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Gregg sees Hoosier economy, education as prime issues
With temperatures hovering in the low 90s Saturday and the 2016 election looming less than 150 days away, John Gregg fittingly turned up the heat.
By the time the Democrat candidate for Indiana governor made a 90-minute fundraising stop in Greencastle Saturday afternoon, he was into his third set of clothes and second shower on a day filled with as much humidity as it was personal appearances.
But the heat Gregg brought came as an assault on Republican Gov. Mike Pence, referring to him at one point as "this character" in addressing the governor's handling of Hoosier education issues.
Speaking to a group of 50 supporters in a gathering at the Putnam Inn, hosted by Democrat District 44 legislative candidate Kim Fidler of Greencastle, Gregg said there's a major difference in running against Pence this time around and in 2012.
"The big difference," the 60-year-old Sandborn resident and former speaker of the Indiana House said, "is that Mike Pence is running on his record this time. People know Mike Pence."
They know he's "ideology driven" Gregg said, and that he's immersed the state in social issues, not always a popular decision locally or nationally.
"If you think that everything is black or white," Gregg said, "he's your candidate. But there's a lot of gray area out there. I've seen a lot of gray in my life."
The Democrat hopeful, who lost a closer-than-expected race in 2012, said his focus is on jobs and the economy and education and how those topics all fit together.
"The race is about the economy," he said. "The race is about jobs. And we can't talk about that without talking about education.
"They go together like ham and cheese. They're like peanut butter and jelly," he said of the economy and education.
Gregg said he's traveled the state for six years now on the campaign trail, and he's never had a single business person ask him about tax credits. They want to know where the qualified employees are going to come from when they create those additional jobs.
That's why Gregg believes education is best when "we let the teachers teach."
Pence, he said, has turned "our schools into a toxic environment" with controversial testing, salary and school funding issues supported by his administration.
"And the governor wants to focus on social issues," he noted. "I don't want to be the bathroom hall monitor. I did that is sixth grade."
The Democrat said Hoosiers should fear that such emphasis on social issues is also making its way into the doctor's office and "your bedroom, too."
Instead, Gregg sees a more basic need for Indiana.
"I think we need to focus on the quality of jobs," Gregg added, "not the number of jobs.
"If we focus on jobs and the economy, we'll have more money for infrastructure."
Gregg bristles at the attack ads the Pence camp has unleashed, making it sound as though the Gregg-led House took Indiana from a surplus to bankruptcy.
The Pence ad forgets to remind people, Gregg said, that it came during the crisis that followed 9/11 when "we had decisions to make: How many troopers do you want to lay off? How many schools do you want to close."
Instead, the state spent rainy-day funds to keep operations intact when revenues had severely dwindled in the aftermath of the infamous terrorist attacks.
"I know how to make a payroll," said Gregg, whose own new TV commercial paints him as a fiscal conservative. "I know how to create jobs.
"And I know how to work across the aisle" to create bipartisan support, he added.
"That's really what Hoosiers want," he said, alluding to someone able to work well with all people.
Another major concern, Gregg said -- although few people in power want to admit it -- is the ongoing drug problem in Indiana.
"We've got a drug problem in every city, big or small in Indiana," the gubernatorial candidate said.
"I know I can buy heroin in Sandborn where I live," he said, adding that even folks who wear suits and ties can have drug problems. It's really a mental health issue, Gregg said.
"Drug dealers need to go to prison," he advocated, adding, "and we need to have a discussion on how we're going to deal with it (the drug problem)."
Gregg also took a few moments to urge support for Fidler, the former South Putnam Spanish teacher and current UniServ director who is running for the District 44 seat in the Indiana House currently occupied by incumbent Jim Baird of Greencastle.
"Kim doesn't want to be state representative," he said. "She wants to serve as state representative.
"I don't want to be your governor," he continued, "I want to serve as governor."
Fidler returned the favor for Gregg, praising him as "always having been fabulous about personal connections" with constituents and about getting back to those who have questions or concerns.
"It's totally inexcusable," she said, "that you don't get that kind of response from our legislator."