Dinner for Daniels

Indiana is in desperate need of change. That was the message republican candidate for governor Mitch Daniels brought to Monroe County Monday night when the Indiana Republican Party held its annual Lincoln Day Dinner.\nDaniels, the keynote speaker for the evening, gave his view on the current problems facing Indiana and offered a series of solutions that formed the theme of his campaign agenda. \nMany of Indiana's republican leaders and supporters were present to discuss Daniels' campaign and to share ideas about the state's financial problems.\nBloomington City Council District V Representative David Sabbagh expressed his happiness with Daniels and the need for change in the state.\n"Mitch is a very bright man. He's about innovative solutions to the state's problems," Sabbagh said. "For example, he is trying to bring investments into the state, like venture capital."\nDaniels has plenty of experience in working with leaders. He worked under both George W. Bush and President Ronald Reagan and as a member of senior management with Eli Lilly from 1990 to 2001.\nAs the keynote speaker of the evening, Daniels addressed the growing concerns of Indiana's current budget, job growth and the ever-present brain drain.\n"I think the Republican Party in Indiana has a duty to prepare a constructive and compelling case for change," Daniels said. "Given the loss of jobs and the the loss of bright people, we need a new direction."\nDaniels said Indiana is faced with the recognition of economic decline and government mismanagement. \n"We need to change for change's sake," Daniels said. "If there was a place in Indiana where jobs existed and people were satisfied and complacent, I would think I had found it by now."\nRepublican Eric Miller, another candidate for governor, also emphasized Indiana's need to control spending and increase jobs.\n"Over the last four years, spending has increased more than the state has room for," Miller said. "We need to make Indiana business-friendly and create more jobs to give to Indiana graduates. Businesses create jobs, not the government."\nConnie Nass, auditor of the state, said the state is desperate for new leadership and a new direction.\n"Indiana is a great place to live, but we're far behind, thanks to 16 years of leadership by the other guys."\nDaniels called for an end to the state's regional feuding.\n"It's important that we start to act like a uniform state. We are so divided right now, and every corner of the state that I've been to, someone tells me they feel like the forgotten part of the state. We don't have the luxury to pit ourselves against one another."\nDaniels said that although the state faces problems, Indiana residents are still succeeding.\n"For every story of hardship I hear about, I find five stories of people who are making it against the odds," Daniels said. "We've got what it takes, I don't doubt we can get Indiana back into the game."\nThe banquet had the largest crowd in its history with almost 260 republican supporters in attendance.\nJohn Shean, chairperson of the Monroe County Republican Party, helped run the evening's event and was very pleased with the outcome.\n"Traditionally, this is the annual gathering for republicans throughout Indiana," Shean said. "It's a way for all of us to get together and have a celebration of the party, and its our biggest event of the year, and this year was our biggest crowd ever."\n-- Contact staff writer Lindsay Jancek at lmjancek@indiana.edu.