TERRE HAUTE —
The Democratic candidate for the District 45 seat in the Indiana House of Representatives is taking issue with the use of tax money to help the Indiana Pacers.
Jesse James, a law student and graduate of Sullivan High School, said news of a “bailout” for the Pacers through the Marion County Capital Improvement Board (CIB) “went through me kind of like a knife.”
James is running against Republican incumbent Bruce Borders.
James spoke to the news media outside the West Vigo Elementary School on Friday morning, flanked by supporters, including Vigo County Treasurer Dave Crockett and Vigo County Commissioner Judy Anderson.
In his statement and in a media release, James was critical of the recent decision of the Marion County CIB to provide the NBA Pacers with $10 million per year for the next three years in addition to making $3.5 million in improvements to Conseco Fieldhouse, in which the Pacers play their home games. According to the deal, the Pacers would have to repay part of the money if the team leaves Indianapolis within the next three years.
If the CIB does not raise enough revenue to pay the $10 million annual bill, the organization could use part of a $27 million three-year loan from the state to cover the Pacer deal.
Calling the deal “frivolous spending of taxpayer money,” James said he could not support using tax dollars to help a sports team with a multimillion-dollar payroll while Hoosier school budgets are being reduced.
“With the economy the way it is, I truly question the need to assist sports teams that have multimillion-dollar payrolls while we close schools and police posts,” he said. Asked whether he would support taxpayer funding for sports teams in better economic times, James said, “That would not be one of my priorities.”
The CIB had a budget deficit of nearly $17 million in 2008, although it reported a $10 million surplus in 2009. The Pacers say they have lost money in 10 of the past 11 years they have played at Conseco.
James took his criticism of the Pacers deal directly to Borders, his opponent in the November election. In his media release, James said Borders supported “shifting money to the CIB and Marion County” in the 2009 budget bill and “allowed the governor to cut $300 million from local school funding.”
Borders, reached Friday, disputed the charges made by James.
“He’s implying that I made a vote that decreased the budget by $300 million and gave that money to the Pacers and that’s just simply dishonest,” Borders said. “That isn’t true at all.”
According to Borders, the state budget allowed the CIB to increase certain taxes in Marion County and its “doughnut counties.” Those taxes, including an innkeepers and car rental tax in Marion County, are raised in the Marion County area for use in that area, he said.
“Those people in those areas agreed to raise those taxes … in essence, to keep their professional sports teams because just imagine downtown Indy if you lost the Colts, you lost the Pacers. You’re going to see property values plummet,” which would impact schools and employment in those counties were the teams to leave, he said. “They have the most at stake if the Pacers were to leave,” he said.
Cuts in Indiana’s education funding, Borders added, resulted from the state receiving less revenue than expected after passage of the 2009 budget. The budget he supported actually established increases in education spending and provided for a $1 billion reserve to avoid “radical” teacher layoffs similar to those taking place in other states, he said.
“To suggest that local taxes that Marion County uses to operate public arenas for professional sports teams located in Marion County is taking money from education is way out of line,” Borders said.
Borders, a former Jasonville mayor, was first elected to the Indiana House in 2004. He won re-election in 2008 by a little more than 1,000 votes out of more than 24,000 cast.
James and Borders both were unopposed in their party primaries in May. For more information on the candidates, visit James’ website at www.jessejames2010.com and Borders’ website at www.in.gov/h45/.
District 45 includes a large part of southwest Indiana, including parts of western Vigo and all of Sullivan counties. It also includes portions of Knox, Daviess and Greene counties. Some of the towns in the district include West Terre Haute, Sullivan, Sandborn, Odon, Bloomfield, Carlisle, Merom, Farmersburg, Prairieton and Worthington.
Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.
Local & Bistate
Tax money helping Pacers irks District 45 Dem hopeful
- Local & Bistate
-
-
Giant welcome home for Steve
Terre Haute was suddenly home to thousands of cheering New York Giants fans Friday as residents welcomed Super Bowl champion Steve Weatherford back home for a parade.
-
‘One for Terre Haute,’ Steve tells crowd at North
“This one was for Terre Haute,” native son Steve Weatherford proclaimed Friday as he shared his Super Bowl victory with the community that helped send him on the path to a world championship.
-
Hometown support vital to success, Weatherford says
Steve Weatherford said Friday he wouldn’t be celebrating a Giants’ Super Bowl victory if not for the support he’s received from his hometown, his parents and mentors in his life.
-
Craning for a rare glimpse
A visitor from the Far East has naturalists flying to Linton, hoping some good comes from one bird’s bad directions.
-
Vigo’s primary election filings complete
The slate is set for the May 8 primary election, with the race for three at-large seats on the Vigo County Council drawing the largest pool of candidates at the county level.
-
Documentary on electric vehicles plays Sunday at Rose
The rising popularity of electric vehicles and their impact on the world eco-system is the focus of a documentary, “Revenge of the Electric Car,” being presented at 3 p.m. Sunday in Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Hatfield Hall Theater.
-
Man gets 10-year sentence in battery case
A West Terre Haute man received a 10-year prison sentence Friday after pleading guilty to aggravated battery for beating a friend caught in bed with the man’s wife.
-
Asian hooded crane lands in Greene County wildlife area
Bird watchers are flocking to a southwestern Indiana wildlife area to try to catch a glimpse of a crane usually spotted only in Asia.
-
Slow drips: It’s maple syrup season in Indiana
More seasonal, colder temperatures will hit the Wabash Valley this weekend, which is ideal weather for maple syrup production, said Keith Ruble, superintendent of the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department.
However, Ruble voices concern that this year’s maple syrup season may be short.
-
Downtown restaurant celebrates expansion
The streets of Terre Haute were chilly Thursday night, but for the glow of hot pasta inside Louise’s Pizzeria and Cafe.
-
Contract signed for new Y
Papers are signed and the ink is in place for a new YMCA to operate in Terre Haute.
-
City to impose $30 release fee on towed vehicles
The Terre Haute City Council voted without opposition Thursday to impose a new $30 release fee on vehicles towed and impounded by the police as part of a criminal investigation.
-
Valley educators cautious on Indiana’s ‘No Child’ waiver
Indiana is one of 10 states to receive a waiver from federal No Child Left Behind requirements.
-
Driver dies after Illinois school bus crash
“Brace yourself. Brace yourself,” Fay Pickering shouted to her students just before the school bus she was driving crossed U.S. 40 and landed in a ditch Thursday morning.
-
Trial date set for former WTH police chief
A July 23 trial date has been set for a former police chief of West Terre Haute accused of theft.
-
Motorcycle gang member pleads guilty in federal court
A member of an Indianapolis motorcycle gang who delivered methamphetamine to a Terre Haute dealer has pleaded guilty to drug charges in federal court.
-
July trial date set for mother charged with child neglect
A July 30 trial date has been set for a Terre Haute mother charged with neglecting and battering her toddler.
-
Business hosting SPPRAK fundraiser
Java Haute is hosting the latest fundraiser sponsored by SPPRAK — Special People Performing Random Acts of Kindness.
-
Valley high school cooking competition under way today
Clabber Girl Corp. and Gordon Food Services will host the fourth-annual High School Chef Competition, beginning today through Saturday, and again Feb. 18, in the Culinary Classroom at Clabber Girl.
- UPDATE: Marshall, Ill., school bus driver involved in accident dies; cause appears to be cardiac-related
-
Terre Haute road name game
What used to be called U.S. 40 from the Wabash River west through West Terre Haute to Interstate 70 needs to be renamed and, probably, get new street addresses, a Vigo County planner recommends.
-
MARK BENNETT: William Henry Harrison taught us how to campaign
William Henry Harrison is running for president, again.
It seems impossible, because today would be his 239th birthday, and America has never elected a deceased person to the Oval Office. -
Air National Guard cuts won’t hit 181st Intelligence Wing
The Air National Guard is taking the lion’s share of planned cuts announced last week by the U.S. Air Force. But no cuts are currently expected at Terre Haute’s 181st Intelligence Wing. In fact, the nation’s evolving defense strategy may spell growth at the local base.
-
Friends group takes over Ernie Pyle home in Dana
The western Indiana home in which renowned Hoosier journalist Ernie Pyle was born and an adjacent museum dedicated to preserving his legacy as a World War II correspondent have a new owner.
-
ISU rec center pool out of service while being repaired
Indiana State University is spending about $10,000 to repair a swimming pool at the Student Recreation Center, which opened in 2009.
-
Clinton man throws away, then recovers, $50,000 ticket
A Vermillion County man found himself in a scenario that strikes fear in the heart of Lottery players everywhere. He threw away a $50,000 winning ticket.
-
Show to feature talents of artists with disabilities
Artists whose disabilities have overshadowed their work get a chance to shine in the light of a prodigy this coming month.
-
Fort Wayne forester tells of damage
The emerald ash borer likely will cause as much as $8 million in damage to Fort Wayne’s ash trees by 2015, the city’s manager of forestry operations told a Terre Haute audience Tuesday.
-
Unclaimed assets now part of Goodwill auction site
Many of Indiana’s unclaimed assets are now on Goodwill’s online auction site, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller announced Tuesday.
-
Toyota to increase Highlander output in Indiana
Toyota will increase production of the Highlander mid-size SUV in late 2013 at the company’s Princeton, Indiana plant. Hybrid and export versions will be included. The project is expected to create about 400 new jobs at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana Inc.
- More Local & Bistate Headlines
-
Video of M.I.A's Obscene Halftime Gesture
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
Romney Slams President Obama at CPAC
Woman Pleads Guilty in 1987 Newborn Kidnap Case
Raw Video: Rough Seas Stop Oil Removal
Gingrich: Pres. Obama 'waging War on Religion'
Test on Comforter in Powell Unit Shows Blood
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Androgynous Model Walks Runway As Man and Woman
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
Skaters Still Hold Hope for Dutch Marathon
First glimpse of Blue Ivy Carter
Absolute Lin-sanity
Angry Dad Shoots Teens Laptop
Hero Driver Saves Kids From Burning Bus
Funeral to be held for Powell boys
Kobe was 'rooting for Patriots' in Super Bowl
Sandusky on having to stay inside and people turning on him
Wookie Sensation
Woolly Mammoth Caught on Camera?
Sandusky makes a statement
Did JLo 'Assault' Marc Anthony on Camera?
Christie Brinkley's Runway Slip
Toddler forced to run half-naked in snow
Halle Wants to Leave the Country
Northern Lights shine above earth
Plane makes perfect belly landing
Kris Jenner New Face of Arousal Oils
