Fishers is a successful community. We have great amenities here, an excellent school district and a good quality of life overall, especially compared to other Indiana communities. So why has Fishers received so much bad press lately? Censorship of teen library books, Moms For Liberty quoting Hitler, school board overreach and a $50 parking fee for non-Fishers families have all made headlines this year and tarnished Fishers’ reputation. It’s not a good look and the culprit is Bad Government, a constant Fishers flaw.
We all know that balance and representative voices are essential for good government. Checks and balances are required to ensure that citizens are always served well. Bad government is unchecked and unbalanced.
Unfortunately, the City of Fishers Government has always been unbalanced. Even after becoming a city nine years ago, Fishers City Government has always been completely controlled by the GOP.
In fact, Mayor Fadness and the same six out of nine members of City Council have been in control of Fishers for the past eight years. Mayor Fadness and Councilors Zimmerman, DeReamer, Stoller, Coble, Weingardt and Peterson are all hoping to be re-elected this year for their third term in office together (Three terms is 12 years).
Bad government is inevitable when the same individuals, of the same political party, make all the decisions for years and years unchecked.
The long-standing political imbalance and GOP control of Fishers City Government does not reflect its citizens. In this year’s May primary election, Democrats made up 47% of all voters in Fishers. Just four years ago, only 12% of primary election voters were Democrats. Democrats have gained voters and confidence rapidly in Fishers and have created a politically balanced community. Republicans can no longer say Fishers is “red.”
Our city is preparing for city government elections this November. What will Fishers’ Republican mayor do to influence ALL city council elections and fight for his Republican team? A GOP rubber-stamp team allows him to push through anything he wants as mayor, without challenges or accountability. A rubber stamp City Council is the reason a never-ending torrent of big city projects can proceed at a rapid pace.
The responsibility of checks & balances on a mayor is held by voters and the legislative branch of government. Since Mayor Fadness is running unopposed this November, voters can not hold the Mayor accountable. Mayor Fadness will be elected mayor of Fishers for four more years. Therefore, it is up to Fishers City Council alone to serve as the checks & balances on Mayor Fadness. If the mayor controls City Council, he controls the city without any accountability.
As just one example of his control over City Council, the two Democrat members have been frozen out and don’t receive the same access to information as the GOP city council members do. Jocelyn Vare called this out in 2021 as another example of bad government.
Recently, Mayor Fadness hosted an election fundraiser to support every single GOP city council candidate. All nine City Council seats. This included all seven current city council members and two new GOP candidates, who are challenging the two Democrats on City Council. If the mayor controls City Council, he controls the city without any accountability.
Bad government can also be identified through political campaign donations. Mayor Fadness’ political campaign donors include many leaders of companies who have had business with the City. In Mayor Fadness’ 2022 year-end political donor report, more than half of the listed individual and corporate donors were affiliated with companies who do business with the City.
The mayor’s political fund is filled with money from businesses that deal with the city. Will Mayor Fadness now fund GOP City Council members re-election campaigns, just like he helped fund Fishers One school board members’ campaigns? If he wants to keep City Council under his thumb and avoid checks & balances, he will.
Bad City Government has been a constant flaw of our community and it is now causing real harm to Fishers’ reputation.
YOU can make the difference and improve Fishers’ Bad Government and bad reputation. Make your plan to VOTE ON NOVEMBER 7th. Vote for Democratic candidates who fight for Good Government to serve citizens better.
