Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Isn't the governor's race a pip this year?
Wow!
If all you did was listen to the ads, you'd think Steve Goldsmith (the Republican) and Frank O'Bannon (the Democrat) were evil boors bent on the destruction of our state, baseball and Mom's apple pie.
Of course, nothing could be further from the truth.
The ads that stick out in my mind are the one by Goldsmith accusing O'Bannon of raising taxes on virtually everything - as if one man can do that. "Even hot dogs," the ad proclaims. How ludicrous.
And the one by O'Bannon about the murder rate in Indianapolis. It all but accuses Goldsmith of running out and killing people. Nonsense.
The truth is, the winners in this election are the people of Indiana. Both candidates for governor have strong character and leadership potential. Both are qualified and competent.
Regardless of who is elected, there will be a competent governor in the Statehouse. We all win.
So how do you choose between the hot-dog taxer and the murder-rate booster?
Following is some information that might help - none of it negative.
FRANK O'BANNON
O'Bannon was born Jan. 30, 1930. He has a wife, three children and four grandchildren.
He served 18 years in the Indiana State Senate. In 1977-78 he was the chairman of the State Finance Committee. He was elected by his colleagues as Democratic floor leader in 1978-79.
He was elected lieutenant governor in 1988 and again in 1992.
He served as president of the Indiana Senate, where he guided passage of economic development programs and helped ensure passage of his administration's legislative packages.
He also served as director of the Indiana Department of Commerce and commissioner of Agriculture. He has chaired the Indiana Commission for Agriculture and Rural Development and the Indiana Housing Finance Authority.
He was chairman of the National Conference of Lieutenant Governors.
On the private side of life, O'Bannon is a publisher and an attorney. He is chairman of the board of O'Bannon Publishing Company, which prints weekly newspapers in Harrison and Crawford counties.
He practices law in the firm of O'Bannon, Funk, Simpson and Thompson in Corydon.
A native of Corydon, he is a leader of several civic and government groups in his hometown.
All this and the guy still had time to tax hot dogs. Amazing, isn't it? Here's what he says he would do if elected.
Raise academic stardards by:
• encouraging school boards to set benchmarks beyond the state's minimum standards.
• increase technical education and school-to-work training.
nemphasize parents and discipline in schools.
Make government work better for taxpayers by:
• keeping the budget balanced.
• holding the line on taxes.
• making government smaller and smarter.
Increase job opportunities by:
nj assising small businesses with access to capital.
• provide job training.
nj put existing Indiana businesses first.
Get tough on crime by:
nmaking prisoners work to earn their keep.
• creating more boot camps for nonviolent offenders.
• placing more resources into law enforcement and community policing.
O'Bannon's main claim to fame is his work with the department of commerce in fostering economic development. He would bring a wealth of that type of experience to the Statehouse.
STEVE GOLDSMITH
Goldsmith was born on Dec. 12, 1946. He's a lifelong resident of Indianapolis. He is married and has four kids.
He also is an attorney. He was with an Indy law firm from 1971-78. He served as deputy corporation counsel for the city in 1974-75. He served as chief trial deputy for the city in 1976-78. He was elected prosecuting attorney for Marion County and served from 1979-90.
He was elected mayor of Indy in 1991 and re-elected in 1995.
Goldsmith was a research fellow in criminal justice at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and an assistant professor at IU's school of public and environmental affairs.
He has held national posts with the president's commission on model state drug laws, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National League of Cities and the National Institute of Justice.
In the community, he has served on the Indy campaign for healthy babies, the task force to reduce drunk driving, the Governor's Child Support Commission, the Indiana Prosecuting Attorney's Association and the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.
He has won numerous awards, including Governing Magazine's "Public Official of the Year" in 1995, Ford Foundation's "Innovations in American Govt. Award" in 1995, the Council for Urban Economic Development's "President's Award" in 1995, the Free Congress Foundation's "Governance Award" in 1995 and the Citizens Against Government Waste's "Taxpayers' Hero Award" in 1992.
Yikes, and boosted the Indianapolis murder rate to boot - all by himself!
Here's what Goldsmith lists as his priorities if elected.
Improve education by:
• Creating a state-level commission to review all education rules and regulations.
• Providing professional development programs for teachers.
• Providing local referenda on parent choice. Allow communities to decide how much choice parents have (private schools, vouchers.)
• Demanding accountability by providing better information regarding schools and their performance.
Make government work better by:
• Shrinking its size.
• Restructuring government to deliver a better product at a lower cost.
• Determining which functions of government could better be provided by local institutions.
• Instilling a customer-driven philosophy.
Fight crime by:
• Reforming the juvenile justice system so it can deal with today's juvenile offenders.
• Building more prisons so offenders aren't set free because of overcrowding.
• Imposing mandatory sentences for cocaine dealers.
• Protecting victims of domestic violence.
Goldsmith's claim to fame was privatization of many government services in Indianapolis.
Of course, these are condensed versions of their actual plans for governing.
For more info, call 317-231-7100 for O'Bannon or 317-635-1995 for Goldsmith.
If you are on the Net, you can point your web browser to www.goldsmith.org for Goldsmith's homepage. For O'Bannon, look for www.airmax.net/obannon.
Good luck on Nov. 5.
