INDIANAPOLIS | Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson's defeat Tuesday has region legislators worried that citizen anger about property taxes will catch up to them at the polls next year.
"We were all shocked and surprised," state Rep. Earl Harris, D-East Chicago, said of Peterson's loss to an under-funded newcomer.
"We expected it to be close, but we expected him (Peterson) to win."
Instead, Peterson, a two-term Democrat, lost to Republican Greg Ballard, a retired Marine who received little support from the GOP establishment. Ballard took about 51 percent of the vote to Peterson's 47 percent.
The incumbent mayor saw a double-barreled tax tempest explode in his face. Already burned by property tax bills that soared by more than a third in July, Indianapolis residents fumed after, only a few weeks later, the City County Council imposed a 0.65 percent income tax to bankroll Peterson's plan to fight crime.
Lake and Porter counties have yet to issue property tax bills, meaning the legislative elections next year will be the first opportunity for region voters to take out their frustrations.
"All of us will have to look at what happened to the mayor that everyone said couldn't be touched," state Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, said of Peterson. "He did get touched because of all (the unrest over) property taxes and the income tax."
Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr.'s narrow re-election victory over Republican George Janiec also caught lawmaker's attention, further underscoring the need to approve a comprehensive property tax relief plan during the legislative session that starts in January.
"I think that, with what happened to my mayor and with what happened with the mayor here (in Indianapolis) folks are angry and they're upset and they want something done," said state Rep. Linda Lawson. D-Hammond. "I think it was a real clear message, absolutely. No question about it."
Democrats, who control the Indiana House by a bare-minimum 51-49 majority, look vulnerable. Since May, five of their incumbents, including Bob Kuzman of Crown Point and Duane Cheney of Portage, have retired or announced plans to forego another term.
