Endorsement: Daniels for Indiana
Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels spent his first term taking a ferocious stand against state government inefficiencies and offering creative solutions to problems that had plagued Indiana for years.
His successes are clear.
The Bureau of Motor Vehicles, which for years had been a bureaucratic mess, now efficiently and effectively shuttles motorists in and out.
Indiana is no longer running late after joining the rest of the world in observing Daylight Saving Time.
After a year of bloated property tax bills, effective legislation is keeping Hoosiers from losing their homes. Meanwhile, businesses like Honda and Toyota are providing more jobs.
And perhaps most importantly, the sorely-needed extension of Interstate 69 from Indianapolis to Evansville is finally funded, thanks to the $3.8 billion deal to privatize the Indiana Toll Road.
Daniels’ opponent, Democrat Jill Long Thompson, has consistently rejected opportunities to set forth an alternate vision for Indiana’s future. Instead, the former congresswoman has consistently chosen to attack Daniels. With no apparent plans or ideas of her own, Long Thompson’s emperor has no clothes.
The Libertarian challenger, Andrew Horning, has not proven to be a candidate worth taking seriously.
The governor’s second-term challenges will be great. Slashing the state budget during his first term was commendable. But now, the financial climate has changed.
In the upcoming budget-year session of the Indiana Legislature, the next governor and state lawmakers are tasked with finding ways to fund child welfare and local governments even though the money to do so doesn’t seem to exist.
As coal-gasification plants pop up across Southwest Indiana, the next governor must find ways to harness the state’s clean-coal potential while both protecting the environment and making those coal-to-gas plants economically viable. Meanwhile, the next governor must channel the state’s utilities into paths toward developing renewable energy.
And Indiana’s workers face a mounting burden. While rising property tax bills were temporarily curbed last year, the issue is far from resolved. The sales tax hike means poorer families, which spend a greater percentage of their overall income, must strain to meet rising costs. And Daniels hasn’t yet successfully backed legislation to make education opportunities more accessible and affordable.
The governor’s rare combination of intellect and courage were demonstrated through his transformational first term. Thanks to that success, Daniels has earned a second term. The Franklin endorses the governor as the clear choice for re-election on Nov. 4.
