INDIANAPOLIS – Love him or hate him, there’s one area of consensus on the soon-to-be departing Gov. Mitch Daniels: He transformed Indiana state government in ways few of his predecessors ever did.
In 2004, he was the first Republican in 16 years to take the governor’s office and he wasted little time firing up what he called a “freight train of change.”
One of his first acts in office was to sign an executive order doing away with collective bargaining for state employees. One of the big pieces of legislation he signed into law in his final year in office was the “right-to-work” bill that bars labor contracts from requiring non-union members to pay union dues.
There was much more in between than room in this column to list. He pushed for the property tax caps that are locked into Indiana law; championed the creation of the nation’s largest voucher program that gives low-income parents public dollars to put their children in private schools; outsourced the Indiana Toll Road and the welfare system to private entities; and changed our clocks when he shoved the state onto daylight-saving time.
Brian Howey, longtime chronicler of Indiana politics and publisher of Howey Indiana Politics, has described – with more much eloquence than I can muster – how transformative Daniels has been in both politics and governing.
In the forward he wrote for a book that contains excerpts from speeches Daniels made over 22 years, Howey lists Daniels among the 10 governors in Indiana’s almost 200-year history who were true change agents.
Given how we cautious, conservative, stubborn Hoosiers tend to loathe change, that’s a big deal.
“Whether you regard him as a hero or adversary, few Hoosiers will argue the notion that his eight years at the Indiana Statehouse have been impactful and have altered the trajectory of the state at a time when just about everything is changing on a global scale,” Howey wrote.
Daniels officially leaves office when Republican Gov.-elect Mike Pence is sworn in on Jan. 14. Daniels’ impact has been, and will be, measured in so many ways – with praise and disparagement.
For me, part of the measure will include a small moment I witnessed in August, when Daniels welcomed a group of Muslims who came to pray in the Indiana Statehouse.
They were there at Daniels’ invitation. In his first year in office, Daniels started the tradition of the Governor’s Iftar Dinner as an annual event conducted during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
As the event began, I saw a young college student approach Daniels to introduce himself. What was so touching about it, as I later wrote, was the fact that the young man was an immigrant from war-torn Syria, born in a country now governed by a ruler who wouldn’t think twice about killing him.
Yet on that August evening, he was chatting warmly with Daniels, who is the grandson of Syrian immigrants, and who is an evangelical Christian who’s served two presidents in the White House.
The young man left the encounter saying Daniels inspired him. “He makes me want to do something good with my life,” he told me.
Daniels left the encounter saying how pleased he was that the dinner had become such a tradition. “Since the beginning, I’ve been conscious of the imperative to serve everyone,” Daniels said, “people of all faiths and people with no faith at all.”
Maureen Hayden covers the Statehouse for CNHI newspapers in Indiana, including the Kokomo Tribune. She can be reached at maureen.hayden@indianamediagroup.com.
Columns
Related Photos
-
CNHI Statehouse Bureau
Discussion
HAYDEN: Daniels left his mark with ‘freight train of change’
Governor embraced challenge ‘to serve everyone.'
- Columns
-
-
RAY DAY: Profanity expands on TV
It has been said we will one day be subject to hearing the constant barrage of dirty words while watching our televisions and listening to radios -- much more than we hear already.
-
MAUREEN HAYDEN: Indiana liquor laws are confusing to all
Are they intended to regulate sales or level the playing field?
-
RAY DAY: Why not public schools?
School vouchers aggravate the misconception that private schools are better than public schools.
-
ED VASICEK: 'Ed'-itorial comments concerning the news
Chicago natives just don't lack opinions.
-
Hayden: From good to great in education
On the campaign trail last year and early into his administration, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence said repeatedly that his goal as governor would be to take Indiana from “good to great.”
-
Mom’s simple advice still presents a valuable challenge
Most moms don’t base their advice on scientific research. Instead, their words of wisdom come from a greater source — the heart, where they store and process life experiences. Unfortunately, some folks don’t receive the gift of maternal guidance, for various reasons.
-
Wolfsie: Making bird calls
One afternoon in 2011, my friend Eric spent a couple of hours over lunch explaining Twitter to me and I thought I understood it all, but as you’ll see from my first few tweets, I wasn’t very confident: “Is anyone getting this?”
-
Vasicek: Mother’s Day stresses
For two hours, the lady sitting next to another airplane passenger boasted about her grandchildren, producing a barrage of photographs. She finally realized that she had been talking the whole time, so she tried to make amends:
“Oh, I am sorry! I have monopolized the conversation. I will listen to you now. So please tell me: what do you think of my grandchildren?” -
Day: Sports as I see it
Most of us have times when we want to vent our anger about things that happen for no good reason whatsoever and there are some who just don’t give a darn about what changes we have each day. Take me for example. There are things going on every year in sports where we are the ones who buy the tickets, yet we have no say about what’s happening
-
Hicks: The real cause of Indiana’s ‘brain drain’
This week across Indiana bright, talented and well-educated young people pack up their meager campus belongings and head out to new jobs. Their employment prospects, for the minority who don’t yet have jobs, are fantastic
- More Columns Headlines
-
RAY DAY: Profanity expands on TV
Raw: Trucker Bumps I-5 Bridge Before Collapse
Raw: Texas Deputy Shot by Colo. Suspect Honored
Major Detours Following Wash. Bridge Collapse
American Held in Grisly Czech Murders
Raw: Jersey Shore Reopens for Summer
UK-bound Pakistan Plane Diverted, 2 Men Arrested
Officials: Tsarnaev Friend Linked to Slaying
Obama:Sexual Assault Threatens Trust in Military
Bridge Collapse Survivor: 'Rough Day'
Jersey Shore Open for Business
Raw: Memorial Day Flags Placed at Arlington
New Wheelchair Lift Promises More Access
First Person: Mom Discusses Famous Tornado Photo
Raw Video: Washington State Bridge Collapse
Boy Scouts Approve Plan to Accept Gay Boys
