Mayor Tom Henry’s appointment of Republican City Councilman Tom Didier to help draft an ordinance was a politically savvy act that could lead to a compromise between warring council factions.
Henry named Didier and Democrat Tim Pape to be co-chairs of a five-member committee to study how consultants are selected and to develop a proposal that can win council approval.
The committee could well slow down the effort to make consultants an issue in the mayoral race.
After the council voted 5-4 to reject an ill-fated effort to regulate local campaign contributions, John Crawford – the former Republican councilman who hopes to regain his seat in November – proposed the council require bidding on at least some consultant contracts. Rather than target the campaign contributions from contractors, Crawford argued, the council should focus on how consultants are selected. Indiana law allows mayors to enter into professional service contracts with architects, lawyers and other consultants without competitive bidding.
Henry’s administration quickly submitted its own ordinance, proposing to set into law the city’s current practice of determining which consultant is most qualified, then negotiating a price. The mayor appointed the committee after some council members said they had concerns with that proposal.
Pape is Henry’s staunchest defender on the council, but Didier is perhaps the only council member who is not a part of either the solid pro-Henry bloc (Democrats Pape, Karen Goldner, Glynn Hines and Republican Marty Bender) or the anti-Henry bloc (Republicans Liz Brown, Mitch Harper, Tom Smith and Democrat John Shoaff).
Didier cast the deciding vote to reject the limit on campaign contributions after receiving a written opinion from the attorney general’s office that Indiana cities do not have authority to regulate campaign financing.
Whether Didier will back the Henry proposal without changes is unclear; he may well demand some to make it more palatable to the council Republicans. But whatever recommendation the committee develops, Didier will likely take ownership and vote in favor of it.
New Democrat on board
Maye Johnson will be the newest – and quite likely last – Democratic member of the Allen County Board of Voter Registration.
The former county council- woman was appointed to replace Deb Morrone, vice chairwoman of the local Democratic Party, who took a position at the Public Safety Academy.
Unlike most local government boards, the voter registration slot is full time, with the Democratic and Republican members administering the office, whose employees are split 50-50 between the two parties.
The county commissioners seem likely to take advantage of a new state law allowing them to eliminate the voter registration board and transfer the duties to the county clerk.
