Is Marion County GOP Chairman Kyle Walker Writing Off the 2014 Elections to Instead Target a Fellow Republican?

It would appear so.  Less than two months before a critical mid-term election, the Marion County Republican leadership appears to be doing nothing to support the party's countywide candidates.  In the two major countywide races, sheriff and prosecutor, the GOP nominees appear underfunded and waiting for the cavalry in the form of the Marion County GOP leadership to arrive.  As 2010 GOP

Marion County GOP Sheriff
Candidate Emmitt Carney

sheriff nominee Dennis Fishburn should be able to attest to, local GOP leadership is more interested in settling scores within the Republican ranks than building a party which can compete with the Democrats.  Fishburn received a ton of financial support to defeat fellow Republican Bart McAtee in the primary, but when it came to the general election, the GOP leadership all but abandoned him in his race against Democratic Sheriff Frank Anderson.

In the Sheriff's race, Emmitt Carney, who is viewed by most as an outstanding candidate with strong qualifications, has just $36,923 in the bank according to his pre-primary report filed in early April.  While Carney might have received contributions since that April filing, any contribution over $1,000 would have to be reported almost immediately.  Carney's only $1,000 plus contribution reported since that report is a $2000 contribution from ESG Security on 4/16.  No plus $1,000 contributions have been made to Carney's committee since that time, most notably no contribution from the Marion County GOP organization, including not even an in-kind contribution of more than $1,000.  Carney's report though showed he paid the Marion County GOP $10,234 back in January of 2014, no doubt the slating fee.

Meanwhile Carney's opponent, Sheriff John Layton pre-primary report showed he had $333,648 on hand.

In the prosecutor's race, Republican Duane Merchant, has only $250 on hand according to his pre-primary report.    Meanwhile, Merchant's opponent Democratic Prosecutor Terry Curry has $129,888 to spend.

So what is Marion County GOP Chairman Kyle Walker doing to advance the Republican cause?  He's having meetings with northside Republicans to drum up support to take out Republican Councilor Christine Scales, a race that isn't even on the ballot until 2015.  Scales offense?  She too

Kyle Walker, Marion County
Republican Chairman

often votes against Mayor Greg Ballard's reckless tax, borrow and spend policies which has put millions in corporate welfare in the pockets of government contractors, i.e. Ballard's political contributors, while greatly hurting the overtaxed residents of Indianapolis   In other words, GOP Chairman Walker is opposing Scales because she, unlike Ballard and other Republican councilors, is actually standing up for fiscal conservative values.

Who is Walker supporting to replace Scales?  Tim Craft, an employee of CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), a consulting company which has been awarded many lucrative contracts by the Ballard administration, including a consulting contract to select the location for the proposed Justice Center. Craft is reportedly people that he is going to defeat the popular Scales in slating, undoubtedly not because he thinks he could actually gain more support from rank-and-file party workers in the district, but because he's been assured by Chairman Walker that the race will be rigged for him via chairman appointments before slating.

Lost in all this is that the new district is only a marginally Republican district that could be lost if the incumbent, Scales, is not renominated.  The bottom line is that GOP Chairman Walker would much rather lose the district to the Democrats than have a Republican in office who will stand up for conservative values.  Scales has stood up for taxpayers against Ballard's never-ending tax increase proposals and support of Indy's pay-to-play political structure that rewards political contractors at the expense of the public.  Walker doesn't like that.  But Scales' Republican constituents do.

Meanwhile the Mayor, who may not even run for re-election, is spending precious campaign contributions advocating income and property tax increases and a new entitlement program, pre-K, which many studies show offers no long-term educational benefits.  Ballard touts the program for that reason and as a crime fighting measure, even though there are no studies that show pre-K actually reduces crime.

There needs to be a change in the GOP leadership of Marion County.  Hopefully the city's dysfunctional Republican leadership will eventually be the focus of GOP State Chairman Tim Berry.  It should be.  Indianapolis is increasingly becoming a black hole for state Republican candidates, a hole that wipes out much of the Republican advantage enjoyed in other parts of the state.  It is imperative that the Marion County GOP be rebuilt so it offers competition to the Democrats.