9th District congressional race heats up with talk of faulty transition

September 11, 2008 10:38 am

— With the November elections nearing, the 9th District congressional race is heating up with the latest spat centered around the timing of a district office closure.
Rep. Baron Hill — the democratic incumbent who defeated then-incumbent Republican Mike Sodrel and Libertarian Eric Schansberg in 2006 — has claimed his transition back into Congress was anything but smooth in 2007.
Hill’s campaign stated following Sodrel’s 2006 loss, casework files were not handed over, making requests from Hoosiers for Social Security, disability benefits and aid from other federal programs hard to manage.
Hill’s campaign claims the democrat’s staff worked closely with Sodrel and his camp to “ensure a smooth transition” following Hill’s 2004 loss, adding that their phone calls were not returned in December of 2006. Additionally, Hill’s side is saying the closure of Sodrel’s district office on Dec. 15, 2006, added to the confusion, resulting in hardships for Indiana residents.
According to U.S. General Services Administration guidelines, Congress members are allowed to keep offices open until their replacement is sworn in, which was Jan. 2, 2007, for Hill. Sodrel was free to close his office whenever he chose.
“(Sodrel) did (Indiana residents) a great disservice, and although the Sodrel camp is simply trying to sweep this issue under the rug, I want to make sure the people of the 9th District know how Sodrel treated them in his final days of office,” Hill stated in a news release.
Ryan Reger, campaign manager for Friends of Mike Sodrel, said the issue is merely an attempt to take the focus off of what’s happening in Washington, D.C.
“The question has been asked and answered. Sodrel is confident that his staff followed the proper procedure in closing his congressional office,” Reger stated in a news release.
“The real question on voters’ minds is why Baron Hill chose to take a five-week vacation instead of doing something to lower gas prices.”
Hill returned to Capitol Hill on Monday after touring Indiana, touting congressional progress at several events, including stops in New Albany and Jeffersonville during August.
Reger points to an 84 percent pay increase given to Hill’s staff as an example of a “severe disservice to the people of Indiana’s 9th District.”
Reger is referring to a pay hike from the third to fourth quarters of 2004, when Hill’s staff salaries increased from $181,943 to $334,005, according to the government watchdog Web site www.legistorm.com.
Hoosiers for Hill Communications Director Katie Moreau said the staffing claims are an attempt at diverting from the issue of ignoring the needs of Hoosiers.
“This isn’t about us, it’s about the people of the 9th District who were left completely in the dark following Mike Sodrel’s defeat last time around,” she stated in an e-mail.
Of course, political pundits on each side are weighing-in on the office-closure issue.
“This abhorrent behavior was a severe disservice to the people of Indiana’s 9th District, and just goes to show that Mike Sodrel cares more about his bruised ego than the people he seeks to represent once again,” stated Dan Parker, state chair of the Indiana Democratic Party in a news release.
Reger fired back by saying voters are fed up with the “change” Hill and other democrats have introduced in the past two years.
“(Hill) and Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi have produced change. A gallon of gas is up by about 75 percent, the budget deficit is up, taxes are up (and rising), consumer confidence is down and the economy has slowed to a crawl,” he said.

The impact on debates
Separated from the office-closure and file-transfer discussion is Schansberg, who is ready to debate Hill and Sodrel on the issues he believes voters care about.
The Libertarian candidate feels the responsibility is on Hill to set up, or at least commit to, debates and forums.
“It’s amazing that Hill, back in 2006, repeatedly demanded debates when he was in the position of a challenger, and now as an incumbent, he doesn’t want to do any debates at all,” Schansberg said in a telephone interview with The Evening News on Wednesday.
When asked if the office closure issue was impacting Hill from agreeing to debates, Moreau stated the responsibility for the arrangements falls on Sodrel.
“The people of the 9th District deserve an apology for the way they were treated,” she said.
Schansberg has committed to a debate in Jasper on Oct. 21 at Vincennes University’s campus there. Sodrel’s campaign confirmed paperwork has been turned in for him to take part in that debate, and added that he would like to speak at future debates that are being scheduled in Madison and at Providence High School in Clarksville, the dates of which have not yet been confirmed.
Schansberg said the argument over the closing of an office may be worthwhile, but shouldn’t effect showing up for a debate.
“I think Jasper is going to (hold the debate) whether Hill is going to show up or not,” Schansberg said, adding he will debate the candidates at any location.
Reger also points to the 2006 campaign, saying Hill should want the same this year as he did when he was trying to win back his seat two years ago.
“In 2006, he had a young man dressed up like a gas pump while calling for a debate on energy costs,” Reger said. “He constantly criticized the high cost of fuel, he called it a crisis, and now he wants to change the subject by dodging debates and accusing Sodrel of something from two years ago.”

Photos

U.S. Representative Mike Sodrel

Eric Schansberg