02/20/2009 - Time for Ballard to show us the plan (Indianapolis Star)

Time for Ballard to show us the plan
By Matthew Tully

Mayor Greg Ballard faces a crucial test Saturday morning when he delivers his second State of the City address.

The test comes down to a simple question: After 13 months as mayor, is Ballard up to the job of fixing the enormous problems facing Indianapolis? To answer that, he'll have to finally eliminate nagging questions about his vision, or lack of vision, for the city's future.

It's a big test.

And it's a big speech -- arguably the most important Ballard has ever given. After all, he got a free pass for much of his first year in office -- while also getting some much-needed on-the-job training. As he was learning his way around city government, the public was entertaining itself with presidential politics, not paying much attention to the new and largely unknown fellow occupying the city's top office.

Ballard came into office a true "Mr. Smith Goes to the City-County Building" -- an average Greg who ran for office and, against all odds, won thanks to circumstances beyond his control.

It was hard not to sympathize with him given the challenges he faced. Most of us understood the city had elected a green politician -- and I'm not talking about his interest in sustainability.

The spotlight on the mayor's office faded for a bit during 2008. But now it's Year Two. There will be no more free passes. It's time for Ballard, who will be halfway through his term at the end of the year, to prove he's up to the job.

And while only the city's most die-hard politicos will turn out for Saturday's State of the City, it's a crucial opportunity for the retired Marine. If we're still talking about his lack of vision come Sunday morning, he's in trouble. It's time for Ballard to clearly articulate a plan for dealing with pressing matters, such as:

Crime: When he first jumped into the mayor's race, just before the tax mania of 2007 struck, Ballard was a one-issue candidate. That issue was a good one: crime. He hired a whiz of a public safety director in Scott Newman, but most city residents aren't buying talk about reduced crime. Not when school kids are mugged at bus stops, old folks are brutally attacked in their homes and robbers kick in front doors.

Streets and sidewalks: Filling potholes is not a long-term roads plan. Ballard needs to lay out a plan for dealing with the city's crumbling infrastructure. It will be costly, but the livability gap between the city and the suburbs will soar if the city continues to ignore this problem. There's good news: Ballard is expected to announce a commission to devise a long-term plan for addressing the city's infrastructure needs.

Capital Improvement Board: It's time for the mayor to explain how he might deal with large operating deficits related to city sports facilities. Rushing a plan through the General Assembly without a significant public airing is not acceptable. This is a tough issue that Ballard inherited. But he needs to talk about potential solutions.

Over breakfast Thursday, Robert Vane, the mayor's deputy chief of staff, said the State of the City will be the first of several upcoming speeches intended to lay out a long-term plan for the city.

The goal, he said, "is to have the mayor address head-on the problems this city faces. There's no denying that we have tremendous fiscal and infrastructure issues that need to be addressed by this administration. We can't pass them on."

Ballard, he said, would "emphasize solutions to these problems that will be viable not just in the short term, but for the next 50 years."

That sounds like a great plan. Let's hope the mayor delivers on it.