Jill Long Thompson Launches Candidacy for Governor
ARGOS, IN – Former Congresswoman and U.S. Under Secretary of Agriculture Jill Long Thompson today launched her campaign to become the next Governor of Indiana. During stops in South Bend, Fort Wayne, and Indianapolis, Long Thompson cited her extensive experience that will help her lead a major effort to “Reinvest in Indiana.”
“I am running for Governor because I have the experience, commitment, energy, dedication, and vision to get Indiana moving in the right direction again,” said Long Thompson. “As a teacher, a small businesswoman, a city councilwoman, and a three-term member of Congress from one of the most Republican districts in the nation, I know how to bring together Democrats and Republicans to get things done - something that Indiana sorely needs.”
“As your next Governor, I will use my experience to work with the people of our great state to capitalize on Hoosier ingenuity and hard work. And I will lead a comprehensive effort to “Reinvest in Indiana” ... to reinvest in our economic foundation; to reinvest in our infrastructure; to reinvest in our educational institutions, teachers, and students; to reinvest in job training; and to reinvest in social services for those who truly need help.”
Long Thompson drew a sharp contrast with the pro-privatization policies of the current Republican Governor Mitch Daniels.
“I will lead with a clear understanding of the difference between investing and mere spending. I know the difference between investing and outsourcing. And I will never confuse investing with privatization. For 16 years, the incumbent governor’s predecessors all managed to keep the state going strong without resorting to pillaging the state’s wealth.”
“Let us return to what we know works. Let us return to the sound economic and management strategies of Evan Bayh, Frank O’Bannon, and Joe Kernan – strategies that kept Indiana moving forward without gambling away our wealth.”
“As Governor, I promise an agenda of change that will put Indiana back on the right road – a road owned by us - to real economic growth that helps all Hoosier families and builds a real foundation for future growth,” said Long Thompson.
“I realize I am the one candidate running for Governor who is not a political insider. But, I have always believed that government works best when it flows up from the people, rather than down from the politicians and lobbyists. That has been one of the main problems with the current administration.”
“I think of it as my calling to challenge politics-as-usual. I proposed the first gift ban law in Congress, an unpopular move among some of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. And I resisted demands by some to vote f or new tax increases because I believe working people already pay enough in taxes. That is why I never once voted for new taxes or a tax increase during all my years in Congress.”
“I believe one of the things that binds us together as a state is our common Hoosier Hometown Values of family, faith, and hard work, of honesty and commitment to our nation's democratic ideals. I have lived the American Dream. Just as my parents were the first in their families to graduate from high school, I was the first to graduate from college – with the help of part-time jobs, a scholarship, and a national defense student loan.”
“That is why I want to make sure all Hoosiers – in our cities, our small towns, and in our rural communities – have a fair chance to fulfill their potential and live the American Dream. And I want our state to fulfill its potential. There is only one thing standing between Indiana and its potential – the quality of Indiana’s leadership. But, today we begin the process of changing that.”
Long Thompson called on Hoosiers to send their ideas how to get Indiana back on track by visiting her new website: www.hoosiersforjill.com.
Long Thompson will continue her announcement tour on Wednesday, July 11 with stops in Terre Haute and Evansville and will soon open a campaign office in Argos.
Jill Long Thompson represented Northeast Indiana in the US House of Representatives serving from 1989 to 1995. She also served as Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development from 1996 to 2001. Long Thompson most recently served as CEO of The National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy. She received her BA from Valparaiso University, and her MA and PhD from Indiana University. Jill Long Thompson and her husband Don Thompson, a commercial airline pilot, live on a farm in Marshall County.
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Jill Long Thompson for Governor
Announcement Speech
July 10, 2007
Hello everyone. Thank you very much for coming here today.
I am honored to see so many good friends and strong supporters – it is really nice to see you.
Please allow me to take a moment to thank our public servants who give so much to our state and our country – the men and women in our military, our veterans, our teachers, our police and firefighters, and all the others who sacrifice for our common good. We owe them an enormous debt of gratitude.
I love Indiana and I know you are here today because you love Indiana as much as I do. We want to make sure that our beloved state grows and prospers in this new and challenging century, and thrives in ways that are truly fair and productive for ALL Hoosier families.
That is why today I am announcing my candidacy to become the next Governor of our great state of Indiana.
I am running for Governor because I have the experience, commitment, energy, dedication, and vision to get Indiana moving in the right direction again.
Although I didn't realize it growing up, I have spent a lifetime preparing to lead this state.
As many of you know, I grew up with two brothers on a family farm in Whitley County. My husband Don and I live on our family farm in Marshall County. I am blessed to have grown up in a state with great colleges and universities and I hold a Bachelor of Science in Business from Valparaiso University and an M.B.A. and Ph.D. from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business.
I have been a teacher, a small businesswoman, a city councilwoman, and a three-term Member of Congress from one of the most Republican districts in the nation. I know how to bring together Democrats and Republicans to get things done – something Indiana sorely needs.
I was appointed by a Democratic President and confirmed by a Republican U.S. Senate to serve as Under Secretary for Rural Development at the United States Department of Agriculture, where I led three agencies of 7,000 workers with a nearly $10 billion annual budget. While working there, I helped to spur economic development and create new jobs in hard-pressed rural communities all over the country, including Scott, Starke, and many other counties right here in Indiana.
I have been truly blessed with opportunity and real life experience – the kind of experience needed to lead Indiana back on track, creating jobs and opportunity for our future.
Now I am going to share a little secret with you..... I have never backed away from taking charge when there is a job to be done. To be a good leader, you have to be willing to take charge. But, there is something a bit different about the way I approach the responsibilities of leadership. It's a little like driving a car - I may be behind the wheel, I may be responsible for making sure the tires are good and the tank is filled with E-85, but I know I will reach my destination more quickly if I ask people who know something about where I am headed to give me some good directions.
A good leader brings all kinds of people to the table, takes the best ideas from among them, turns those ideas into a workable plan, and then makes that plan a reality. And as Governor, that is what I will do to lead our state in a new direction.
My friends, are you ready to work with me to take our state in a new direction?
Growing up on a farm and studying business in college and graduate school, I had some very good teachers and I learned early the difference between spending money and investing wisely. Whether it's a household, a business, or our government, we achieve greater success when we invest – not spend – the resources we have. Indiana is blessed with many and varied resources. We must invest wisely. There is no time to waste.
As your next Governor, I will lead with a clear understanding of the difference between investing and mere spending.
I know the difference between investing and outsourcing.
And I will never confuse investing with privatization.
As your next Governor, I will use my experience to work with the people of our great state to capitalize on Hoosier ingenuity and hard work. And I will lead a comprehensive effort to "Reinvest in Indiana" ... to reinvest in our economic foundation; to reinvest in our infrastructure; to reinvest in our educational institutions, teachers, and students; to reinvest in job training; and to reinvest in social services for those who truly need help.
Under the current administration, Indiana has been losing good-paying jobs at an alarming rate. Last year alone, 17,000 manufacturing jobs were lost. Real income has dropped below the national average. And many families are being squeezed by increases in the property taxes on their homes.
To turn things around, I will work tirelessly to reinvest in Indiana's manufacturing base to create and attract new jobs. And I will increase the use of technology parks and zones to bring a new wave of high-tech, state-of-the-art, mini-industries to Indiana to create and attract high-tech jobs.
I will call upon Hoosier ingenuity and hard work to invest in new economic solutions in areas of biotechnology and bio-energy, and to build upon our pharmaceutical and medical expertise, as well as our precision manufacturing capabilities.
And you can be certain that as an Indiana family farmer, I will also make sure that Indiana family farms find access to new and reliable markets for their harvests, including the emerging bio-fuel market. And I will take a leadership role among our nation's Governors to ensure international trade agreements that are fair to our farmers and workers. Let's reinvest in our economy!
Today nearly 25% of Indiana high school students are not graduating. This is a tragic waste of talent that hurts all of us. As a former teacher, I know it is time to unleash a new era of innovation in our schools. We need to develop more creative classrooms that give teachers the flexibility to educate the kind of skilled, creative students we need for the new economy.
As Governor, I will also reinvest in higher education, in part, by intensifying our state universities' role as incubators of new ideas for economic innovation and invention, so we can create the new industries and jobs we need, and so our college graduates have real opportunities here in Indiana. Our children are the hope for Indiana's future – let's reinvest in their future!
It is no secret that many people all across Indiana are deeply worried about the incumbent Governor's ideological obsession with privatizing and leasing off state resources and assets. It is nothing more than a quick fix in which a handful of out-of-state and foreign investors are getting a better deal than the public is getting in return. We know that with another four years this administration would push to sell off additional Indiana resources and assets, such as public parks and roads. Let's say "No!" to Mr. Daniels and reinvest in our future!
For sixteen years, the incumbent governor's predecessors all managed to keep the state going strong without resorting to pillaging the state's wealth. Let us return to what we know works. Let us return to the sound economic and management strategies of Evan Bayh, Frank O'Bannon, and Joe Kernan – strategies that kept Indiana moving forward without gambling away our wealth.
As Governor, I promise an agenda of change that will put Indiana back on the right road – a road owned by us - to real economic growth that helps all Hoosier families and builds a real foundation for future growth.
I realize I am the one candidate running for Governor who is not a political insider. But, I have always believed that government works best when it flows up from the people, rather than down from the politicians and lobbyists. That has been one of the main problems with the current administration.
I think of it as my calling to challenge politics-as-usual. I proposed the first gift ban law in Congress, an unpopular move among some of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. And I resisted demands by some to vote for new tax increases because I believe working people already pay enough in taxes. That is why I never once voted for new taxes or a tax increase during all my years in Congress.
And it is why I strongly believe we need tax reform. As Governor, I will call for a comprehensive review of the Indiana tax code, to modernize and overhaul so we can attack the crisis in runaway property taxes and other tax burdens that are crushing the middle class.
I believe one of the things that binds us together as a state is our common Hoosier Hometown Values of family, faith, and hard work, of honesty and commitment to our nation's democratic ideals.
I have lived the American Dream. Just as my parents were the first in their families to graduate from high school, I was the first to graduate from college – with the help of part-time jobs, a scholarship, and a national defense student loan.
But, my family has also known first-hand the same struggles faced by many Hoosiers, as the result of bad policies. My family barely weathered the farm crisis of the 1980's. My mother lost her job in a small factory in Larwill when the work was moved to Mexico.
That is why I want to make sure all Hoosiers – in our cities, our small towns, and in our rural communities – have a fair chance to fulfill their potential and live the American Dream. And I want our state to fulfill its potential.
I was born here in Indiana; I grew up here; I went to school here; I've taught here; and I've worked here. That's why I love Indiana. And that's why I know we have the capacity to be an economic powerhouse in a changing world.
There is only one thing standing between Indiana and its potential – the quality of Indiana’s leadership. But, today we begin the process of changing that. I hope you will share your ideas about how to get Indiana back on track by logging onto my website www.hoosiersforjill.com. I hope you will volunteer.
But, most of all, I hope you will help me get our state moving forward again as we reinvest in Indiana!