Judy O'Bannon steps aside for Gov. Kernan

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Judy O'Bannon's public presence has never loomed larger as it has over the past week, but she feels duty-bound to step aside in the coming weeks to make room for the new administration.\nHer late husband hand-picked Joe Kernan to be his running mate and, unforeseeably, his successor. Mrs. O'Bannon does not intend to maintain any official capacity in the Kernan administration, her chief-of-staff, Jonathon Swain, said Monday.\nThe crisis that began with Gov. Frank O'Bannon's stroke Sept. 8 thrust the first lady into the limelight at a time when others in her situation would shrink from public attention. Her sunny public persona displayed its solid core as she expressed gratitude and reassurance from the governor's bedside in a Chicago hospital, then came home Saturday to comfort his grieving aides and witness the swearing-in of Kernan.\nMrs. O'Bannon will keep her home in the temporary governor's residence at Fort Harrison State Park for an undetermined time, but she has made it clear that moving out is a top priority, Swain said.\n"Foremost in her mind is she needs to move," Swain said, quoting her as telling others, "This is no longer my house to live in."\nShe embraced a number of causes as first lady, notably literacy, making the permanent governor's residence on the north side of Indianapolis more accessible to the disabled, and marking Indiana's statehood bicentennial in 2016 with greater involvement in communities.\nShe's certain to remain the public face for some causes, but no longer with the cachet she carried as first lady.\nKernan, in speaking with reporters Monday, invited Mrs. O'Bannon to continue serving the state in any capacity she desires.\n"She has been so important to Indiana state government and to the state of Indiana and the people here that I would welcome her continued participation in any of the variety of different programs and activities that she has been involved in," Kernan said.\nHowever, the funeral arrangements for the late governor and other matters attending his death have precluded any discussions.\n"I don't think I would be speaking out of turn to say that she would discourage any discussion of her having some official role in state government," Swain said. "She feels Governor Kernan is a strong and capable leader, and this is his administration now."\nMrs. O'Bannon is chairwoman of the Indiana 2016 task force, which wants Indiana residents to target the bicentennial for achieving long-term goals and greater involvement in their communities. In that capacity, she was the host of a 13-episode television series, "Communities Building Community," that aired on Indiana's nine public television affiliates and one in Kentucky.\nWFYI, the affiliate in Indianapolis that produced the series' first season, currently is seeking funding for a second season that likely would begin filming in the fall, said Clayton Taylor, vice president of production at the station.\n"From our standpoint, I would have every hope that Judy would want to continue," Taylor said.