Economy, privatization key issues in Gov. race
Though much of the state’s attention has been on the top-of the-ballot presidential contest, Gov. Mitch Daniels is locked in his own tight re-election campaign.
Daniels, a Republican, is being challenged by Democrat Jill Long Thompson and Libertarian Andrew Horning.
Long Thompson has tried to put the spotlight on jobs lost in Indiana and on the governor’s moves during his first term to privatize certain state assets.
The state has lost 20,000 jobs this year alone, in large part because of declines in the auto industry. Indiana also ranks in the top 10 for home foreclosures.
To help spur job creation, Long Thompson’s “One Indiana” plan calls for the creation of “green” jobs. This proposal calls for tax credit for corporations for every green job they create.
Long Thompson has said on multiple occasions that the state needs explore both wind and solar power options.
Daniels maintains Indiana is on the right track to bringing business to the Hoosier State. He said it’s important to keep low taxes on business. He points to nearly 33,000 jobs the state has gained since he took office in 2005, including a new Honda plant expected to have 2,000 workers, as examples that his ideas work.
“[We need] to keep what we have been doing. Lower the costs of doing business every which way,” said Daniels during a statewide radio broadcast Monday night.
Both Daniels and Long Thompson want to improve education both at the college and high school level. In a program that begins next year, Daniels said the state will award 80 qualified applicants in the math and science fields a free teaching degree in exchange for a two-year commitment at schools in dire need of teachers.
Daniels also plans to present a plan to the next General Assembly that offers two free years at Ivy Tech Community College or its equivalent starting with low-income students.
Long Thompson said the time in high school should be more flexible to cater to individual students and their needs, whether that be graduating early or taking more college credit or staying in high school an extra semester or year.
Daniels defended his exploration of privatizing assets including the toll road in Indiana as looking for the most efficient avenues in some cases.
“The taxpayer, which is all of us, has a right to have quality services delivered in the most effective way at the lowest cost,” Daniels said.
Horning, who participated in all three gubernatorial debates as well as Monday’s radio broadcast with Daniels and Long Thompson, has used the campaign to push for a return back to the ideals of the state constitution. If elected governor, Horning said he would scale back the role of government so it doesn’t violate what he considers the parameters of the constitution.
In a poll conducted by The Franklin and a Franklin College political science class, Daniels easily defeated Long Thompson among the 171 likely voters surveyed. Daniels won 56.7 percent of the vote, to only 17.5 percent that supported Long Thompson. A large chunk of those surveyed said they remained undecided, too.
Some recent polls show Daniels leading in his re-election bid by as much as 20 percent. Others, though, show the race as nearly tied.
