It is hardly surprising that the chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party is critical of Governor Daniels. More interesting to me is that he used the Governor’s ever-shifting position on Daylight Saving Time as a launching point.
In 2003 and 2004, the governor campaigned on shifting the entire state to Central time. Once elected, he strong-armed the Indiana General Assembly into passing daylight-saving time, but he then backed away from the issue entirely, saying local governments should petition the federal government to be placed in a specific time zone.
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Daniels did not attend the [time zone] hearings, but he sent a letter to the DOT requesting that at least one federal recommendation be overruled, despite a clause in state law requiring him to support the local petitions.
When asked about his time zone flip-flop, the governor recently told reporters that he had never supported Central time and attributed the campaign discrepancy to being a rookie candidate who “committed the sin of straight answers.”
This is a complicated issue, but the governor has done his best to make it even more complicated. People might be asking what this means and why it matters.
It matters to all Hoosiers because it is a matter of trust in the governor.
Mr. Parker goes on to list other ways in which Gov. Daniels hasn’t earned the trust of the citizens of Indiana:
Daniels promised voters many things during his campaign, including a unified statewide time zone. He promised to promote and fund education. He promised to help homeowners deal with skyrocketing property taxes. He promised not to send state contracts out of Indiana. He promised to recruit and retain companies that provide high-paying jobs.
Unfortunately for Hoosiers, the governor has either backed away from or turned his back on each of those promises.
Partisan politics? Sure. But, by and large true just the same.
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