Kostas is the real deal

I was amused after reading the Sept. 26 letter to the editor from District 4 Republican City-County Councilor Christine Scales. She took issue with the Sept. 12 Viewpoint by her opponent, Democrat Kostas Poulakidas, who made a compelling case that we as citizens and voters need to expect more leadership out of our City-County Council candidates.

Why shouldn’t we expect councilors to come up with original solutions to our city’s problems rather than simply relying on mayoral candidates? Nowhere did he mention or criticize Scales or suggest that one political party is better than the other. Rather, Kostas asked Indianapolis residents to expect more from our community leaders during these challenging times.

It was interesting how Scales used her letter to justify herself. It appears that we should thank her for being a white Republican working with African-American Democrats. She makes it appear that we should also appreciate that she had to change her European vacation plans to come to a council meeting to vote. Isn’t showing up to council meetings part of the job?

While she indicated she consults with experts on ideas for the city, she never suggested any of her own solutions. The fact that she mentioned that Kostas and his wife are working parents and too busy for public service suggests Scales may be out of touch with the realities of today’s family.

I have known Poulakidas professionally for over 20 years and he understands business, public finance, municipal budgets, taxes and the arts. Consequently, this is a busy professional who has focused his career on making business and the public sector work more efficiently.

Kostas does not focus on politics, but rather on promoting ideas that will bring jobs to Indianapolis. He is the type of leader that has set higher expectations for himself and the council. In today’s world, having someone of Kostas’ caliber running for council gives me hope for Indianapolis’ future.
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Matt Brooks
Indianapolis