Arthur Foulkes
The Tribune-Star
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.
