Just a reminder to GET OUT AND VOTE!!! I was to my polling place just before noon and if the number of signatures I saw in the book are any indication, the turnout is going to be light. It’s a sad commentary when the news polls show Congress and the President with approval ratings in the basement, but then when citizens have a chance for input in the elections they can’t be bothered. The majority of seats up for consideration in this primary election are for State and Local positions. Not as controversial, but still important. I told you why I was supporting Francis Ellert previously here. There are many other important candidates to support on the ballot as well.
As a closing note, please make your vote an informed vote. Even at this late hour it’s not too late to find out about the candidates and vote responsibly. If you’re not going to do that, then I retract my opening request. I should have said, Get out and Vote… RESPONSIBLY!
Kevin Berger presenting ABC's endorsement and check to Francis Ellert at Coca-Cola Bottling in Plymouth
I had the opportunity to meet with Francis Ellert recently and present him with a check and endorsement from Associated Builders and Contractors of Indiana (ABC). Easterday Construction has been a member of ABC for nearly three decades and I have served on the organization’s State Board of Directors through four terms. Francis has attended several ABC events and the organization has found him to be a like-minded individual that will fit well in representing our Free Enterprise cause. I consider Francis a personal friend and I was pleased to be able to relay our support.
This is Francis’s second run at the Indiana House District 17 position. I supported him in his first run (see here) and will do so again this time. Currently he has a primary challenger, but no Democrats have filed to run for the position in the Fall. Turnout will still be important in the primary. Since the Republican candidate for President has been decided before the Indiana primary, it’s important to make your voice heard in this local issue.
Lest you think voting isn’t important in the primary, there seems to be a real divide in the campaigning. I see very few Harman signs in the Culver area where Francis is well represented. I see mostly Harman signs in the Bremen area where Tim is well known. Culver in particularly shouldn’t be complacent and assume that Francis has it sewn up! We need to get out the vote and support him.
I can’t say anything bad about Tim Harman. From what I know of him, he is a good person, has run a clean campaign and has the best interests of District 17 at heart. But he’s not the known candidate that Francis is. Francis ran a hard campaign against Nancy Dembowski in 2010 and I think he benefited from it. Not only did it help him better define his positions, but it helped him make contacts that will be crucial when he joins the General Assembly next year. Those contacts are what have garnered the support of the Indiana Chamber, the Indiana Manufacturers Association and the Indiana Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors.
Please consider helping me support Francis in the primary. In less than a week we’ll be making this choice. I can’t tell you how much I look forward to voting for a candidate that I can truly support rather than choosing the lesser of evils. I don’t think Francis tells election fairy tales.
An interesting tidbit I picked up from Nina Easton’s articleThe Pay Gap is Vexing, But Don’t Blame the Rich: A Defense of the 1% in the April 30th addition of Fortune Magazine.
“Harvard’s Lawrence Katz has calculated that even if all the gains of the top 1% were redistributed to the 99%, household incomes would go up by less than half of what they would if everyone had a college degree.”
Random Thought: At what point did it become okay to refer to government subsidy programs as “entitlements”? It’s scary that it’s moving up in the definition list! Apparently the third definition has a lot to do with the second definition getting out of control…
Primary Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of “entitlement”: The state or condition of being entitled.
Secondary Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of “entitlement”: A government program providing benefits to a specified group.
Third Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of “entitlement”: The belief that one is deserving of or entitled to certain privileges.
“The economic slowdown during the spring and summer of last year caused many projects to be put on hold and resulted in diminished construction momentum.” —ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu.
The construction industry lost 7,000 jobs in March, inching the unemployment rate up to 17.2 percent from 17.1 percent in February, according to the April 6 Department of Labor employment report. Year over year, construction industry unemployment is down compared to the March 2011 rate of 20 percent. The industry added 55,000 jobs over the past 12 months.
Excerpt from ABC Construction Economic Update, April 6, 2012
Just a reminder to GET OUT AND VOTE!!! I was to my polling place just before noon and if the number of signatures I saw in the book are any indication, the turnout is going to be light. It’s a sad commentary when the news polls show Congress and the President with approval ratings in the basement, but then when citizens have a chance for input in the elections they can’t be bothered. The majority of seats up for consideration in this primary election are for State and Local positions. Not as controversial, but still important. I told you why I was supporting Francis Ellert previously here. There are many other important candidates to support on the ballot as well.
