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The Republican gubernatorial candidates who spoke during the Dentons Legislative Conference Wednesday in Indianapolis were (from left)  Eric Doden, Curtis Hill, moderator Tobin McClamroch, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and Brad Chambers. Sen. Mike Braun appeared in a video message. (Photo/Dentons)

By Marilyn Odendahl

The Indiana Citizen

December 14, 2023

A discussion that included the dollars-and-cents issues that drive many voters’ choices brought out some of the divides between the five Republican candidates for governor of Indiana.

The candidates spoke on a variety of topics, including taxes and economic development, during a panel discussion Wednesday at the Dentons Legislative Conference in Indianapolis. Four of the candidates – Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, former Indiana secretary of commerce Brad Chambers, former Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill and businessman Eric Doden – appeared in person while a video of Sen. Mike Braun was played with his pre-recorded responses.

Tobin McClamroch, managing partner of Dentons’ US Region, moderated the hour-and-a-half discussion.

During her opening remarks, Crouch highlighted her plan to eliminate the state’s income tax and promoted the idea when responding to some of the other questions.

She described “ax the tax” as part of her plan to be “bold and transformative” governor and framed the proposal as a way to help Hoosiers who are being “crushed by the high cost of living” and to give Indiana “the opportunity to be great.”

The Indiana General Assembly, Crouch said, has increased spending in the past 10 years, passing a $30 billion two-year budget in 2013 and a $44.5 billion two-year budget in 2023, while Hoosiers are paying $11,400 more today than three years ago to meet their basic needs. Moreover, even though the Tax Foundation ranked Indiana as 10^th in the country for its tax environment, seven of the higher-ranked states have no sales or income taxes.

“When we eliminate our state income tax, not only are we pulling money back into Hoosiers’ pockets, but we’re making Indiana a state where people want to move,” Crouch said.

However, many of her opponents were skeptical. They all supported lowering taxes and outlined their own ideas for easing the tax burden, but they did not believe the state could reduce spending enough to make up for the loss of billions in annual tax revenue if the state income tax was eliminated.

Doden called the proposal for eliminating the income tax “a gimmick” and said the state would either need a “replacement tax” to bring in revenue or have a detailed plan “to show exactly where we’re going to reduce expenses by 40%.”

Braun swiped at Crouch, saying the proposal “was probably done without thinking through” and, pointing out the income tax is a third of the state’s annual tax revenue, asserting, “obviously, you could not ax the tax.”

The candidates advocated for limiting government spending and improving efficiencies in state agencies as a way to lower taxes. Both Hill and Chambers supported the idea of eliminating the income tax, but they called for taking incremental steps to lowering the taxes Hoosier pay, rather than suddenly erasing a major revenue stream.

Hill highlighted his plan, which includes lowering the gas and corporate taxes as well as eliminating the income tax for young earners. Chambers said the state should not drop the income tax only to raise the property or the sales taxes.

“I believe that we need to grow the economy and take the proceeds of a growing economy to do two things: to invest in the needs of our state like education, health care and public safety and at the same time lower taxes over time,” Chambers said. “A growing economy provides the proceeds to invest in high quality-of-life initiatives and reduce taxes over time.”

Crouch pushed back on her opponents’ criticism. She compared their doubts to the opposition former Gov. Mitch Daniels faced in 2006, when he proposed privatizing the Indiana Toll Road to raise new state revenues.

“Everyone said it couldn’t be done. Everyone said we wouldn’t get the money,” Crouch said. “But we did and look what we have as a result: the best infrastructure in the country. So I want to be bold and I want to make Indiana great.”

Growing Indiana’s economy

The candidates also talked about education and public safety. They called for doing more to support and keep police officers safe, including codifying qualified immunity and providing mental health checkups. Also, they advocated for reforming sentencing and bail procedures to keep violent offenders in jail.

All the candidates backed school choice. They also talked about education as a workforce development issue and called for bolstering apprenticeships and vocational training.

In an exchange over economic development, Chambers found himself on the defensive as his opponents questioned the perceived “top down” approach to LEAP project in Boone County.

Modeled after the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina, LEAP is touted as a manufacturing and research hub that will attract high-tech businesses and develop a highly skilled workforce. However, the initiative has become controversial as concerns have arisen over the project’s plans to draw upwards of 100 million gallons of water each day from the Wabash River.

Chambers was very involved with the LEAP project during his time as commerce secretary in Gov. Eric Holcomb’s administration and remains a proponent of the initiative.

He asserted the state has known for 30 years that Boone County has had “an impending water challenge,” yet Indiana has never done a state water study. LEAP, he said, will use economic development revenues to transfer water from an abundant source.

The project, he said, is “using inbound economic development – not taxpayer – dollars to solve a problem that’s been around for 30 years and no one addressed. That’s called leadership. That’s called (being) bold, visionary, looking to the future to grow our economy.”

Braun and Crouch criticized LEAP for its lack of transparency and for not providing more information to Hoosiers about the proposed water usage and the 52-mile pipeline to pump the water to the development site.

Crouch said Indiana must change its approach to economic development by strengthening the local economic development organizations so, rather than “the state versus the local,” the state and the local agencies can collaborate on bringing in new industries or growing existing businesses.

Braun said the LEAP project, in concept, was good “but you can’t get the cart before the horse. We’re now engaged in a significant discussion on the most important natural resource – how can you get water to it? So you’ve got to make sure you do these things with proper planning.” Also, he emphasized the goal of economic development should be to ensure the “prosperity is spread around the state.”

Doden and Hill called for an economic development strategy that allows for local input.

Hill said economic growth must enable the communities to maintain their character. Instead of trying to be like Chicago or New York, Indiana has to find ways to make itself attractive. “When they’re attracted to us, they come to us because they want to be a part of us,” he said. “We don’t need to change and be a part of them.”

In advocating for  a “bottom up” approach by having local involvement in developing the state’s economy, Doden pointed to the power of homegrown entrepreneurs. He said most of the economic growth in Indiana comes from small- and medium-sized businesses and startups, while small communities across the state, like Franklin, have shown they can formulate and execute bold visions that grow their populations.

“I just don’t believe in centralized planning,” Doden said. “I don’t think that we as government are smart enough to predict the future of an economy. I think we have to build an environment where people can come, live, flourish and grow their business and see what magic happens over the next five, 10, 15, 20 years.”

Dwight Adams, a freelance editor and writer based in Indianapolis, edited this article. He is a former content editor, copy editor and digital producer at The Indianapolis Star and IndyStar.com, and worked as a planner for other newspapers, including the Louisville Courier Journal.