WTHR |Mayor hoping Senate will take up his proposals

Mayor hoping Senate will take up his proposals

Scott Swan/Eyewitness News

Indianapolis, March 3 - Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson spent Thursday helping Indy Parks raise money and looking forward to his next battle at the Statehouse.

Peterson's hopes of funding a new Indianapolis Colts stadium and convention center and merging city and county police and fire departments as part of Indy Works died when House Democrats boycotted Tuesday night's legislative session.

While an Indianapolis Star editorial cartoon pointed blame at House Minority Leader Pat Bauer (D - South Bend), Peterson wouldn't go that far. "I think there's enough recrimination going on over there at the Statehouse, everybody needs to just cool off a little bit. Obviously, I'm disappointed about what happened, we need to pick up the pieces and move forward."

That means Peterson will take his stadium proposal to the Senate, hoping that side of the Statehouse will champion that dream and other proposals.

Wednesday night in his State of the City address, Peterson warned what could happen to Indianapolis if Indy Works fails. "I cannot stand on the sidelines and watch this city I love turned into another Pittsburgh or Cleveland or Detroit, where taxes are raised at the same time parks are closed, police officers are laid off and people are leaving in droves."

Republican City-County Councilor Scott Schneider worries the mayor doesn't have a backup plan. "I think the mayor has pinned all of his hopes and all of the future success financially on the city of Indianapolis to the state legislature, and I hope it works."

Meanwhile, Peterson says he's looking forward "to keeping my nose to the grindstone and do everything we can to get this done."

Peterson says he'll continue to push a stadium funding plan that includes pull tabs or slot machines. He'll try to convince lawmakers that's a regional proposal that doesn't include tax increases.