From the Indy Star:
"Welcome to the biggest upset in Indiana political history," Republican mayoral candidate Greg Ballard told a jubilant crowd gathered tonight at the Murat Theatre.
Ballard said two-term Mayor Bart Peterson called to concede the race for the top job in Indianapolis at 10:21 p.m.
Ballard took the call from the two-term mayor in a hallway, then returned to share the news with his supporters.
"He told me, 'It appears to be over,' " Ballard said. "He congratulated me. He was very gracious. He was very nice."
Ballard, 52, is a former Marine Corps lieutenant colonel making his first run for office.
When the Indianapolis mayoral race began, most people thought that Democratic mayor Bart Peterson would coast to victory. Qualified Republicans like prosecutor Carl Brizzi considered entering the race, but they opted out probably because they thought running for mayor as a Republican in Indianapolis was a fool's errand.
After all, mayor Peterson was popular. In his two terms of office, he consolidated the police force, ensured that the Colts would stay in the city for at least another 30 years and seemed to be doing well in attracting business to the city.
It was also thought that Peterson would have the benefit of Julia Carson's powerful Democratic electoral machine that is legendary for its ability to get Democrats to the polls.
The only person on the Republican side who ran for mayor was some guy named Greg Ballard. He seemed to be the GOP's sacrificial lamb. The Republican party didn't even bother to give his campaign some money until the very end.
But at the time, no one knew what was about to happen to property taxes in Indiana and across the state. Indianapolis homeowners saw their property taxes increase by 50% or more. Some people claimed that they were going to have to lose their homes because of the increase in taxes. As I understand it, the state legislature plays a huge role in determining property tax rates and the mayors don't have a lot to say about.
There was also a perception that the spike in crime in Indianapolis was due to Peterson's consolidating the police force.
Needless to say, people were PISSED about their taxes and concerned about crime. They wanted a new mayor and didn't seem to care who it was or what he stood for.
I think it was Woody Allen who said that 80% of life is just showing up.
Ballard showed up, so he won the mayor's race today.
Indianapolis is a pretty blue city. Kerry carried it in 2004, just as Gore did in 2000. Ballard's victory doesn't change the fact that Indy is a Democratic city.
Ballard's victory is not a victory for Ballard. It is a victory for anti-incumbent sentiment. Some people will claim that Peterson's loss is a repudiation of Democrats but I don't think it is -- it's more a repudiation of incumbents.
If people are still pissed next year, Republican governor Mitch Daniels will have a really hard time getting re-elected.
And one last thought on Peterson's loss. It seems that voter turnout was around 23%, which is low even by Indianapolis standards. The Democratic machine didn't do its job. Democrats seemed to be complacent about the election...they thought Peterson would win easily, so it didn't seem like it was worth their time to vote. Ballard voters were motivated by anger to get to the polls and it paid off for them.
I think the lesson here is that no matter how certain Democrats feel about winning, we can never ever be complacent.
Besides, arrogance just doesn't look good on Democrats.