TERRE HAUTE —
A governor’s race that is lively, yet not bitter. Perhaps even civil.
Is that possible in Indiana? Or anywhere in America? John Gregg thinks so.
Though neither Gregg (a Democrat) nor Mike Pence (a Republican) have decided whether to run for governor of the Hoosier state in 2012, both seem interested. Gregg — who retired as speaker of the Indiana House in 2002 — said in a telephone interview Monday, “I haven’t said ‘yes’ yet, but I am giving it real serious consideration.” Pence, an Indiana congressman who passed on a run for president in ’12, told the Anderson Herald Bulletin on Friday that he was “open to a run for governor.”
Gregg and Pence were law school classmates at Indiana University. Pence, a former radio talk show host, got Gregg his own weekly show at WIBC-AM 1070 in Indianapolis. “Mike Pence and I are friends,” Gregg said Monday. “Mike Pence wants a better Indiana, just as I do. We just go at it in different ways.”
So, if both say “yes,” what kind of political atmosphere would a Pence-vs.-Gregg campaign generate? “We need to return to civility,” Gregg said.
“We [he and Pence] could look each other in the eye on election night or the next day and not be a bit embarrassed about what was said,” he speculated.
If they decide to run, that is.
Gregg stepped out of politics nearly nine years ago to spend more time with his family. The same priority still weighs heavily with him concerning the race for governor. One son, John, is a freshman at Butler University. The other, Hunter, is a high school junior. Last summer, Gregg and his older son spent a 12-day vacation together, and the dad got to see all of his son’s high school sports events. “And if I do this,” Gregg said of the run for governor, “I’d miss [Hunter’s] senior year, and I don’t know if I want to do that. Because, I had a ball with the other one during his senior year.”
Those are not small considerations.
“Those are major factors,” Gregg said. “That’s why I left in the first place.”
Since deciding not to seek re-election as representative of the 45th District — which then included parts of Vigo, Sullivan, Greene, Knox and Daviess counties — Gregg has stayed busy. In addition to his WIBC gig, he’s worked as an attorney and lobbyist, operating a law practice in Vincennes with the Indianapolis-based Bingham McHale firm.
He wrote a book about his political career, “From Sandborn to the Statehouse,” which was published in 2008. And he maintains his farm in Sandborn.
Gregg faced prostate cancer in 2004, but said he’ll celebrate seven years of being “cancer free” this August. After recent hip-replacement surgery, and shedding 60 pounds gradually on a Weight Watchers diet, the 56-year-old said he feels good.
Still, the heat of political races has intensified since 2002. (The tea party is attacking Richard Lugar for being too liberal.) Even if Gregg and Pence stay above the fray, things can get brutal from outside-in. As soon as Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel announced he wouldn’t run for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, Gregg’s name popped up, along with reminders of the controversial lifetime health-care benefit for state legislators that passed during Gregg’s time as House speaker.
After serving in the House from 1986 to 2002 — including stints as speaker, minority leader and majority leader — Gregg’s record is long enough for opposition to find vulnerable spots.
“The great thing is, those are all going to be pointed out to me, probably in the next 24 to 36 hours,” Gregg quipped.
He also seems unfazed by the state Democrats’ current lack of muscle, and doesn’t see his party as the unfocused, demoralized lot often characterized. Nationally, President Obama “probably hit his low point in the 2010 election,” Gregg said, but has recently seen his approval ratings rise to 51 percent this month. Indiana Democrats took a similar shellacking, as Obama put it, in the Statehouse races. As a result, the GOP now holds dominant majorities in the House and Senate, as well as the governorship.
“I’ve been around politics long enough that for every great defeat, there’s a great victory,” Gregg said. “It’s cyclical.
“There’s enthusiasm among the Democrats,” Gregg insisted, “and I really think my Republican friends in the Legislature are over-reaching, and that’s how I became speaker [in 1996].” In the current session of the General Assembly, Republicans have successfully moved forward not only education reform and budgetary changes, but also some parts of a conservative social agenda — a diversion from Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels’ plans.
The possibility of Gregg trying to replace Daniels dates back to 2008. Gregg toured the state with Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, “and I enjoyed it.” Three years later, Gregg wanted to see if Weinzapfel would seek the governorship. “I felt like, if he wouldn’t, I’d probably consider it,” Gregg said.
And that’s what he’s doing now. Gregg isn’t sure how long he has to decide. He knows other Democrats also may want to run. (Congressman Joe Donnelly is a possibility, and former 8th District Rep. Brad Ellsworth has been mentioned.) Gregg is thinking about his kids, about the demands of running a campaign and of holding a public office.
“So those are just a couple of the issues,” Gregg said. “And there’s some issues I’ve checked off, saying, ‘Yeah, you could run.’ But I’ve still got a bunch of others to decide, and I want people to realize that I’m not to that point yet. And the kids are going to be the final decision as I’m continuing trying to work through some issues and come to a conclusion as to what I’m going to do.”
Nobody should fault him for taking time to ponder all of that.
Mark Bennett can be reached at (812) 231-4377 or mark.bennett@tribstar.com.
News
Related Photos
-
John Gregg (Tribune-Star file)
Discussion
Gregg says he’s pondering run for Indiana governor
Former Indiana House speaker says family commitments govern his decision
- News
-
-
Rockville correctional facility program teaches life skills
It’s hard to know who benefits the most: the inmates or the dogs.
-
AAA mag recognizes city for arts works
The nonprofit organization that uses outdoor sculpture to draw attention to Terre Haute is getting some notice of its own.
-
State pushing for convenience stores to make safety a higher priority
In 2002, after New Mexico forced convenience store owners to put sweeping security measures into place for clerks working late-night hours, the number of robberies dropped by 92 percent. Assaults, murders and other crimes at convenience stores also dropped dramatically.
Now Indiana officials are hoping voluntary compliance with similar safety standards will bring about similar results.
-
Patriotism & Honor
From his vantage point, Sonner Faught could see almost every volunteer in the cemetery.
-
Graduation turns to mourning in Clinton
Jeana Lunsford’s graduation from South Vermillion High School Saturday should have been a time of celebration.
-
School choice proponents foresee growth of vouchers
Twenty-seven Vigo County students benefited from tax-supported vouchers during the first year of the Choice Scholarship Program, and that number is expected to grow for 2012-13, say Indiana school choice leaders who visited Terre Haute Thursday.
-
Tales of obstruction meet first takeover attempts
A decade after Indiana legislators gave the state the power to take over chronically failing schools, the first implementation of the law is meeting with resistance, skepticism and questions about its costs.
-
MIKE LUNSFORD: Raising a flag for my father, veteran or not
My daughter, Ellen, and I stood at my parents’ graves on Mother’s Day a few weeks back and talked about how it couldn’t possibly have been so long since we lost them. My dad, for instance, has been gone for 16 years, and that is nearly unimaginable
-
3 rescued from burning residence
Quick action on the part of some first-responders is credited with saving the lives of three people in a Vermillion County fire early Saturday morning, according to the Vermillion County Sheriff’s Department.
-
He never forgot a name: Friends remember victim of fire at Garfield Towers
When Freddie Poore met you, he never forgot you.
-
Hometown boy embraces ‘Promise I Made’: Clinton native Ken Kercheval takes role in Dreams Come True production
Thanks to some help from a hometown boy in Hollywood, “This Promise I Made” is still on track to be kept in Clinton.
-
STATE OF THE STATEHOUSE: Many say they don’t vote in primary because of tag that comes with it
A couple of columns ago, I posed a question about why most Indiana polling places on primary election day had so few customers.
-
Police looking for convenience store robber
Police are seeking a robbery suspect following a Saturday morning armed robbery at the Jiffy MiniMart at 25th Street and Eighth Avenue.
-
Graduation ‘responsibility’: Rose-Hulman stages 134th commencement exercises
Inventor Dean Kamen gave a first-hand demonstration Saturday of how to be an innovator.
-
THE OFF SEASON: To the seniors, one last lecture before you go …
It dawned on me one day last week, as I sat at my desk in my teacher clothes and shoes, a stack of ungraded essays calling to me from a rather tall and depressing pile, that I hadn’t missed a high school graduation in 33 years.
-
HOT MEMORIAL DAY weekend ahead for workers, campers, garage salers
The Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial kickoff of summer, and this weekend is expected to be a scorcher with consecutive days of temperatures in the low to mid-90s.
-
Water rescuers
Emergency personnel wheel a man who was removed from a vehicle that had been driven into the water at Crystal Lake on Boston Avenue near 14th Street at about 9 p.m. Friday.
-
For many, camping outdoors is the way to beat the heat, enjoy nature
Stringing up fishing poles in the shade of American flags, households full of Hoosiers are packing into parks across the state this weekend.
-
Towns along National Road readying for next week’s miles-long yard sale
Stretching 824 miles from Baltimore to St. Louis, the National Road — known as U.S. 40 through Indiana — will soon be the host site for perhaps the longest bargain market in the country.
-
Rose grads honoring late president Branam at commencement today
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Class of 2012 will honor the memory of Matt Branam during today’s commencement ceremony by wearing special pins with the phrase “Make It Happen; Make It Fun,” a favorite saying of the former Rose-Hulman president, who died unexpectedly on April 20.
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 26, 2012
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Thursday and Friday, based on jail records. Charges are recommended by arresting officers but are not final until the Vigo County prosecutor reviews the case and files official charges.
-
Quiz King
Matt Aselage doesn’t usually watch TV game shows, but he is certainly up-to-date on current events.
-
A fallen soldier returns home
An Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Spc. Arronn D. Fields early Thursday morning at Dover Air Force Base, Del.
-
Official touts trade with northern neighbor
A top Canadian diplomat told a Terre Haute audience Thursday his country was “disappointed” when President Obama at least temporarily rejected a proposed transcontinental oil pipeline from Alberta to Texas.
-
Caution urged for summer’s kickoff
Lane restrictions in construction zones on Interstate 70 and other highways around the state will be lifted to accommodate holiday travel for the Memorial Day Weekend.
-
Letters delivered
Several positions will be eliminated this summer at the Terre Haute mail processing facility as the U.S. Postal Service begins moving the operation to Indianapolis, a U.S. Postal Service spokesman has confirmed.
-
Companies seek Vigo tax abatements
Two Vigo County companies are seeking tax abatements for expansion projects, one of which is included as part of a county incentive package.
-
High-speed chase suspect caught in West Virginia
The suspect in a cross-country, high-speed chase originating in Terre Haute last week was reportedly in federal custody Thursday evening.
-
Second victim of deadly I-70 semi-trailer crash identified
The Vigo County Coroner’s Office has identified the passenger of a semi-tractor crash on May 16 in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 near the 12-mile marker.
-
Brazil remembers a Fallen Son
A small town seemed sadly quiet Wednesday, waiting to honor a local fallen warrior.
- More News Headlines
-
Man Falls Off Crane, Dies After Police Standoff
Witness Describes Fla. Face-chewing Attack
Raw Video: Cop Shoots Man Eating Another's Face
Man in Crane at Texas College Says He's Armed
Unexpected Smog in Pristine National Parks
Obama Honors Fallen Troops at Arlington Cemetery
Raw Video: Deadly Explosion at Minn. Paper Mill
Dairy Farm Uses Chiropractor to Help Cows
Romney Promises World's Strongest Military
Russia Condemns Ally Syria Over Massacre of 108
Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing
Raw Video: Earthquake Shakes Evacuees in Italy
Obama Pays Tribute to Vietnam Veterans
Beryl Knocks Out Power in Florida
Raw Video: 19 Dead in Qatar Shopping Mall Fire
15 Dead in Northern Italy's 5.8-magnitude Quake
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Memorial Day Aboard Intrepid
New Ticks Spread Across Southeast, Diseases Rise
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast
Hamster Plays Dead
Beyonce Shows Off 60 Pound Weight Loss at Concert
Drunk Women Breaking Into Houses: A New Trend?
LeAnn Rimes Rocks Short Shorts
Gordon Ramsay Carried Off Field
Man Dies Getting Lap Dance
Kim Kardashian Claims Items Stolen from Her Luggage
Bear cools off in Calif. family's pool
Ep. 3: Chopped Desserts
Air Force dad surprises family at baseball game
Justin Bieber Wanted for Questioning for L.A. Scuffle
J.Lo and Marc's Friendly Reunion
Jet makes emergency landing after debris falls off
Cynthia Nixon Ties the Knot
Woman, 80, Falls Out of Skydive Harness Mid-Jump
Keira Reveals Engagement Ring
Dog runs alonside cyclists for 1,100 miles
