Daniels stops in Portland (2/25/04)

Two-thirds of the way into his second lap around the state, the likely Republican nominee for governor sat down for an hour-long meal and chat with a group of residents concerned about Portland’s downtown and a host of other issues.

Mitch Daniels, who resigned last summer as President Bush’s budget director to begin his bid for governor, shook hands and talked with early afternoon patrons of the Corner Cafe Tuesday, then participated in the roundtable discussion on a variety of topics.

In a brief interview before heading out of town in his campaign’s motor home covered with well-wishes from supporters, Daniels said that the economy, budget woes and keeping young people in Indiana are the common themes he hears from those around the state.

“Where did the jobs go, where did the money go and where did the kids go? Those are the constants ... I’m learning a lot about the effects of the last few years — the economy,” said Daniels, whose last stop in Jay County (also at the Corner Cafe) was in July.

Many of those participating in Tuesday’s discussion are members of a group called Save Our Town that is focused on downtown revitalization.

Other local officials in attendance were Portland Mayor Bruce Hosier, Doug Inman, Robert Quadrozzi, Vicki Tague and Bill Davis.

Inman is the executive director of The Portland Foundation and president of the John Jay Center for Learning board, while Quadrozzi is executive director of Jay County Development Corporation.

Tague is executive director of the Portland Area Chamber of Commerce, while Davis, a former chamber official and current businessman, is running for state representative.

Other local residents around the table were Bryan Alexander, Sandy Bubp, Barry Hudson, Craig Frazee, Mary Davis and local Republican activists Ilze Koch and Donald Gillespie.

Alexander, the owner of Capital Cities Investments and Corner Cafe, opened the discussion by talking about Save Our Town’s mission and concerns about the city’s central business district.

Alexander, whose 16-month-old daughter Madeline and wife Amy had My Man Mitch T-shirts on Tuesday, said this morning that Daniels’ visit sent an important message.

“Our area of the state has been beat up pretty badly when manufacturing jobs left. I think a gubernatorial candidate coming through like that really does give people some hope that there’s a chance for things to get better,” Alexander said. “Part of his message is a lot like what (Ronald) Reagan brought in the 1980s. We need to be positive about the future; that’s what he brings.”

Topics touched on during a free-flowing discussion included tax abatements, development strategies, historic preservation, John Jay Center for Learning’s recent acquisition of the Weiler Building and discussions about what can be done to develop the vast majority of the state outside of Indianapolis and Marion County.

Daniels also briefly outlined a proposal announced earlier in the day that would separate the state’s child protective services out of the troubled Family and Social Services Agency (FSSA). The proposal would make child protective services a separate agency and increase the number of employees.

Before the roundtable discussion, local businessmen Larry Poole and Steve Takats told Daniels that if Indiana switches time zones and goes to daylight saving time, that it should be in the Eastern time zone. Daniels has backed a plan that would switch all but five Indiana counties to the Central time zone — meaning Indiana would be an hour behind Ohio 365 days a year.

With the name recognition that comes from being a former executive of Eli Lilly and Company and the director of the federal budget, Daniels is expected by most to easily win the GOP nomination over attorney Eric Miller, the director of Advance America, a group that lobbies on family and tax issues.

Joe Kernan, who moved from lieutenant governor to governor after the death of Frank O’Bannon last year, is the only Democratic entrant in the race. Kernan, a former mayor of South Bend and a POW in Vietnam, served with O’Bannon during his nearly seven years in office.

Daniels, who has been campaigning virtually non-stop since July, has been to every county in the state once, and has now made his second stop in about 60 of the state’s 92 counties.

Daniels has been surprised about some of the problems discussed by residents of smaller communities such as Portland and Jay County.

“Many of the social problems ... drugs, crime ... that we have tended to associate with the larger cities are just as common in the smaller towns,” he said Tuesday.

Daniels said that Indiana has not done a good job adjusting to major changes in the mix of business — specifically a reduction in the number of workers needed in the manufacturing sector.

“Other states moved to change the mix. We have to catch up, but I think we can. Manufacturing is going to remain a pillar of our economy, but we need to catch up and diversify,” Daniels said.[[In-content Ad]]