Democratic candidate John Gregg’s last gubernatorial run against Gov. Mike Pence was a close one: Final counts show him behind by about 3 percent. Since then, things have changed. Following his loss in 2012, Gregg went on the road supporting other candidates, but he never took his eyes off what was happening statewide. “We were not working on the economy, there was no infrastructure or energy plan. The drug crisis was continuing to grow all over the state,” he said. Beyond those concerns, Gregg took issue with the Pence administration’s decision to reject federal pre-K funding, which he attributes to a dislike for President Obama.
“I came home and talked to my wife about (running). I knew what it took. I understood the sacrifice. She asked me if this was about just being the governor or serving as governor. I know there are some issues that are never fully going to be solved … education, infrastructure … but the idea of serving got to me, and we jumped in with both feet.”
His run this time around feels more progressive and polished. Noticeable differences include a more distinct plan for the future of the state and a reformed stance on same-sex marriage, something he has opposed in the past. As for the change of heart, he points to a conversation he had with his daughter, Stevie, who is also an attorney. They started the discussion with the anti-miscegenation laws that banned mixed-race marriage; at the end of their talk, Gregg says, he saw the potential negative implications of his former stance. “As a Christian, I became aware that most people know what you’re against, but not what you’re for. When I saw that they passed RFRA, there was no need to pass that.” His current platform includes a plan to offer civil rights protections to LGBTQ state employees. “These are issues that show we’re a welcoming community, that we respect people and that we want all people to feel welcome here in Indiana.”
Additionally, he plans to expand voting access, increase school funding and address the Black unemployment rate.
At the gubernatorial forum held in September by the Recorder and Radio One, Gregg took a surprisingly bold stance by stating that Black lives “unequivocally” do matter. Though such a statement could be reduced to textbook political pandering, Gregg took it further by aligning it with policy. Gregg plans to implement more monitoring of how government bids are awarded to minority- and women-owned businesses and create a pipeline for returning citizens, who qualify, to have their records expunged and have access to services.
“We’ve seen in the last couple years that race relations in this country do not seem to be improving. The worst thing is, we don’t talk about it. We need to talk about it. I have no problem making a statement that Black lives matter. It’s about reaching out, listening, learning and then engaging in the dialogue.
“We have a plan and a vision, and we’re not about accepting the status quo. If you like bold ideas and are ready to take the next step, I’m your person.”
On education:
Gregg plans to increase education funding by using budget reversions. He also plans to work more harmoniously with the superintendent of public instruction. “We have totally politicized education. The words conservative, Republican, Democrat should not be uttered out of someone’s mouth when discussing education. We need to take the politics out of it and make it about students. The fight that the governor and legislature have had with Glenda Ritz, with them being mad that people elected her, was childlike.”
On unemployment:
“The lieutenant governor’s office … the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, and also Ivy Tech does some training for the state, but these groups, nobody, not one person knows what all of these groups are really spending in training and what they’re training people for and what their success rate is. We need to take an inventory and target training dollars to areas of high unemployment.”
On re-entry:
“We get people coming out who have been locked up, and they want to get a job, but they’ve got this record. Some employers won’t look at them. We need to do two things: if they qualify for expungement, we need to make that process simpler. We also need to give some incentives to people who hire people with convictions.”
