Candidate for governor visits Winchester

By BILL RICHMOND

City editor

Democrat candidate for governor Jill Long Thompson Friday made a campaign stop in Winchester as part of her Road to Change Tour. Thompson greeted supporters and local candidates before outlining her plan for the state, if she is elected.

Long said the detailed plan to rebuild the state's economy, the One Indiana Plan, means she will be be ready on day one to create jobs, reduce home foreclosures and spur economic development.

"I think this is the most important election of my lifetime," Thompson said to cheers from local supporters. "I am running for you, to be a partner in change with the next president of the United States, Barack Obama.

"Under the leadership of Mitch Daniels, we are falling behind, because the jobs we are losing pay more than the jobs that are being created here. Governor Daniels says it's just part of the larger national economy which he is responsible for as President George W. Bush's former economic adviser. We cannot afford four more years of the Bush-Daniels economic policy."

Thompson said her One Indiana Plan will provide tax credits for jobs created, not jobs promised; a healthcare plan that allows small businesses to join a "pool" and offer more affordable coverage; and spur job growth in communities hit hardest by the current economy. "We need to get our high school graduation rate up and reform No Child Left Behind," she said. "Because it's leaving too many children behind.

"We will stop selling off Indiana's assets. The State Toll Road is an $11 million asset that he sold off for $3.8 billion.

"We're going to get Indiana back on track and create good-paying jobs for our children and grand children."

State Representative candidate Andy Schemenaur said Daniels' push for privatization of services is making it so that people fall through the cracks and sometimes don't receive the services they need.

"We're going to make a difference for Hoosiers across the state," Schemenaur said.