On February 28, I took a walk down to Election Central to turn in a CFA-2 form, officially registering Bloomington Dissident Democrats as an Indiana Political Action Committee. Silly but true.
Author Archives: Pwdorfman
Gutter politics in Bloomington: Beware of ‘push polling’
By Peter Dorfman Six days in, with the 2023 Democratic primary election barely getting underway, voters in small town Bloomington got their first taste of big city campaign sleaze. On February 9, a friendly-looking post showed up in local voters’ Facebook feeds. It’s hosted by an innocuous page called “Indiana Citizens,” with a generic stateContinue reading “Gutter politics in Bloomington: Beware of ‘push polling’”
What’s a vote worth? Cash pouring into mayoral campaigns makes you wonder
How much campaign cash is enough? In such a small-time election, it’s fair to wonder where the campaigns run out of practical ways to spend their donated cash — and where contributions morph into opportunities to get the candidate’s attention.
2023 has arrived. This is your moment.
The 2023 election should be about reality. But more often in Bloomington, elections are about idealistic aspirations.
Bad Cop, Good Cop
By Peter Dorfman Idon’t have facts to prove this objectively, but this is how I believe Bloomington will be run in 2023: As a bad-cop-good-cop, tag team cage match. “You know, he may get his way, if he’s a big enough bully to push people around and force the override not to work.” City CouncilContinue reading “Bad Cop, Good Cop”
On Don Griffin’s Candidacy for Mayor of Bloomington
By Peter Dorfman Access to the halls of power in the US remain stubbornly restricted for people of color — the brief, exceptional interlude of Barack Obama’s Presidency notwithstanding. But there has long been an exception to this pattern, at the level of municipal government. Black, Latinx and Asian-American mayors have served, often with greatContinue reading “On Don Griffin’s Candidacy for Mayor of Bloomington”
Hawthorne greenway: A new occasion to oppose Bloomington’s autocratic planning
The proposed greenway on Hawthorne and Weatherstone is basically about bicycle infrastructure — not pedestrian safety. It’s a component of a program to re-engineer neighborhoods to be more welcoming to bike traffic, and it seeks to impose that re-engineering, in top-down fashion, on residents of the affected streets whether they want it or not.
Does Opposition to Bloomington’s Upzoning Reflect Other Positions?
By Peter Dorfman The upzoning of Bloomington is going to be a high-profile issue in the citywide election campaigns for Mayor and Council in 2023. Opposition to the city’s revision of its Unified Development Ordinance to open single-family-zoned neighborhoods to duplex development was widespread and sparked a lot of anti-incumbent sentiment. But is there moreContinue reading “Does Opposition to Bloomington’s Upzoning Reflect Other Positions?”
CMs Volan, Flaherty and Rosenbarger: Do Your Job or Leave
You’re elected officials. I’m not aware of a mechanism for recall of a sitting CM in Indiana. The opportunity we have to remove you comes next spring, in the Democratic Primary. Actually, that’s ironic. Because your pigheaded, minoritarian obstructive tactics are far more characteristic of a Mitch McConnell or Kevin McCarthy than of any Democratic institution that comes to mind. If that’s the way things are done in Bloomington, we’re a pretty poor excuse for a Democratic Party town.
The BEDC “Economic Vitality Project” Needs to Hear from You
By Peter Dorfman The Bloomington Economic Development Corporation is launching an initiative to involve citizens in the formulation of ways to promote “economic vitality” in the region. “The Economic Vitality Project (EVP) convenes partners across sectors to prioritize and collaboratively address shared economic development challenges,” the BEDC website declares. They’ve created a survey to inviteContinue reading “The BEDC “Economic Vitality Project” Needs to Hear from You”
The Dissident Democrat 