Mitch Daniels

Mitch Daniels
49th Governor of Indiana
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 10, 2005
Lieutenant	Becky Skillman
Preceded by	Joseph Kernan
33rd Director of the Office of Management and Budget
In office January 20, 2001 – June 6, 2003
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Jacob Lew
Succeeded by	Joshua Bolten
Born	April 7, 1949 (age 61) Monongahela, Pennsylvania
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Cheri Herman
Residence	Governor's Residence
Alma mater	Princeton University Georgetown University
Profession	Politician
Religion	Presbyterianism
Signature
Website	Governor's website Campaign website

Mitchell Elias "Mitch" Daniels, Jr., (born April 7, 1949) is the 49th and current Governor of the U.S. state of Indiana. A Republican, he began his first four-year term as Indiana's 49th Governor on January 10, 2005, and was elected to his second term by an 18-point margin on November 4, 2008. Previously, he was the Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget under George W. Bush. He also worked for Eli Lilly and Company. He is cited as a rising star in the Republican Party.^[1][2][3]

Upon becoming Governor, Daniels pressed for a series of changes that brought him into conflict with both Republicans and Democrats. During his first year in office, he proposed a number of tax increases, budget cuts, and privatization plans to balance the budget. Because of the opposition led by Republican Speaker of the House Brian Bosma, only two of the new taxes were approved. Support for a switch to daylight saving time, the privatization of the Indiana Toll Road, and the closure of many license branches brought him into conflict with Democrats; and, in 2005, his approval ratings dropped to 42%. In 2007, he began pressing for constitutional changes to cap State property taxes at 1-3% of value. The caps were approved by the Indiana General Assembly as statute, and the resulting drop in revenue was offset by an increase in the State sales tax. His support for the property tax limits, and its subsequent adoption, helped raise his popularity and secure his re-election bid. His second term saw a major drop in State revenues, leading to major spending cuts to maintain a balanced budget.

Early life

Family and education

Mitchell Elias Daniels, Jr., was born in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, to Dorothy Mae (née Wilkes) and Mitchell Elias Daniels, Sr.,^[4] spending his early childhood years in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Georgia. The Daniels family moved to Indiana from Pennsylvania in 1959 while he was still in grade school. His paternal grandparents were Christian immigrants from Syria. Daniels has been honored by the Arab-American Institute with the 2011 Najeeb Halaby Award for Public Service.^[5][6][7]

Upon graduating from North Central High School in Indianapolis in 1967, Daniels was named Indiana's Presidential Scholar — the state’s top male high school graduate that year — by President Lyndon Johnson.^[8] In 1971, Daniels earned a Bachelor's degree with Honors from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and, in 1979, a Juris Doctor with Honors from Georgetown University Law Center.^[6]

In 1970, while an undergraduate student at Princeton, he was arrested^[9] for possession of marijuana and spent two nights in jail. He has disclosed the arrest on job applications and in a 1989 Indianapolis Star column.^[10]

Early political career

Daniels had his first experience in politics while still a teenager when, in 1968, he worked on the unsuccessful campaign of William Ruckelshaus for the U.S. Senate. While in college, he interned in the office of then-Indianapolis Mayor Richard Lugar. In 1971, Daniels worked on Lugar's re-election campaign and then joined his mayoral staff. Within three years, he became Lugar's principal assistant. After Lugar was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1976, Daniels followed him to Washington, D.C., as Administrative Assistant.^[11]

Daniels served as Chief of Staff during Lugar's first term (1977–82); and, during this time, he met Cheri Herman, who was working for the National Park Service. The two married in 1978 and had four daughters; they divorced in 1993 and remarried in 1997.^[6]

In 1983, when Lugar was elected Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Daniels was appointed its Executive Director. Serving in that position (1983–84), he played a major role in keeping the GOP in control of the Senate. Daniels was also manager of three successful re-election campaigns for Lugar. In August 1985, Daniels became chief political advisor and liaison to President Ronald Reagan.^[11]

In 1987, Daniels returned to Indiana as President and CEO of the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank.^[6][12]

Eli Lilly

In 1990, Daniels left the Hudson Institute to accept a position at Eli Lilly and Company. He was first promoted to President of North American Operations (1993–97) and then to Senior Vice President for Corporate Strategy and Policy (1997–2001).^[5][6][11]

He was also on the Board of Directors of the Indianapolis Power & Light Company (IPL) and held $1.45 million in stock. In 2001, President George W. Bush nominated him to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). It is a Cabinet-level position, and the OMB is the largest unit of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. Consequently, Daniels resigned from the IPL Board and sold his stock. Later that year, Indianapolis Power & Light Co. was bought by Virginia-based AES Corporation.^[5] After the stock prices dropped, the Indiana Securities Division investigated the sale and found no wrong-doing.

Office of Management and Budget

In January 2001, Daniels accepted President George W. Bush's invitation to serve as director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). He served as Director from January 2001 through June 2003. In this role he was also a member of the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council.

During his time as the director of the OMB, Bush referred to him as "the Blade," for his noted acumen at budget cutting.^[13] During Daniels' 29-month tenure in the position, the projected federal budget surplus of $236 billion declined to a $400 billion deficit because of an economic downturn and concurrent tax cuts initiated by the Bush administration.^[11]

Conservative columnist Ross Douthat has argued that Daniels "carried water, as director of the Office of Management and Budget, for some of the Bush administration’s more egregious budgets [and] made dubious public arguments in support of his boss’s agenda." ^[14] In 2002, Daniels was involved in a controversial attempt to discredit a report by Assistant to the President on Economic Policy Lawrence B. Lindsey estimating the cost of Operation Iraqi Freedom at between $100–$200 billion. Daniels called this estimate "very, very high" and stated that the costs would be between $50–$60 billion.^[15][16] As of February 2010 the cost of the invasion and occupation of Iraq exceeded $700 billion , and the Congressional Budget Office in August 2007 estimated that appropriations would eventually reach $1 trillion and likely much more, depending on the duration of military operations.^[17] When Congress considered H.R. 1559, “Emergency Wartime Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2003,” OMB was ordered to prepare an estimate for the defeat of the Iraqi Army and a six-month aftermath ending with the 2003 fiscal year on September 30.^[18] Daniels’ estimate was intended to only reflect this six month time period.^[14][19]

Governor

Election campaign

Daniels' decision to run for Governor of Indiana came as a surprise to his Party's leadership, and he was initially considered a dark horse. He was challenged in the Primary Election by conservative activist and lobbyist Eric Miller, whom he easily defeated. His campaign platform centered around cutting the State budget and privatizing public agencies.^[20]

Campaigning in the General Election, Daniels visited all 92 Counties at least three times. He traveled in a donated white RV nicknamed "RV-1" and covered with signatures of supporters and his campaign slogan, "My Man Mitch".^[21] "My Man Mitch" was a reference to a phrase once used by President George W. Bush to refer to Daniels. Bush campaigned with Daniels on two occasions, as Daniels hoped that Bush's popularity would help him secure a win. In his many public stops, he frequently used the phrase "every garden needs weeding every sixteen years or so"; 16 was the number of years since Indiana had had a Republican governor.^[20] His opponent in the general election was the incumbent, Joe Kernan, who had succeeded to the office upon the death of Frank O'Bannon. Campaign ads by Kernan and the Democratic Party attempted to tie Daniels to number of issues—his jail time for marijuana use; a stock sale leading to speculations of insider trading; and, because of his role at Eli Lilly, the high cost of prescription drugs.^[21] The 2004 election was the costliest in Indiana history, up until that time, with the candidates spending a combined US$23 million.^[20] Daniels won the election, garnering about 53% of the vote compared to Kernan's 46%.^[20] Kernan was the first incumbent Governor to lose an election in Indiana since 1894.^[20]

First term

On his first day in office, Daniels created Indiana's first Office of Management and Budget to look for inefficiencies and cost savings throughout State government. In 2005, he led Indiana to its first balanced budget in eight years and turned the $600 million deficit he inherited into a $300 million surplus in a single year. He used this surplus to repay hundreds of millions of dollars the State had borrowed from Indiana's public schools in previous administrations.^[5] Also on his first day in office, he decertified all government employee unions, removing the requirement that State employees be union members.^[22]

In his first State of the State address on January 18, 2005, Daniels put forward his agenda to improve the State's fiscal situation by calling for strict controls on all spending increases and proposed a one-year 1% tax increase on all individuals and entities earning over $100,000. The move was controversial and the Republican Speaker of the House, Brian Bosma, criticized Daniels and refused to allow the proposal to be debated.^[20] Two of Daniels' tax proposals were approved: a tax on liquor and beverages to fund the construction of the Lucas Oil Stadium and a tax on rental cars to expand the Indiana Convention Center. The new source of funding resulted in a state take-over of a project initially started by the City of Indianapolis and led to a bitter feud between Daniels and Bosma. The State ultimately won and retained ownership of the facilities.^[23]

One of the most controversial measures Daniels successfully pushed through was the state adoption of Daylight Saving Time.^[23] Though in the Eastern Time Zone, the Counties had adopted their own practices. The majority of the state followed Eastern Standard Time year-round (counties near Cincinnati adopting DST), while northwestern and southwestern counties adopted Central Time, adjusting their clocks for DST with the rest of the Central Time Zone. Interests for both time zones had prevented the adoption of daylight saving since the 1930s. Daniels pressed for the entire state to switch to Central Time, but the General Assembly could not come to terms. Ultimately after a long debate, they adopted Eastern Daylight Saving Time, the measure passing by one vote.^[23] A second controversial plan, to allow foreign investors to lease the Indiana Toll Road for 75 years in exchange for a one time payment of $3.85 billion, led to considerable opposition from Democrats.^[24] Republicans overwhelmingly supported the measure, leading to its passage. His support for such controversial legislation led to a rapid drop in his approval rating; in May 2005, a poll showed 42% of Indiana approved of the way he was doing his job. In the following months, many of his reforms began to have a positive effect; and his ratings began to improve, reaching 47% in July 2005.^[25]

During a 12-day trade mission in Asia, Daniels visited Indiana soldiers serving on the border of the Korean Demilitarized Zone. On the 56th anniversary of the start of the Korean War, he laid a bouquet of white flowers at the base of a plaque listing 900 soldiers from Indiana who died in the war.^[26]

In 2006, Daniels signed into law a bill privatizing the enrollment service for the State's Welfare Programs. Indiana's welfare enrollment facilities were replaced with Call Centers. In mid-2009, after many complaints, Daniels canceled the contract and began searching for a new provider for the service and temporarily having the government resume their former enrollment service.^[27]

In 2008, Daniels started the Hoosier High School Math and Science Awards, annually naming a Mr./Miss Math and Science, similar to Mr. Basketball.^[28]

Daniels was named on the 2008 "Public Officials of the Year" by the Governing magazine.^[29] The same year, he received the 2008 Urban Innovator Award from the Manhattan Institute for his ideas for dealing with the state's fiscal and urban problems.^[30]

Indiana Economic Development Corporation

When Daniels was elected, he claimed his number one priority was job creation.^[5] Daniels created the public-private Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), became chairman of its board, and ordered it to “act at the speed of business, not the speed of government,” to attract new jobs. During its first year, the IEDC closed more transactions than in the previous two years combined. In 2006, the IEDC topped its 2005 results in only 10 months while becoming the only state in the nation to land three high profile automotive investments - Toyota, Honda, and Cummins. In 2007, the IEDC announced its third consecutive record-breaking year for new investment and job commitments in Indiana.^{[citation needed]}

In his first year as governor, he was able to get 485 businesses to commit to creating more than 60,000 new jobs and invest $14.5 billion into the Indiana economy. Unemployment has dropped during his governorship, with 100,000 more Indiana residents being employed than before he was elected. Daniels' push for clean energy has moved Indiana to become one of the leading states in biofuel with 15 plants, including the world's largest soybean bio-diesel plant.^[5]

In March 2010, WTHR Indianapolis News published a story claiming that up to 40% of the jobs the corporation reported to have helped create never came to fruition. The IEDC revised the numbers in response to the report which showed only 13% of the job commitments would not come to fruition. The story cited changes in companies' plans as the primary reason for the failures and criticized IEDC's annual report for prematurely claiming credit for the job creation.^[31]

Healthy Indiana Plan

In 2007, Daniels signed the Healthy Indiana Plan, which provided 132,000 uninsured Indiana workers with coverage. The plan promotes health screenings, early prevention services, and smoking cessation. It also provides tax credits for small businesses that create qualified wellness and Section 125 plans. The plan was paid for by an increase in the state’s tax on cigarettes.

In a September 15, 2007 Wall Street Journal column, Fred Barnes quoted Daniels talking about the Healthy Indiana Plan and cigarette tax increase saying, “A consumption tax on a product you'd just as soon have less of doesn't violate the rules I learned under Ronald Reagan."^[32] The plan allowed for spending to assist 130,000 Indiana residents with health care costs.^[5]

For the 132,000 Indiana residents eligible for the Healthy Indiana Plan, a POWER health savings account is available to help pay medical expenses. A health savings account was first offered to state employees in 2006 and thousands of workers now participate. In 2005, Daniels signed a bill allowing citizens to waive coverage for pre-existing conditions on individual and some group policies.

Property tax reform

This article is outdated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. Please see the talk page for more information. (December 2010)

In 2008, Daniels proposed a property tax ceiling of two percent for rental properties and three percent for businesses. According to Seth T. Whitecotton, a journalist and analyst for the Connersville News-Examiner, "The move would be permanent, making Indiana one of the lowest property tax states in the country."

The plan was approved by the Indiana House of Representatives on March 14, 2008 and signed by Daniels on March 19, 2008, locking in lower tax rates for homeowners, businesses, and rental properties. In November 2010, voters elected to adopt the tax caps into the Indiana Constitution.

In 2008, Indiana homeowners had an average property tax cut of more than 30 percent; a total of $870 million in tax cuts. To offset the loss in revenues the state raised the sales tax from 6% to 7% effective April 1, 2008.^[33]

Second term

On November 4, 2008, Daniels defeated Democratic candidate Jill Long Thompson and was elected to a second term as Governor with 57.8% of votes.^[34] He was reinaugurated on January 12, 2009. Washington Post blogger Chris Cillizza named the Daniels reelection campaign "The Best Gubernatorial Campaign of 2008" and noted that some Republicans were already bandying about his name for the 2012 presidential election.^[35]

Daniels was named one of 2008's eight best public officials by Governing Magazine, citing his persistence and efficiency.^[36]

On July 14, 2010 at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Daniels was on hand to help announce the return of IndyCar Series chassis manufacturing to the state of Indiana.^[37] Dallara Automobili will build a new technology center in Speedway, Indiana and the state of Indiana will subsidize the sale of the first 28 IndyCar chassis with a $150,000 discount.^[38]

Daniels as been recognized for his commitment to fiscal discipline. He is a recent recipient of the Herman Khan Award from the conservative think tank the Hudson Institute, of which he is a former President and CEO, and was one of the first to receive the Fiscy award for fiscal discipline "Award Recipients". Fiscy. http://www.thefiscys.com/award-recipients. Retrieved 2011-02-17..

Events in Madison, Wisconsin 2011

Daniels was interviewed in February, 2011, about the 2011 Wisconsin budget protests in Madison because, the interviewer said, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker had called Daniels "his great mentor and inspiration." First, Daniels replied, "I hadn't heard that Scott had said that, but, in general, I think, you know, he's simply doing what he promised the people of Wisconsin he would do," and went on to defend Walker's initiatives in general terms at some length. He added, though, that in Indiana "we're not in quite the same position or advocating quite the same things they are up in Madison."^[39]

2012 Presidential speculation

• Although Daniels had claimed to be reluctant to seek higher office,^[40] many media outlets, including Politico, The Weekly Standard, Forbes, The Washington Post, CNN, The Economist, and The Indianapolis Star had speculated that Daniels may be in position to seek the Republican nomination for President in 2012 after he joined the national debate on cap and trade legislation by penning a response in the Wall Street Journal to policies espoused by the Democratic-majority Congress and the White House.^[41][42] The speculators have cited Daniels' record of reforming government, reducing taxes, balancing the budget, and connecting with voters in Indiana.^{[43][44][45][46]} However, Daniels has expressed some positions that have ruffled feathers within the social conservative wing of the Republican Party. He "has called for a 'truce', for instance, on social issues, and expressed a willingness to consider tax increases to rectify a budget deficit."^[47]

• Daniels has received editorial praise. In August 2010, The Economist praised his "reverence for restraint and efficacy" and concluded that "He is, in short, just the kind of man to relish fixing a broken state – or country."^[48] Nick Gillespie of Reason magazine called Daniels "a smart and effective leader who is a serious thinker about history, politics, and policy," and wrote that "Daniels, like former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, is a Republican who knows how to govern and can do it well."^[49] In February 2011, David Brooks of the New York Times described Daniels as the "Party's strongest [would be] candidate" predicting that he "couldn't match Obama in grace and elegance, but he could on substance." ^[50]

• Also, Politico pointed out in a September article Daniel's recent meetings with high-profile leaders of the national party as a possible setup to run for the presidency. The article noted, however, that Daniels was not a charismatic politician, which may hinder any bid he made for national office.^[51]

• On December 12, 2010, Daniels suggested in a local interview that he would decide on a White House run before May 2011.^[52]

• A group of students founded "The Student Initiative to Draft Daniels" in early 2011 in an effort to convince him to run for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.^[53] In response to their speculation Daniels dismissed a presidential run in June 2009, saying "I've only ever run for or held one office. It's the last one I'm going to hold."^[54] However, in February 2010 he told a Washington Post reporter that he was open to the idea of running in 2012.^[55]

• "Students for Daniels" began featuring 'State Director for Student Initiative' positions publicly on ConservativeJobs.Com in January 2011.^[56] The "Students for Daniels" listed job availability in all 50 states, and the description stated "you will be in charge for recruiting new chapters in your state as well as getting Mitch's message out to local media."

Electoral history

Indiana gubernatorial election, 2004
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Mitch Daniels	1,302,912	53.2
	Democratic	Joe Kernan (Incumbent)	1,113,900	45.5
	Libertarian	Kenn Gividen	31,664	1.29

Indiana gubernatorial election, 2008
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Mitch Daniels (Incumbent)	1,542,371	57.8
	Democratic	Jill Long Thompson	1,067,863	40.1
	Libertarian	Andy Horning	56,651	2.1

See also

• List of Governors of Indiana
• List of current United States governors

References

• Gugin, Linda C. & St. Clair, James E, ed (2006). The Governors of Indiana. Indianapolis, Indiana: Indiana Historical Society Press. ISBN 0871951967.

External links

• Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels official Indiana government site
• Governor Mitch Daniels official campaign site

• Biography at the National Governors Association
• Biography, interest group ratings, public statements, vetoes and campaign finances at Project Vote Smart
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Campaign contributions at FollowTheMoney.org
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times

Political offices
Preceded by Jacob Lew	Director of the Office of Management and Budget 2001–2003	Succeeded by Joshua Bolten
Preceded by Joseph Kernan	Governor of Indiana 2005–present	Incumbent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by Joe Biden as Vice President	Order of Precedence of the United States Within Indiana	Succeeded by Mayor of city in which event is held
Succeeded by Otherwise John Boehner as Speaker of the House of Representatives
Preceded by Bobby Jindal as Governor of Louisiana	Order of Precedence of the United States Outside Indiana	Succeeded by Haley Barbour as Governor of Mississippi