Mayor Jim Ardis announces plans for re-election - UPDATED

Gun violence skyrockets over weekend

"Peoria police are wrapping up a busy weekend dealing with an usual amount of gun violence. Saturday alone racked up nearly a dozen incidents." Source

This political postcard, sent by then-candidate Jim Ardis’ mayoral campaign
committee in 2005, highlighted the violence Peoria was experiencing at that
time and pledged that a vote for Ardis was “a vote for safer neighborhoods.” pjstar

PJStar over looks the Mayor's re-election in 2009

Interesting how the pjstar skipped right over the Mayor's re-election in 2009 and focused only on the 2005 election in which Ardis ran on putting an end to crime. I don't recall the pjstar or anybody else reminding the Mayor in 2009 of his promise to end crime. I didn't "feel safer" then...

Unfortunately the Mayor was under no pressure to do better when he was up for re-election. Therefore, the Mayor didn't promise Peorians a city free of crime, or any of the other things that we expect (i.e., a Mayor and Council that care about all of Peoria), he didn't have to. Source

Related articles on just how "safe" we were in 2009:
24 Armed robberies since the end of December! - February 11, 2009
EmergePeoria endorses General Parker for Mayor - March 30, 2009
Is it to early to feel safe? - March 30, 2009
Mission Accomplished - March 25, 2009
Again, not all black children are thugs - March 24, 2009
Crime View Community indicates I should leave Peoria - March 8, 2009
Crime View Technology - May 31, 2009
Does it mean we are safer if it's not in the news? - May 25, 2009 - April 24, 2009
Victims of murder, 2009 - July 4, 2010

Who you calling black?

In an editorial in today's pjstar Mayor Ardis asked that citizens "remember this outrageous decision" (referring to a decision made by Appellate Court Judges Mary McDade and Mary O'Brien) when they come up for election and retention. Really?

If only it had been implored upon citizens by some high level official to apply the same practice to Mayor Ardis when he was up for re-election.

We bloggers complain about how deals are made and how the City is run and there is a great deal of validity in those complaints (see today's Peoria AntiPundit post entitled "Where's our head.." for a fairly thorough list). However...

Unfortunately the Mayor was under no pressure to do better when he was up for re-election. Therefore, the Mayor didn't promise Peorians a city free of crime, or any of the other things that we expect (i.e., a Mayor and Council that care about all of Peoria), he didn't have to.