Senate Minority Leader, Richard Young, a Democrat from Milltown has announced he is running for Governor in 2008. The Democratic caucus in the Indiana Senate isn’t exactly an auspicious platform, but I’ll be happy to let him make his case.
I’m sort of a glutton for this stuff, but I’m still tired from the 2006 elections. I’m more interested in upcoming legislation, and now that I was looking into Sen. Young’s background, I see that some introduced legislation has been posted. So thank you Senator Young!
Senator WHO? Isn’t this the guy who just faced down a rebellion in his own caucus in the Senate (i.e. couldn’t keep all 17 Senators together)?
Who should really consider running in the Democratic Party?
Something like that. The most prominent potential Democratic candidate is probably Bart Peterson. Evansville mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel has been mentioned. Along with Peterson and Weinzapfel, apparently Roll Call suggested the names of Sen. Young, former Speaker John Gregg, Senator Vi Simpson, and former Lt. Governor Kathy Davis.
In my time at Legislative Services, I developed a favorable opinion of Speaker Gregg and Senator Simpson. I developed an unfavorable opinion of Kathy Davis. I don’t really have any opinion of Peterson, Weinzapfel, or Young.
I don’t care for Bart Peterson, at least not his decisions. The whole off-loading of the Lucas Oil stadium to the outlying counties and treatment of IPD leave a bad taste for me.
I don’t much about John Gregg except that I saw him once on Indiana Week in Review standing in for Anne Delaney. I think he kept much better control of Mike McDaniel’s snark than Delaney does, but maybe McDaniel was deliberately less obnoxious with Gregg…
Is it correct thet Gregg was one of the architects of the much-maligned health care perk for legislators? That could be a liability in a gubernatorial race. It was certainly a liability for Bob Garton.
Weinzapfel would be my bet– I think we’ll see him on the rubber chicken Jefferson-Jackson Day circuit in Northern Indiana this year… could be telling. (But remind him that it’s Dingus Day and St. Patricks Day in South Bend that are crucial.)