This has to be a first and is not a good development at all for the taxpayers of Marion County. Democratic City-County Council candidate Kostas Poulakidas is holding a fundraiser in Washington, D.C. that is being co-hosted by U.S. Rep. Andre Carson and a former Republican congressman and now a fat cat Washington, D.C. lobbyist for Rolls-Royce, Ed Pease, according to a report in the latest edition of Ed Feigbenbaum's Indiana Legislative Insight. Poulakidas has been drafted by the downtown elites of both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party to take on one of the lone independent voices on the City-County Council who doesn't take her marching orders from the big law firms, Christine Scales.
Poulakidas is a partner at Krieg DeVault who specializes in government bond work, tax increment finance districts and economic development-related incentives that are handed out to businesses who bankroll the politicians. Naturally, his clients include governmental entities, including the City of Indianapolis and Marion County governmental bodies over which he would have oversight if he is elected to the City-County Council, creating many potential conflicts of interest. According to his campaign finance reports filed with the Marion Co. Board of Elections, Poulakidas has raised more than any other candidate for council with contributions topping the $40,000 mark as of the April 15th filing.
I can't begin to emphasize the danger in continuing this trend of putting people who are totally beholden to powerful law firms on the City-County Council. We've already seen what happens when you put an attorney from a big law firm in as the council president. We long ago lost control of our federal government in Washington to the K Street influence peddlers. Now we see a city council candidate actually going to K Street to raise money for his campaign for local political office. It's no surprise that a lobbyist for Rolls-Royce would be hosting his fundraiser. Mayor Greg Ballard recently announced the City of Indianapolis was granting more tax abatements and economic development incentives to the major defense contractor for its local operations. Although Scales is a Republican, Ballard has brushed her aside because she won't vote down the line with him as other members of the Republican council do. Make no mistake about it, there is a bipartisan effort on the part of the downtown elites to bounce Scales from the City-County Council because she dares to think for herself. If she loses her re-election bid, it's the average, hard-working taxpayers of Marion County who will lose. Scales is the only independent Republican voice on the council. We can't afford to lose her.
