(Anderson) Herald Bulletin
During the campaign for governor, Republican Eric Holcomb noted that since he entered the race late — in July, after incumbent Mike Pence bowed out to join Donald Trump on the GOP presidential ticket — he wasn’t able to fully develop a detailed gubernatorial plan for dealing with Indiana’s many important public affairs issues.
Now that Holcomb has been elected, he’s no doubt been busy setting priorities for his governorship, to begin Jan. 9. He’ll have the advantage, as Pence did, of working with a statehouse controlled by his party. But it will be important for Holcomb to resist the urge to impose the party’s will on Hoosiers.
He should keep in mind that John Gregg, his Democratic opponent, garnered 45 percent of the vote. With 51 percent, Holcomb had a narrow majority of Hoosier voters in his corner. Clearly, there is no mandate for an ultra-conservative governorship.
To the contrary, Holcomb should take an expansive approach to finding the high ground for Indiana across a multitude of concerns. He should promote at every turn public policy that is best for Indiana, even when that imperative doesn’t square with the Republican Party agenda.
Here are five priorities concerning all Hoosiers for our governor-elect to address:
1. Education. Standardized testing, teacher evaluation and pay, classroom curriculum and implementation of new technology top the list of concerns for K-12 schools.
Holcomb should also re-evaluate his campaign position of continuing Pence’s prekindergarten pilot program for students from some low-income families. Indiana needs to ramp up quickly — during Holcomb’s four-year term — to universal prekindergarten to assure that all students begin their academic careers fully prepared to learn.
The governor-elect should also keep pressure on Indiana’s public universities to reduce tuition rates and other expenses that have forced many college-bound Hoosiers into debt — or to other states — for their higher education.
2. Infrastructure/transportation. Last year, the General Assembly approved $800 million to fix the state’s crumbling roads and bridges, with about $585 million of that going to local governments. The money comes mostly from Indiana’s $2 billion budget reserve, with much of the balance of the $800 million coming from shifting gasoline tax money back to infrastructure spending.
That’s a lot of money, but many experts say the state is underfunding its infrastructure needs and should dip further into budget reserves. Holcomb should revisit this issue with a fresh appraisal of funding needed to make Indiana’s roads and bridges safe and easy to travel.
3. LGBT rights. During the campaign, Holcomb treated this as a nonissue. On one trip to Anderson, he noted that Hoosiers — other than journalists — never raised the issue when he was out on the campaign trail. That would indicate he wasn’t doing a good job of engaging a diverse group of Hoosiers.
Indiana continues to suffer from a backward reputation engendered by last year’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which initially enabled businesses to deny services to people based on their sexual preferences and gender identity.
Indiana’s desired reputation as a great place for all to live and work will continue to suffer until a state law protecting LGBT members is enacted.
4. The drug epidemic. Heroin, meth and prescription drug abuse continues to haunt Hoosiers. Gregg had a comprehensive plan to treat and reduce drug abuse across the state; Holcomb, not so much.
5. Poverty. While Republicans focus on job gains as the bellwether of a healthy economy, they often ignore the massive numbers of Hoosiers living in poverty. A report in 2015 by the Annie E. Casey Foundation found 345,000 Hoosier children were living in poverty. That’s more than one in five kids.
Holcomb and Hoosier lawmakers must seek to change the plight of these vulnerable residents, in part by circling back to the all-important need for better, more affordable education in the state.
This was distributed by Hoosier State Press Association. Send comments to [email protected].
