Shoooo, what is that stank? I’ll give you two guesses.
At a press conference earlier today, Greg Fischer had something interesting to say:
Fischer said voters must have information “to be able to compare the past performance and the record of each of the candidates.
“My record is an open book.”
Since Greg Fischer decided to open up that can of worms, we have some questions:
- Why did he file is personal financial disclosure twelve days late? What does he have to hide?
- Why did he make the decision to headquarter his company in Indiana instead of Kentucky? Was it the hundreds of thousands of dollars his family gained tax-free? Maybe it was that fancy state-sponsored bond insurance? Or just indifference toward Kentucky’s economy?
12 responses so far ↓
1 » Leftovers: I’m Going After Beer What’s Required: Progress in the Commonwealth // May 1, 2008 at 7:55 pm
[…] Today was a bad, bad day to be Greg Fischer–he gets a nasty letter, ignores it, which officially makes this primary a lifetime elimination match for him, and then challenges the press to examine his record. […]
2 JeffNLou // May 1, 2008 at 8:58 pm
I interpret #1 is being more in line with the general incompetence & ineptitude of Mr. Fischer’s campaign, as directed by A.J. Carillo; I don’t read any duplicity or deceit into it. # 2 sticks a little better-looks like he evaded KY business taxes. (I am not Jeff Noble)
3 jd // May 1, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Fischer bought an existing company-Servend. Maybe he didn’t feel the need to move the business and disrupt the lives of the people working for him.
Maybe you should reconsider what you are suggesting.
4 Steve Bittenbender // May 2, 2008 at 11:00 pm
Jake,
A few questions:
1. Do you think Fischer thought he’d ever run for the Kentucky Senator position, especially some 20 years ago?
2. Do you know anything about economic development and the competitive marketplace between the states in attracting and retaining businesses? If Indiana gave your business incentives to move there/stay there, you wouldn’t even consider it?
3. Do you think that money from a Clark County business can’t be spent south of the Ohio River? Do you think SerVend didn’t hire any Louisvillians? Or have any vendors in Kentucky? Businesses in Southern Indiana have a positive impact on the Louisville economy.
4. Does Bruce Lunsford still own stock in Ventas? If so, why aren’t you railing on him for the company’s recent decision to move its headquarters to Chicago? I realize he’s not on the board, but if he’s still a stockholder, then he has some pull. Sure, Ventas will keep an office here, but the money will start flowing up to Chi-town soon.
5 Jake // May 3, 2008 at 11:15 am
Bittenbender:
1: Not really relevant. Do you think Bruce thought he’d ever have the opportunity to be a U.S. Senator 20 years ago? Nope. Doesn’t change my argument.
2: Yeah, I do, and that’s why I’ve considered moving my business to Florida or some other state– but I’m not running for office and it helps that I love Kentucky too much. And no, I wouldn’t consider moving my business to Indiana when it really came down to it. I try to practice what I preach for the most part.
3: Some was probably spent in Kentucky, but the majority was probably spent elsewhere. More Hoosiers than Kentuckians, no doubt. And they have a more positive impact on Southern Indiana than they do on Kentucky. I mean– they’re in Indiana. Those tax dollars stay in Indiana.
4: You answered your own question. He’s not on the board and as a single stockholder, has very little say in what happens. And… the health care (insurance) world is kinda centered in Chicago (and the southwest, lately).
6 askquestions // May 3, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Steve 1 - Jake 0
12 days late - you’ve been harping on that for some time now. Who cares? In that 12 day span was there some poll that would have been influenced? Did the release of the information bring anything new to light? No. This isn’t an uncommon thing in the world of politics. Every election cycle you hear this complaint. Big deal.
Nasty letter… makes this primary a lifetime elimination match for him. Hahahaah - is this your first time at the big kids table? It means no such thing.
For such a right leaning blog, I am stunned that you didn’t ask the question - why didn’t Kentucky make itself more business friendly, causing people to move their businesses elsewhere.
7 jake // May 3, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Oh please.
What, are you back in CA, A.J.?
8 Steve Bittenbender // May 4, 2008 at 12:19 am
The health care insurance world is centered in Chicago?
Someone better tell that to Indy’s WellPoint (the nation’s largest insurer - based on number of people insured), our Humana, Hartford’s Aetna, and Philly’s Cigna. That’s four of the top five health insurance companies.
As for your answers to my queries, there are thousands of Louisville residents who cross the Kennedy bridge each day to go to work. They bring back millions of dollars to spend on groceries, durable goods, cars, houses and other things. Does Kentucky have to give those sales tax proceeds to Indiana since its their jobs? Of course not. Think about it. Even if Kentuckians held just a few jobs at SerVend, I’d bet it still had a significant positive impact on Kentucky.
And as far as Lunsford’s stock ownership in Ventas — I’d assume his holdings would be rather significant if he hasn’t divested himself from the company. He may not be on the board, but if he is an investor, he has to vote to approve the board members and his votes would likely influence other Ventas stakeholders. And those board members listen more to their constituents than any elected political official listens to theirs.
And if Ventas’ move had Bruce’s blessing, then it totally dismisses your rather shallow argument against Fischer and SerVend.
I’m not going to sit here and tell you the Fischer campaign has been a smoothly run machine. It hasn’t. In fact, at times it’s been borderline incompetent. And that’s a shame, because I truly think Fischer would give McConnell a race.
All Lunsford would give is a concession speech.
9 jake // May 4, 2008 at 12:44 am
Humana may be headquartered here but that’s all it is. That company isn’t changing the health care world from Louisville, sorry. Chicago, the southwest and Florida is were like 8984930283490834 percent of their business is. And it’s where nearly all of their big dogs spend their time. And it’s where CEO Mike McCallister spends a bunch of his time sitting on various other boards, even running another company. (Chicago’s a giiiiant Medicare market.)
Thousands of Louisvillians cross the river. And a hundred thousand Hoosiers come into Kentucky. How could Servend make a significant impact on Kentucky’s ecomony with just a dozen or so employees from Kentucky? Right. It couldn’t and didn’t.
My argument against Fischer and Servend is hardly shallow– it’s relevant. It’s a giant ass company that was built in Indiana instead of Kentucky. That’s kind of a big deal because the dude is running for senate in Kentucky– not Indiana.
The reality is whether or not Fischer has an ability to beat McConnell will never be known. Because Greg Fischer is still barely known. And like you said, his trainwreck of a campaign is just that– a trainwreck. Oh well.
Somewhat related: If Fischer really gives two flips about anything he’s professed the past few months, then he’ll continue to be heavily involved in politics for years to come. But here’s betting dollars to donuts that he never so much as shows up to a local Democratic Party function after 2008.
10 Steve Bittenbender // May 4, 2008 at 1:02 am
So Greg Fischer should be running for an Indiana Senate seat? Don’t be naive. He made a business decision 20-plus years ago.
If you want to talk about business decisions, let’s talk about the path Bruce Lunsford took Vencor on. That to me, and to many more Kentuckians, find Bruce’s running of Vencor to be more relevant than Greg’s running of SerVend.
Oh, and just because you think Chicago is a big Medicare market, that makes it the center of the healthcare universe? (I’m sure Chi-town is a big Medicare market; it has to be because it’s the third largest city. But I know for a fact that the federal government is more interested in what’s happening with Medicare in New York, California, Michigan, Texas, and Florida. Those are Medicare’s high risk markets.)
PS — What other company does McCallister run?
11 jake // May 4, 2008 at 1:07 am
Thanks for parsing my words. I didn’t say Chicago’s where it’s at purely because of Medicare. I only said it’s a giant Medicare market. Parenthetically.
Don’t remember the name of the company. Some medical equipment operation.
Zzzzzzzzz.
12 Steve Bittenbender // May 4, 2008 at 1:12 am
Didn’t parse your words. That’s what you said.
Anyway, I think there’s one thing we can agree on for now.
Zzzzzzzz
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