A few weeks ago, I witnessed State Representative David Orentlicher get bombarded by an angry mob of tax payers at an open forum that he had the guts to hold.

Did I mention that he was the only government official in the area to hold one of these forums?

Citizens from the Meridian Kessler, Butler-Tarkington, Broad Ripple areas were so out of control that they would not even let him attempt to explain what he was trying to do to fix the property tax crisis or what had happened in the first place. It seems that when a person's pocket is suffering because of Government legislation, they are not willing to listen to anyone who is trying to explain the circumstances.

However, people had good reason to be angry. Most homeowners in Indianapolis saw their property taxes almost double (or even triple, in some cases) with the passage of House Bill 1007 through the Indiana General Assembly. But they also must realize that they cannot put all their blame on one man for an act that included the votes and decisions made by 149 other elected state officials and countless city-county politicians. It would probably be nice to have SOMEONE to blame so someone could be the sole handler of fixing the problem.

But that's not how it works and I am sure most people, including those at the meeting, understand that-and the further you dive into how legislation becomes law, the uglier, dirtier and more ridiculous it becomes.

This is not a press release for Representative Orentlicher, but let's use him as an example.

Many politicians write bills for legislation that the public never sees or hears about because they never get past committee votes-Representative Orentlicher has attempted on different occasions to cap property taxes based on a citizen's personal income (so, a senior on a fixed income would pay no more than two or three percent of their income on property taxes).

While it is obvious this legislation never became law, it is also pretty obvious that we never heard about it. Why? Because the media doesn't really cover committee meetings-unless, of course, they deal with the definition of marriage. But that is another story of its own.

Come election time in 2008, what are people going to remember when they go to the polls? Simple-the fact that their property taxes doubled when Representative David Orentlicher was in office and, to be fair, they will also remember the same when voting for State Representative Cindy Noe (who is a Republican that voted against the property tax bill and the current state budget).

These small political moves are often overlooked when people cast their votes because they just look at what is on the surface of laws that hurt them and, more specifically, hurt their wallet.

But I challenge those of you who have made up your minds to vote against State Representatives Orentlicher and Noe in the next election based solely on property tax problems to do your research before you go to the poll.

Prior to the 2008 election, there will be another General Assembly, which starts towards the end of January and goes until mid-March (2008 is a short session). Pay close attention to their votes and research the legislation that they either author or co-author, even if it never makes it to the floor for debate.

Believe it or not, they may actually be working on legislation that will help their specific districts. But remember, there are 99 district representatives in the state beyond yours, and if all 99 (or even 51) of those other representatives don't agree with your representative's views. . . Then tough luck. That's the beauty of a democracy.

-AP