A report from Eric Bradner of the Courier & Press Indianapolis bureau reminds us that the 2012 session of the Indiana Legislature will be the last that might benefit from the influence of Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels on government reform. The Republican governor's two terms in office will end at the conclusion of next year.
Bradner's report on Friday said that the success of fellow Republicans in municipal elections across Indiana might give Daniels a boost.
"Political observers say they could help if his legislative agenda for the Indiana General Assembly's session that starts in January requires help from the local level," Bradner wrote.
He said one area where Indiana's new Republican majority of mayoral offices might help Daniels is townships reform.
It is true that most successful elected city and county officials, as well as legislators, depend on township workers to assist in their campaigns, and in that regard, new mayors could help, just as could county office holders. The difficulty is getting them to lend their support to an end or a downsizing of township government. It would be a tough sell.
Evansville's Mayor-elect Lloyd Winnecke told the Courier & Press that he is a "government modernization guy," and it is true. He is a strong supporter of city-county consolidation, which will be on the ballot in Vanderburgh County next year.
But the help Daniels will need this next legislative session will be in taking one last shot at reviving the 2007 Kernan-Shepard Commission recommendations, which included the elimination of township government in Indiana.
It is simply no longer needed; its remaining functions could be carried out by county government. Indeed, in a state where residents say they favor smaller government, it is difficult to understand why they persist in keeping township government.
Even so, the commission's recommendations led to the elimination by the Legislature of township assessors in Indiana. But there it stopped, leaving township trustees and township advisory boards to continue their operations.
Earlier this year, Daniels, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, and a coalition of Indiana newspapers, including the Courier & Press, urged the elimination of township government, but to no avail. This group could not even convince lawmakers to eliminate the advisory boards, and thus leave the toughest nut, trustees, for another day.
If that day is ever to come, let us hope it is during the 2012 session.