Times makes too much of RDA

I am not in lock step with the Times on their opinion piece today, they have taken the primary election results in Porter County's council seats to suggest that voters pulled the lever in support of the Regional Development Authority. That's far too simplistic.

It is my opinion that Jeremy Rivas won his Democrat primary because he won labor support, and although some of labor may be in favor of the RDA, they are surely not single issue voters. Labor has been and will continue to be a strong force when they unite behind county candidates. Porter County Republicans would do well to find areas where they agree with labor and build bridges of collaboration on those issues.

In the case of Jim Biggs, frankly Jim won on name recognition. He ran less of a campaign, put out less signs, raised less money, and probably took for granted that he could beat first timer Kevin Tracy. Jim will have to run a lot better campaign from now to November if he thinks he's going to knock out popular Democrat Poporad. By suggesting that he was against the RDA privately before announcing his run, then suggesting he was for staying in the RDA now that the court has ruled, he opened himself up to charges of flip-flopping on the issue.

I know that a few of our regular readers here will disagree, but I don't think the RDA matters much to voters anymore. Bob Harper was able to use it as a wedge issue like he used the "big bad developers" in 2006, to gain and keep control of the county offices. But in an environment wherein we do want infrastructure investments, we do want to reclaim portions of the industrialized lakeshore, and we do want to encourage construction ... his pet wedge issues don't ring quite as clear. Many of us are "for" regionalism, especially if that means Porter County takes the lead and begins to raise the bar of performance for Lake and LaPorte Counties.

I have long suggested that the RDA could use some refining, the legislation was poorly crafted, and would look forward to that process even next year at the statehouse. But I don't think voters this year will vote based on whether a council candidate is for or against the RDA ... the courts have ruled and we're in it until the legislature changes the law.