Bloomington citizens curious about whose interests their mayor has been serving the past couple years should peruse his campaign finance reports. They'll learn that over the 17-month period ending last May 7, John Fernandez raised money for his Secretary of State campaign at an average of nearly $40,000 per month.

Local progressives who supported John Fernandez in 1995 because of his tough talk on the police should take special note of his latest claim in the 2002 campaign.

Bloomington's Secretary of State Candidate/Mayor John Fernandez was on the road once again last week raising money. He added Terre Haute to the list of Indiana cities he's journeyed to in search of cash just since mid-July. He's made the papers in three - Indianapolis, Muncie and Terre Haute.

Mayor John Fernandez and fellow Secretary of State candidate Todd Rokita held "dueling news conferences" in Indianapolis last Tuesday, in which each pledged to be tougher than the other on securities fraud in Indiana, according to the Associated Press.