INDIANAPOLIS -- The plan to merge township governments and fire departments in Marion County might get a second chance in the Legislature.

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, a Republican, made an unusual trip to the Statehouse on Friday to lobby the Democratic caucus, spending more than an hour and a half discussing several issues, including the consolidation bill, 6News' Norman Cox reported.

"We just talked about our different views," Ballard said. "They told me what they thought. I told them what I thought. Some were similar. Some were maybe not so similar. But that's OK. At least we got it out there, and they know how I feel about it."

The visit came after what started out as a bill to eliminate townships was watered down in the Senate to a fire department only merger bill, before it was defeated altogether this week.

Two freshman Democrats -- Mary Ann Sullivan and John Barnes -- said they're also for consolidation.

"I'm a supporter of a lot of the consolidation recommendations in Kernan-Shepard (report), and I campaigned on that," Sullivan said. "And I have very clear information from my constituents that that's something that many of them support as well."

But their party's leader, Speaker Pat Bauer, has said he probably won't give the idea a hearing. Barnes said he hopes they've lobbied him to keep merger alive.

"I have told him, that's an issue that I was elected on," he said. "My township trustee, Jeff Bennett, was a champion for that and he and I campaigned together."

Gov. Daniels said Friday that he hopes local government consolidation on a statewide basis will make progress in the Legislature. But he acknowledged that it's completely up to Bauer.

"We all know nothing happens in the House of Representatives that Speaker Bauer doesn't permit. He's never challenged. His authority is total," Daniels said.

On Thursday, Bauer made light of the way the Kernan-Shepard consolidation bills had been gutted in the Senate, giving no indication he planned on reviving the legislation.