FROM THE DESK OF SENATOR DAVID LONG
By the time you are reading this article, we will have officially sworn in a new Lieutenant Governor. By law, new Governor Kernan’s choice for Lt. Governor, Kathy Davis, must be approved by a majority vote of both the Indiana Senate and House. While this vote will be a formality, with an almost certain 100% Yes vote, it is still a constitutionally required process.
Kathy Davis is an intriguing choice for the new Lt. Governor, not only because she is an ice breaker in being the first woman to hold the office, but also because she still does not answer the question of the day: will Joe Kernan run for the Governor’s office in 2004?
You may remember that prior to Governor O’Bannon’s death, then LG Kernan had announced that he wasn’t going to run for the Governorship, surprising many of the so-called experts. Now, however, with his sudden elevation to the Governor’s position, many felt that he might change his mind. Therefore, the logic suggested that his choice of an LG would indicate his decision as to whether or not to run. Pick a well-known individual from a strategically located area of the state, or pick one of the announced candidates for Governor such as Joe Andrew or Sen. Vi Simpson, and you could figure that he was running. Pick an unknown person who was competent but not politically ambitious, and you could figure that Joe Kernan wasn’t going to run.
Picking Kathy Davis, a competent person but someone who had never run for political office, seemed at first to indicate his decision not to run. But Kathy Davis has a great deal of bureaucratic experience, having been the State Budget Director under former Governor Bayh and a previous Director of the State social services agency, FSSA. Combine that with the gender issue, and the so-called experts are still scratching their heads, wondering what Mr. Kernan will decide to do.
My opinion, for what it is worth, is that Joe Kernan is running for Governor. If he does, the chances for the Democrats to win the Governor’s seat in 2004 certainly increase. However, the Republicans have an outstanding candidate of their own in Mitch Daniels, President Bush’s former Budget Director, who brings great energy, courage, and a commitment to rebuilding this State’s economy that has been lacking from our current leadership. Mitch Daniels has already said that the traditional job of running the State’s economic divisions will no longer be conducted by the Lt. Governor. Instead, as Governor, he will personally take the reins, insisting that there is no more important job for the Governor. I agree with him, and it is refreshing to finally hear those words of commitment.
If we are to turn the corner and rebuild Indiana’s economy, we must be united in the commitment to do what is necessary to build a strong foundation of jobs from the new economy. That means doing what Michigan has done and committing a significant number of dollars toward the life sciences, biomedical, and advanced manufacturing sectors. That also includes allowing our excellent universities to partner with the private sector to build research facilities and create entrepreneurial ventures. Under Michigan’s governors, there has been a huge investment over the past decade in these areas, putting them miles ahead of Indiana and well positioned for the new century. Under our current leadership, this movement has only just begun. It has been a sad legacy of failure, and we must now head in a new direction, hopefully with new leadership that has the courage and commitment to get the job done.
Whatever happens in the Governor’s race, the two issues of the economy and education must be the focal point for the debate between the two parties. With Joe Kernan and Mitch Daniels teeing it up, it would be an interesting and lively discussion. Stay tuned.
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