee is that it never speaks with just one voice. Rather, the organization seeks to further their agenda by talking or hiding behind anyone and everyone it can.
Although former mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel endorsed the ball fields plan...
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2010/nov/23/evansville-visitors-bureau-reduces-ball-fields-bud/
It was always seen as David Dunn and the previous ECVB's plan which was just as bad. But when it came crashing down and the public saw the plan for what it was worth, the mayor washed his hands of the project, took back control of what to do with Roberts Stadium, and then handed over the decision to Mayor Winnecke.
It has always baffled me why the VCDCC is so hellbent on demolishing Roberts Stadium. No matter which member of the VCDCC you talk to, it's always the same hot air where you never get a reason as to why they refused to use even an ounce of their energy to investigate leads on Roberts Stadium. Was it incompetence? Was it an ego power trip for them? Or was it just plain laziness?
I'll never forget the time I met with VCDCC Chairman Mark Owen who has been deemed by the local media to be the chief advisor to the previous mayor.
Although Owen never came out and said it, you could tell that he just didn't take this blog seriously. He said that I should, "find something that is a sure win because everybody likes a winner." He instantly rejected moving USI into Roberts Stadium, hosting mid-size concerts, and raising the floor for indoor football. I don't think he gave any of those ideas a moment's thought.
Judging by the way he talked about this blog in the same fashion that he talked about Mary Hukill, I have always suspected that he believed that I was completely making up the investor I have who is interested in Roberts Stadium. If so, he can think again as this investor and his team(s) are very real...
http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2011/11/now-you-will-meet-investor-i-have-been.html
http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2012/01/our-evansville-rage-have-released-their.html
What I find to be the most disturbing aspect of the whole Mark Owen saga is that if you met him in person you would soon realize that he is actually a great guy with good intentions. But just like every other person who has gotten in too deep with the VCDCC and their political allies, he ended up listening and following the wrong people which ultimately led to his resignation this week...
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2012/feb/10/vanderburgh-democratic-leaders-were-meet-party-off/
There is no doubt in my mind that Mark Owen genuinely felt that he was doing the right thing by backing Connie Robinson. But I also believe that he was against Rick Davis because he simply didn't have the guts to stand up to the previous mayor and decided to get in line, rank and file, like the 22 others on the letter of support.
In a post on my other blog Evansville Moving Forward, I talked about why it is important to set your own goals, values, ethics, and vision(s) before you enter the political arena...
http://evansvillemovingforward.blogspot.com/2011/12/its-simple-no-vision-no-progress.html
I am very fortunate to have been trained in Washington, DC by the Leadership Institute, the same organization that gave us Karl Rove, Mitch McConnell, and Grover Norquist. It was at LI where I genuinely learned how to stand up for the issues I believed in no matter if 1% or 99% of the people are on my side. I took an oath to fight for what I believed in through the good times and through the bad times as well.
Unfortunately, we are watching way too many candidates here in Evansville go into politics without any goals, ideas, values, ethics, or visions. As a result, they quickly become a puppet to whoever has the most control and refuse to question what they are told to do. It's called "group think" and we have seen some ugly consequences of group think over the years whether it be the Holocaust, the Challenger explosion, or the electric shock tests conducted in the Milgram Experiments.
Although the Roberts Stadium situation is nowhere near the level of the three above group think consequences, it's still an example of group think. We have watched over and over political leader after political leader fail to stand up for Roberts Stadium simply because they were told not to. We have also watched political leader after political leader take the false idea of Roberts Stadium being beyond repair and without a purpose at face value.
No one in the previous administration stood up for Roberts Stadium because they didn't want to sacrifice the personal security they get from being in a group for doing the right thing. Although watching Mark Owen resign shouldn't be something that anyone should be happy about, it had to happen so that issues like Roberts Stadium don't become victims to political group think.
Although the VCDCC has a vast array of members and allies and is only one component in The Machine, losing key members of the VCDCC is certainly a blow to demolition supporters. Most importantly, it further fragments those in opposition to saving Roberts Stadium. Over these past 18 months, we have watched more and more citizens, political leaders, and activists join the Save Roberts Stadium movement. We've also watched as those who support demolition become divided and unsure about the future of their cause.
Now that the main group who supports demolishing Roberts Stadium is being demolished themselves, I am offering any and all political leaders on either side of the aisle the last chance to join the Save Roberts Stadium movement. No matter who you are, what you have done, or what party you are affiliated with, if you take the pledge to give a good faith effort to save Roberts Stadium, I will add your name to the right hand side of this blog with the current 3 Save Roberts Stadium supporters.
Don't demolish Roberts Stadium, demolish the good ole boy political system!
No comments:
Post a Comment