Closed (IBEW) Thomson Plant figures in Indiana Governor's race

http://www.wishtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1770221&nav=0Ra7M8Cj

Daniels Targets Democrats' Jobs Record
By Jim Shella
News 8 Political Reporter

The city of Marion is one spot that could well become a political battleground in this state.

Republican Mitch Daniels campaigned there Wednesday, one week after an appearance by Governor Joe Kernan.

Daniels brought his campaign to the closed Thomson factory in Marion where he made a new job creation proposal and then criticized the governor for doing too little, too late.

Coming to a place after the damage has been done and sprinkling tax dollars around is a nice gesture but is not a strategy, said Daniels. Driving the bus into the tree and then distributing aspirin to the injured is not an adequate response.

Union leaders for the displaced workers were among those listening. This is very insulting to our people, him making political hay on their misfortunes. It hasn't even been a month since the announcement, said David Ruhmkorff, IBEW.

I'm not sure state government's really responsible. It's not like this jobs are moving from Indiana to Illinois. These jobs are leaving because its 60 cents an hour in China, said Steve Rowland, IBEW member and former Thomson worker.

But Daniels brought more than criticism. He escorted a group of business leaders from Indianapolis and elsewhere to city hall. There they met with Marion Mayor Wayne Seybold to investigate ways to attract new jobs.

Governor Joe Kernan meantime offered a counterpoint in southern Indiana visiting a steel company in Princeton to highlight job growth there. I just wanted to come by and say thank you for their continued efforts and their continued partnership in helping to create jobs in Indiana, the governor said.

Daniels believes his message is the stronger one. It's been a terrible failure of our government not to have generated or attracted new jobs to replace those that are gonna be lost in our state, said Daniels.

Among Daniels' proposals, he is calling for a streamlined state permitting policy that he said would make sites including the Thomson factory "shovel-ready" for companies hoping to expand or relocate there. While other states were very busy diversifying their economies, throwing out the welcome mat to new kinds of businesses, we went asleep at the wheel, he said.

The unemployment rate in Marion is now over 13 percent. In surrounding Grant County it's over 10 percent. That compares to a statewide unemployment rate of 5.9 percent. That means that the folks in Marion can expect to be part of the focus in the race for governor for the rest of the campaign, like it or not.