Loading ...2008 Governor’s Race
Gov. Mitch Daniels tabbed former Gov. Joe Kernan (right) and Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard in June 2007 to chair a Blue Ribbon Commission on Local Government Reform. In December, after six hearings across the state, the Commission issued 27 recommendations, including the establishment of county executives, creating countywide 911 dispatch centers, moving municipal elections to even years, and eliminating townships. (HPI Photo by Brian A. Howey)
Not only is a property tax crisis stirring, but Gov. Daniels is now embroiled in a war with local government. Here Gov. Daniels is being questioned by LaGrange County Commissioner George Backman. Daniels issued his property tax plan on Oct. 23, 2007 in which he proposed property tax caps of 1 percent for residences, 2 percent for renters and 3 percent for business. Many local government officials bristled under Daniels' blame of local spending for the property tax crisis. The Indiana Chamber opposes the caps, but Daniels told HPI that the caps will force local governments to streamline themselves in 2009. (HPI Photo by Brian A. Howey)
Republican Indianapolis mayoral candidate Greg Ballard talks to tax protesters on Monument Circle in July 2007. Ballard would go on to record a stunning upset over Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson in November. It was a race that Gov. Daniels refused to help with and the Indiana GOP didn't commit resources until the final weeks. Peterson's defeat along with the death of U.S. Rep. Julia Carson in December was a blow to the Schellinger campaign as both were co-chairs. And it signalled a danger to all incumbents in 2008 if the property tax crisis isn't solved by Daniels and the 150 legislators in the winter of 2008.
Shortly after Gov. Daniels announced his re-election bid, the property tax crisis broke out in Indianapolis, bringing protesters to Monument Circle and the Governor's mansion. "Tea Parties" broke out from Steuben County to the Ohio River. It was a prelude to a political storm that would defeat more than 38 percent of Hoosier mayors in November. (HPI Photo by Brian A. Howey)
In October, Senate Minority Leader Richard Young (right) exited the race, giving Indiana Democratic Chairman Dan Parker (left) hope that the party could coalesce around one candidate in order to preserve resources in a race many believe will cost $30 million. Whether there is consolidation in the race - as occurred in 1988 when Frank O'Bannon and Evan Bayh teamed up - could hinge on whether Schellinger or Thompson can report a commanding money lead in January 2008. Young pledged to to what he could to get a unified ticket early in the year. (HPI Photo by Brian A. Howey)
At the Howey Politics Indiana Forum in October 2007 at the Madame Walker Theatre, both Jill Long Thompson and Jim Schellinger vowed not to critize each other. But that lasted less than two months, as the two campaigns began taking shots at each other in e-mails to supporters. Thompson's campaign claimed that Schellinger's architectural firm was partly responsible for property taxes increasing on school construction projects. In a WISH-TV poll in August, Thompson had a commanding 40 to 10 percent lead over Schellinger, who had raised $1.2 million by the end of June. Thompson had yet to report any fundraising totals, but she was able to enlist EMILY'S List to help her cause. (HPI Photo by Brian A. Howey)
In July 2007, former congresswoman Jill Long Thompson formerly entered the race. She said she had never raised taxes in Congress and vowed to re-examine the privatization efforts of Daniels and all previous Indiana governors. Thompson of Argos had served as a Valparaiso Councilwoman, and run for the U.S. Senate and then won the last special Congressional election in March 1989. She lost to U.S. Rep. Mark Souder in 1994 and then to U.S. Rep. Chric Chocola in 2002. In 1996, she had been offered the lieutenant governor's nomination by Frank O'Bannon, but turned it down because she had just been confirmed as under secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture by the U.S. Senate. Thompson is shown here at the Howey Politics Indiana Forum in October 2007. (HPI Photo by A. Walker Shaw)
In June 2007, Gov. Daniels kicked off his re-election campaign outside Hinkle Fieldhouse - the same place he did in 2003. He was still citing the "Milan Miracle" and the "Hoosiers" themed "comeback." But in the movie "Hoosiers" - in part filmed at Hinkle - a scene in a Hickory, Indiana barber shop had one of the locals say, "We don't much like change around here." It would prompt Daniels to tell Howey Politics, "If I lose, it will be a long time before this state takes reform seriously." (HPI Photo by Brian A. Howey)
Jim Schellinger shows off an Indianapolis Star article that said CSO was one of the top companies to work for in Indiana. Schellinger began a 92-county tour in which he pledged to "listen" and promised to restore collective bargaining rights for state employees. But in December 2007, Gov. Daniels had announced 4.5 percent pay hikes for state employees and more for some under an incentive plan. The Governor also maintains that 90 percent of state employees are no longer unionized. (HPI Photo by Brian A. Howey)
In March of 2007, CSO Architecture CEO Jim Schellinger announced he would seek the Democratic nomination. Schellinger is shown outside the secretary of state's office after he filed. He joined Senate Minority Leader Richard Young in the race for the Democratic nomination. Young entered without a big splash, though he had the endorsement of former First Lady Judy O'Bannon. Schellinger's campaign chairs were former Speaker John Gregg, Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson, and U.S. Rep. Julia Carson. (HPI Photo by Brian A. Howey)
Gov. Daniels walks with Rev. Jacob Williams of Trinity United Methodist Church in Lafayette after visiting a health care clinic for low income Hoosiers there. While Democrats blasted him for not "listening," to spend a day with the Governor was to witness him hearing the concerns of Hoosiers from mayors to blue collar workers. (HPI Photo by Brian A. Howey)
Gov. Daniels continued his push for privatization, appearing with university presidents in early 2007 pushing to privatize future profits of the Hoosier Lottery. He pulled the plan late in the 2007 session, but has since said he may bring it back in 2009 if he's re-elected. Some in the press alleged that Daniels didn't talk about privatizing during the 2004 campaign. But during the Goldsmith administration in Indianapolis during the 1990s, Daniels had headed the SELTIC Commission that sought ways to bid out government services to private contractors. At FSSA, his privatization plans took the out-sourcing from 92 to 94 percent, much of that coming under Democratic governors. But Daniels still found himself under intense attack from Democrats for doing so. (HPI Photo by Brian A. Howey)
Gov. Daniels helps break ground at the Getrag plant in Tipton. He lauded UAW Indiana President Mo Davidson for helping to attrack Getrag. Despite that groundbreaking and many others that he claims have created 22,000 new jobs via 150 companies, many old-line manufacturing jobs were still being lost and plants closing, drawing criticism from Indiana Democrats that the governor was not living up to his promise for more jobs and higher income. Yet, Indiana's jobless rate was under 5 percent and the lowest in the Midwest. (HPI Photo by Brian A. Howey)
In June 2007, Gov. Daniels traveled to Tipton where he lauded the coming Getrag Transmission plant that would create more than 1,000 jobs. There were other big job bonanzas: Medventure, Jeff Boat, Nestle, Dreyfus, Toyota, Rolls-Royce, FedEx and BP that would create thousands of new jobs. (HPI Photo by Brian A. Howey)
A few weeks after Indiana saw $3.8 billion transferred into its accounts from Major Moves, Daniels traveled to Greensburg to announce that Honda would open up a new auto plant there with up to 4,000 jobs and more than twice as many spinoffs. (HPI Photo)
Throughout much of 2006, Gov. Daniels ran into vocal resistence to Major Moves, as he did here in Angola. While no Republicans in the House lost toll road area seats, the House did go back to Democratic control in 2007 as House Speaker B. Patrick Bauer promised his caucus would "listen" to Hoosiers. It's been a theme that has since seeped into the races of Democratic gubernatorial candidates. In the meantime, Gov. Daniels approval rating had slipped into the 40th percentile in some polls. (Angola Herald-Republican Photo)
During the Major Moves debate, Gov. Daniels got the support of both Republican and Democratic mayors, inlcuding Terre Haute Mayor Kevin Burke. While Major Moves would pass - with the support of only two Senate Democrats and none in the House, it was quite controversial. While no GOP legislators lost seats along the toll road, Burke lost his re-election attempt the following year in 2007. (HPI Photo by Brian A. Howey)
In September 2005, Gov. Daniels announced his Major Moves program that would fund a 10-year highway program via leasing for $3.8 billion the Indiana Toll Road. Here he draws on the support of union tradesmen at a Statehouse rally. (HPI Photo by Brian A. Howey)
Gov. Daniels immediately mixed things up. He ended collective bargaining for state employees and he selected ex-Galyan's CEO Joel Silverman to shake up the BMV. Silverman closed branches and stirred the ire of Senate President Pro Tempore Bob Garton when he tried to close the Hope, Ind., license branch. Silverman lasted only two years, but by December 2007, Daniels was reporting average wait times of seven minutes in BMV branches and more and more services were provided on line and in auto dealerships. (HPI Photo by Brian A. Howey)
In January 2005, Gov. Mitch Daniels was inaugurated at the Indiana State Fairgrounds and likened his coming approach to an Amish barn raising. He promised new jobs and higher personal income, and he directed the Newton-Jasper Community Band. (HPI Photo by Brian A. Howey)
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twaechte @ January 2, 2008