It is now possible to report with bipartisan good will that Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard has joined former Fort Wayne Mayor Graham Richard in discovering the true secret of good municipal government:
Eliminating potholes is a bumpy road, but the city of Indianapolis has made a huge improvement.
Mayor Greg Ballard said once the city is aware of the problem it's fixing the faulty asphalt at breakneck speed.
"19 days down to three days," said Ballard.
Never mind all the grandiose and ill-conceived economic development plans. Just listen to your consituents about where the holes are and go fill the damn things. Unfortunately, Ballard also takes a cue from Richard in trying to make the whole thing sound a lot more complicated and mysterious than mere grunt work:
. . . the mayor said the pothole improvement is no haphazard program.
"The city partnered with Eli Lilly's six sigma program to do an analysis of our method for fixing potholes," said Ballard.
Even when it's just potholes, they have to sound grandiose, don't they? Pretensiousness knows no party lines.
