In a remarkable, stunning interview, Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard seemed to lose it attacking local Democrats for opposing his plans to increase mayoral power in what Democrats and some Republicans call a UniGov Power Grab. Interviewed Saturday on AM1310 The Light’s Unity in the Community program, Mayor Ballard said that the increased powers he’s requesting from the Indiana Legislature is something other Indiana Mayors and Indiana’s Governor already have. But interviewed Monday on AM1310 The Light’s Afternoons with Amos, former State Representative Bill Crawford and current City-County Council President Maggie Lewis sharply criticized the Mayor, with Crawford going so far as to say that the Mayor’s assertions were flat wrong. The UniGov proposal, Senate Bill 621, would not only remove four at;large seats on the City-County Council but they would strip away powers from the Council and give more power to the Mayor. The plan would give unprecedented power to Mayor Ballard to dole out monies to county elected officials who are constitutionally protected officials. It’s a power no Indiana Mayor currently has nor even Indiana’s Governor. In the interview Mayor Ballard also attacked Democrats for threatening to not support mass transit reform saying that if it wasn’t for his leadership the mass transit effort wouldn’t be dead. The Mayor also blasted Marion County Sheriff John Layton accusing him of singlehandledly overspending his budget and alleged that the Sheriff was responsible for the city/county’s multi-million dollar deficits. A charge that Council President refuted. Crawford, who was a community leader who fought against UniGov when it was first proposed in 1968 explained some of the debates at that time and inferred that in 1968 if Mayor Richard Lugar had had the attitude towards the Black community currently expressed by Mayor Ballard in the days after Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination, Indianapolis might not have been a peaceful city. Click the link to Hear the Full Interview of Mayor Ballard and the Response and Facts from Bill Crawford and Council President Lewis from AWA. The Mayor’s interview segment begins at the 3:26 mark of the full 19 Minute interview. ©2013 WTLC/Radio One. AWA BALLARD CRAWFORD LEWIS ON UNIGOV & MASS TRANSIT 040113
