Indiana

Hey Melina, Let?s Make A Deal!!!

By Abdul Hakim-Shabazz

Editor’s Note:  I realize the point of this blog post is likely a giant waste of time, but heck, sometimes you have to give it the old community college try!

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At 11 a.m. today former Deputy Mayor and candidate for Marion County Prosecutor Melina Kennedy will “officially” announce that she is running for Mayor of Indianapolis.   In reality Melina has been running for the job for quite a while; she announced back in August of 2009 that she was forming an exploratory committee.  She’s been going around town speaking at political and neighborhood events and while she hasn’t outlined any specific policies or how she will pay for all the programs she’s promising or what she would do differently than the incumbent Greg Ballard, she hasn’t done a bad job at raising money ($900,000+).   Melina will be a good candidate and she will be a tough competitor, although a close look at her record will likely paint a much different picture than what she will advocate over the course of the campaign.

However, the point of this post isn’t to go into her record, because there will be ample time to walk through that over the next 10 months, but to establish some ground rules now so we don’t have to revisit this issue.  Yes, I do like the current occupant of the 25th floor.  I’ve known him long before he got the job and I frankly don’t he’s done too badly.  They’ve had some missteps along the way, but that’s any administration.  And by any objective measure, I think Indianapolis is doing quite well, overall, compared to a lot of other cities here in the United States; despite the national climate.

Now I know this is the part where you tell me I’m biased, well you would be correct, I am.  I am a political commentator so I get paid to offer up an opinion.  However, like the saying goes, “we are entitled to our own opinions, not our own facts”, so I can assure you, as well as the Kennedy campaign, because I know they read this blog daily that any statement I make regarding Melina will be backed up by the facts.  And if they think I’ve gone too far, they have an open invitation to come on the airwaves and chat.  There’s a good chance we will disagree but she will get a chance to be heard and present her point of view.

Anyone who is familiar with my history with Melina knows the prosecutor’s race back in 2006 wasn’t one of the best moments in our relationship.    However, 2011 is not 2006, so I’m extending the olive branch all she has to do is take advantage of the opportunity.   And think of it this way, as a close Democratic friend told me Friday, if Barack Obama can go Bill O’Reilly’s show the day of the Super Bowl, surely Melina can come sit and visit with humble, little old me.

Of course, my sneaking gut feeling tells me my offer is going to fall on deaf ears, but hey, here’s a chance for Melina to do something her fellow Democrats have been trying to for years, prove me wrong.

Full post as published by Indiana Barrister on January 10, 2011 (boomark / email).