Brian Howey: Kernan-Shepard a once-in-a-century opportunity

When Gov. Mitch Daniels announced the additional members of the commission last Friday, the names included former secretary of state Sue Anne Gilroy, former IU President Adam Herbert, former state senator Louis Mahern, former Lincoln National CEO Ian Rolland and John Stafford.

My reaction: A credible commission that has the experience and gravitas to collect, analyze and come to conclusions in what could be a once-in-a-century chance to restructure Indiana government. The commission includes people with corporate, judicial, local government, state government, academic, and legislative experience. The biggest surprises were the lack of members with county and township experience.

Here’s a look at the commissioners and my analysis:

Gov. Joe Kernan: Served a year and a half as governor, six and a half as lieutenant governor, where he headed state commerce and agriculture. He was a three-term mayor of South Bend and served as city controller. He brings tantamount credibility as a state and local leader that only a former governor can bring. He is also a voice that progressive Indiana Democrats will heed.

Chief Justice Shepard: He is Indiana’s longest serving chief justice at 20 years, a constitutional scholar with an intricate knowledge of Indiana history. He began his public service as a top assistant to Evansville Mayor Russell Lloyd Sr. Along with Kernan, Daniels couldn’t have picked two better people to lift this commission above petty politics.

Sue Anne Gilroy, Indianapolis, currently vice president of development of St. Vincent Hospital and executive director of the St. Vincent Foundation. She served as Indiana Secretary of State from 1994 to 2002. Gilroy served as parks director under Mayor Richard Lugar and was later Sen. Lugar’s state director. She ran an unsuccessful campaign for mayor in 1999. Gilroy possesses intricate knowledge of the functioning of federal, state and local government.

Dr. Adam Herbert, Bloomington, former president of Indiana University. He holds a doctorate in urban affairs and public administration. Herbert is also on the state payroll for another year after leaving the IU presidency. There has been some speculation - similar to when he was president - on whether he will be a day-to-day presence since he has maintained a residence in Florida. But former Fort Wayne Mayor Paul Helmke sees Herbert’s Florida background as valuable. “It’s good to bring in an outside perspective,” he said.

Louis Mahern, Indianapolis, served in the Indiana Senate from 1976 to 1992 and is currently self-employed. He lost the 1991 mayoral race to Stephen Goldsmith. This is the most interesting selection. He is a Democrat and is president of the Indianapolis Library Board, which has been mired in the Central Library building fiasco. Mahern came on board after most of the problems and is credited with helping to stabilize the situation. Thus, Mahern brings to the commission knowledge of one of those “silos” Chief Justice Shepard referred to at the 2005 HPR Forum (and recounted in the July 19 edition of HPR) that can levy taxes but whose representatives are unelected. Mahern has drawn the ire of the AFL-CIO over attempts to unionize the library employees. Former congressman Andrew Jacobs Jr. had been the other Democrat under consideration.
Ian M. Rolland, Fort Wayne, retired chair and chief executive officer of Lincoln Financial Group. Rolland has served on the boards of NIPSCO Industries, Inc., Bright Horizons Family Solutions and Tokheim Corporation. He is also been a board member of the Hudson Institute, Indiana Historical Society, University of Saint Francis, Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute, and Indiana Chapter of the Nature Conservancy. Rolland has been an important leader in Fort Wayne arts, parks, public schools, AIDS education, and programs to improve inner-city housing and curb youth violence. Rolland brings a corporate world view to the commission to a project where Indiana’s 1851 Constitution has been the blueprint and has been deemed by many to need restructured - like just about every successful corporation has.

John Stafford, Fort Wayne, director of the Community Research Institute at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. He served for more than 20 years in a variety of capacities in Fort Wayne and Allen County government. Stafford has taught courses for SPEA in the area urban policy and planning. Stafford was formerly chief of staff to Mayor Helmke, who had been one of the early proponents of government restructuring since the 1970 Constitution Commission failed to get reforms passed. Stafford served with Helmke when the city was gripped by the crack cocaine catastrophe during the late 1980s and ‘90s, and knows how it impacted local and county government, the judicial system, government agencies and non-profits. The Helmke administration also achieved an aggressive annexation policy that brought the city’s population from 170,000 to close to 250,000. Helmke credited Stafford with getting him starting to think about restructuring government 30 years ago. “John Stafford knows this stuff inside and out,” Helmke said.

Who else is needed? Progressives in the Republican and Democratic parties who will take the Kernan-Shepard recommendations and work ensure we don’t lose this once-in-a-century to the people who know how to game and profit from the archaic status quo.

Howey is publisher of The Howey Political Report at www.howeypolitics.com