Bauer Speaks At Democrat Dinner In SyracuseSYRACUSE - Indiana Speaker of the House Patrick Bauer Saturday night spoke of what he described as Governor Mitch Daniels' failed policies.
Bauer spoke during the Kosciusko County Democrat Party's Jefferson-Jackson Dinner. The dinner was attended by 60 Democrats at South Shore Golf Course, Syracuse.
David Kolbe served as emcee for the dinner.Other speakers included Dr. Tom Hayhurst, Fort Wayne, who is seeking the 3rd congressional district seat in the 2010 election; and Lake County Sheriff Roy Dominguez, gubernatorial candidate in the 2012 election.
Bauer, South Bend, was elected to serve as Indiana Speaker of the House in 2008.
"Mitch has directed a deficit of $2 trillion in three years and is obsessed with saying he is a great fiscal person, but is the worst in federal history," Bauer said.
Bauer said Daniels called the stimulus money in the Wall Street Journal article "funny money" and said how Indiana has a billion dollar surplus.
"Mitch took 750 million of that funny money and, instead of using it to prevent cuts to teachers and instead of paying money to prevent those cuts, he used the money to balance budgets," Bauer said.
The money was supposed to be used to prevent cuts to education in programs and teachers, according to Bauer.
Bauer said public schools are in deep trouble under Daniels' leadership.
Bauer said Daniels has set a one-year budget that only funds one year.
"Right now, local governments are cutting back on bussing because the funding was cut out without a replacement," Bauer said.
Bauer said there is a constitutional responsibility to fund universal education and it's not being done.
He said there needs to be a Democrat legislature and governor because Democrats care about people, not profits.
Also during the dinner, Hayhurst spoke.
"I'm running for the 3rd district congressional seat because I have spent a lot of time speaking with people in the 3rd district who are dissatisfied with the type of representation that is in Washington D.C.," Hayhurst said.
He said issues important to him are job creation, universal health care and energy independence.
Dominguez said he is seeking to be governor because he believes in public service.
Dominguez has served as sheriff since 2003 and was appointed by Evan Bayh to be the chairman of the Indiana Worker's Compensation board.
"We need to have a government that cares about its people and ensures that its full potential and power of government is utilized for the purposes of families, children, and ensuring the safety of our communities," Dominguez said.
Jill Long-Thompson, former governor candidate, spoke during the dinner. She said the fact that a Democrat president carried the state of Indiana says a lot about the opened mindedness of the voters.
"We have a great deal of work to be done here in this state to rebuild the economy and we need strong leadership," Long-Thompson said.
Carmen Darland, 3rd district Democrat Party chairwoman, spoke during the dinner.
"I understand sometimes in Kosciusko County it is frustrating to be a Democrat, but always keep in mind the 3rd district in Indiana is a much bigger mass and the work you do is important," Darland said.
Terry Bartley, Kosciusko County Democrat Party chair, presented Mary Alice Miller, Warsaw, with the Democrat Hall of Fame award, and Jeanne Scott, Warsaw, with the Volunteer of the Year Award.
