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Twenty years ago, a typical “Abdul” day would have involved doing a radio talk show, teaching school, chasing after some politician, making a vague attempt to practice law and dating the woman who I was planning to make the future Lovely Mrs. Shabazz.
Fast forward two decades later, not much has changed.
Well except now I do this in Indianapolis, and more importantly, the new Lovely Mrs. Shabaazz was a much better match.
So, when I started to reflect on the 20th anniversary of my move to Indianapolis, it dawned on me that this month marked more than one anniversary: 15 years ago the lovely Mrs. Shabazz made the best decision she ever could by marrying me. And 13 years ago, I launched my political/governmental-based website Indy Politics and “The Cheat Sheet,” the best darn newsletter that’s not only full of gossip, rumor and blatant inneundo but has a bad habit of being right.
And I have to say, it has been a fun two decades.
During my first week on the air in Indiana, I managed to get then-Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Ken Gividen in the debate between incumbent Joe Kernan and then-challenger Mitch Daniels. We were discussing it on the air when Kip Tew, who was on Team Kernan, and Bill Osterle, who was on Team Daniels, both called in, denying they had anything to do with Gividen previously not being allowed in the debate. I had them both on the air at the same time and since they both said they didn’t have a problem with Gividen participating in the debate, I followed up by saying I guess we’ll see him at the debate.
And the rest is history, which there has been a lot of. Take a look at the list below of things that have happened over the past 20 years in Indiana:
◗ Mitch Daniels getting elected governor.
◗ Indiana switching to daylight saving time.
◗ The property tax crisis of 2007, which led to Greg Ballard getting elected Indianapolis mayor and beating two-term incumbent Bart Peterson, which scared the folks at the other end of Market Street, leading to state property tax caps.
◗ Barack Obama winning the state of Indiana, the first Democrat to do so since 1964.
◗ Republicans gaining super-majority control of Indiana government.
◗ The city of Indianapolis passing a smoking ban.
◗ Then-Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennet losing to Democrat Glenda Ritz.
◗ House Democrats fleeing to my home state of Illinois over the right-to-work debate bringing the Legislature to a halt.
◗ Mike Pence becoming governor and later vice president.
◗ The legalization of same-sex marriage.
◗ Eric Holcomb becoming governor.
◗ Moderating the Republican U.S. Senate debate between Mike Braun, Luke Messer and Todd Rokita.
◗ The COVID-19 outbreak that sparked a debate over mask mandates and vaccinations and got Libertarian Donald Rainwater 12% of the vote.
◗ The scandal involving former Attorney General Curtis Hill.
◗ Me having to sue Attorney General Todd Rokita after he banned me from his press conferences. (That one was kind of fun).
◗ The 2020 George Floyd riots.
◗ The debate over abortion and reproductive rights.
◗ Indiana coming up with a long-term road funding plan.
◗ Running for mayor.
The list goes on and on. And it was more than just politics.
The last 20 years here in Indy and Indiana have been one heck of an adventure. And I must admit that I still keep a place in Illinois; I don’t believe in living anywhere without a well-thought-out escape plan. Hopefully, I won’t have to use it.•
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Shabazz is an attorney, radio talk show host and political commentator, college professor and stand-up comedian. Send comments to ibjedit@ibj.com.
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