Saturday, September 30, 2006

The Long And Short Of It

Fort Wayne Observed's Mitch Harper scores exclusive interviews with two of the Senate President Pro Tempore candidates, Sen. David Long (R-Ft. Wayne) and Sen. Tom Weatherwax (R-Logansport). It offers some clues to the upcoming race.

Sen. David Long sounds pretty confident of a win. In fact, he predicts that a clear front-runner will emerge within the next couple of weeks, which he no doubt believes will be him. He notes that there is no clear "roadmap" for the caucus to follow since it has been 26 years since the position had been open. He indicates that a number of the senators started making up their minds after Labor Day, but he thinks it would be premature for anyone to declare themselves a winner yet.

Sen. Weatherwax doesn't come across quite as confident as Long. He says that he's put a lot of miles on his car travelling the state campaigning for the position. He notes that he will have to step aside from his current, private executive position, if he is elected to the post. Weatherwax is pledging, if elected, to allow many items, which never saw the light of day in the past, to receive a hearing in the Senate. He wasn't specific on what those issues were. Remember, though, he is being supported by Brent Waltz and Jeff Drozda--that might offer some not so unsubtle clues. He also stated that he had not made any promises in an effort to win votes. AI wonders if it is actually possible to be elected to the President Pro Tempore's position without promising a few committee chairmanships or seats on committees.

A third candidate in the race, Sen. Brent Steele (R-Bedford), was not interviewed by Harper. Most observers think his chances have faded over the summer, leaving the real fight to be waged between Long and Weatherwax.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Mitch oughta know. He was in the House for a few terms and was one of the nicest, most honest ones around.

I'm waiting for the day Pat Miller gets a solid opponent. That hateful witch needs to go.