July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Stumbles leave Daniels vulnerable (9/29/05)
Editorial
Has Mitch Daniels lost his footing?
When the governor first took office, there was a sense that this was a guy who knew where he was going and how he wanted to get there.
Gov. Daniels may still have a clear vision of where he wants to take Indiana, but getting there is proving to be a bumpy process.
Consider:
•The stutter-step miscues at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. After waiting until lawmakers had left Indianapolis, the BMV announces plans to close license branches, then backtracks on at least one for political reasons, and then holds after-the-fact public hearings that serve little purpose other than letting folks vent their anger.
•The ham-handed attempts to pressure county commissioners on the controversial issue of expanding the number of confined animal feeding operations in the state.
The administration came across as an arrogant bully.
•This week’s almost petulant appearance by the governor before the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns, a bipartisan organization, during which he seemed out of touch with the fiscal concerns of the state’s municipalities.
•Reports of a troubling disconnect between the governor and the elected Republican head of the Indiana Department of Education.
The governor’s vision of leaner state government and innovative solutions to old problems still makes sense. But to make that vision a reality, he’s going to have to work more from the ground up rather than from the top down. He’s going to have to build consensus at the grassroots level rather than hectoring local officials.
Just one example: Gov. Daniels makes an excellent point when he says school funding in Indiana would be more efficient if there were greater consolidation of school corporations. As he points out, the state has 292 school corporations and many of them have fewer than 1,000 students.
But as anyone from Jay County could tell him, school consolidation is a complicated and often painful process, even when it’s accomplished from the ground up.
It’s not the sort of thing that can be imposed on orders from Indianapolis.
Knowing where you want to take the state is one thing, leading it there is another.
And if Gov. Daniels is going to succeed, he’s going to have to recapture the sure-footedness he demonstrated on the campaign trail. — J.R.[[In-content Ad]]
When the governor first took office, there was a sense that this was a guy who knew where he was going and how he wanted to get there.
Gov. Daniels may still have a clear vision of where he wants to take Indiana, but getting there is proving to be a bumpy process.
Consider:
•The stutter-step miscues at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. After waiting until lawmakers had left Indianapolis, the BMV announces plans to close license branches, then backtracks on at least one for political reasons, and then holds after-the-fact public hearings that serve little purpose other than letting folks vent their anger.
•The ham-handed attempts to pressure county commissioners on the controversial issue of expanding the number of confined animal feeding operations in the state.
The administration came across as an arrogant bully.
•This week’s almost petulant appearance by the governor before the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns, a bipartisan organization, during which he seemed out of touch with the fiscal concerns of the state’s municipalities.
•Reports of a troubling disconnect between the governor and the elected Republican head of the Indiana Department of Education.
The governor’s vision of leaner state government and innovative solutions to old problems still makes sense. But to make that vision a reality, he’s going to have to work more from the ground up rather than from the top down. He’s going to have to build consensus at the grassroots level rather than hectoring local officials.
Just one example: Gov. Daniels makes an excellent point when he says school funding in Indiana would be more efficient if there were greater consolidation of school corporations. As he points out, the state has 292 school corporations and many of them have fewer than 1,000 students.
But as anyone from Jay County could tell him, school consolidation is a complicated and often painful process, even when it’s accomplished from the ground up.
It’s not the sort of thing that can be imposed on orders from Indianapolis.
Knowing where you want to take the state is one thing, leading it there is another.
And if Gov. Daniels is going to succeed, he’s going to have to recapture the sure-footedness he demonstrated on the campaign trail. — J.R.[[In-content Ad]]
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