Jill Long Thompson for governor

With all the attention given to Indiana’s important role in this year’s presidential primary, few students realize our gubernatorial race is just as exciting.\nTwo candidates, Jill Long Thompson and Jim Schellinger, are running for the Democratic nomination. If the party is to accomplish its goal of taking back the Governor’s office, it is crucial that Hoosiers, especially the thousands of IU students voting on the Democratic ticket, select a serious candidate this May 6.\nFormerly a U.S. representative and under secretary of Agriculture for rural development, Long Thompson is unquestionably that candidate. Unlike Schellinger, whose political experience comes from making donations to other Democrats and who fails to even mention on his Web site the specific issues he hopes to address if elected, Long Thompson has proven her commitment to making quality public policy.\nWhen I spoke with Long Thompson on April 9 over the phone, we talked a lot about education, which, along with sustainable economic growth, is one of her primary campaign issues.\nDescribing herself as “a product of public education” (she attended public 1-12 schools, and received her MBA and Ph.D. in business from IU), Long Thompson has been a professor and believes in providing adequate funding and greater flexibility to Indiana’s schools. She told me she proposes to be a leader in reforming No Child Left Behind, a move crucial to improving public education.\nLong Thompson also said she advocates closing the gap dividing the quality of public education in Indiana’s inner city and rural schools from that offered in more affluent communities.\nOne important way to increase equal opportunity is to ensure that all residents have access to broadband Internet. Because it’s sometimes impossible to submit homework or complete projects without the Internet, elementary and high school students who don’t have a speedy Internet connection are, through no fault of their own, behind in their classes from day one. Students without access are invariably from rural or urban households or from families making less than $30,000 annually. Long Thompson’s plan to make broadband service available to these groups, then, will do more than provide people with a modern convenience. It will give everyone an opportunity to make the most of their lives.\nAnother worry we face as students is finding employment after graduation. Because many graduates of our state’s universities move out of state to search for professional work that pays well, some like to joke that diplomas have become our state’s leading export. To arrest this brain drain, Long Thompson said she supports “economic development policies that attract good-paying jobs” and expanding renewable energy and energy efficiency development to provide more Hoosiers with unparalleled job opportunities.\nEncouraging investment in clean-energy technology not only promises jobs for our state’s graduates; it also maintains a clean and sustainable environment.\nBecause I want to live in a well-educated, prosperous and environmentally responsible state, I support Long Thompson for governor. I encourage you to find out more information about her at hoosiersforjill.com and to consider voting for this outstanding candidate.