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Governor Holcomb Passionately Defends First Term, With Second About To Begin

Lauren Chapman
/
IPB News

Gov. Eric Holcomb passionately defended the accomplishments of his first four years in office this week as he prepares to be sworn-in for his second term.

Many of Holcomb’s critics – on both sides of the aisle – say the governor’s first term lacked bold action. Holcomb vehemently disagreed with that charge.

"I think people who say 'You’re not doing anything bold' – I think that really you’re saying 'You’re not doing anything that’s controversial or selling in my neck of the woods,'" Holcomb said.

Holcomb also rattled off a litany of accomplishments – from double-tracking the South Shore rail line in northwest Indiana to finishing I-69 in the coming years; from increasing education funding by a record amount in the last budget to likely increasing it in the new one amid a pandemic; from unprecedented new private sector job commitments to record foreign investment in the state.

“Those are bold achievements, quite frankly, that lead on to, I think, results for actual people,” Holcomb said.

Holcomb’s inauguration will take place Monday.

Contact reporter Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

Brandon Smith is excited to be working for public radio in Indiana. He has previously worked in public radio as a reporter and anchor in mid-Missouri for KBIA Radio out of Columbia. Prior to that, he worked for WSPY Radio in Plano, Illinois as a show host, reporter, producer and anchor. His first job in radio was in another state capitol, in Jefferson City, Missouri, as a reporter for three radio stations around Missouri. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2010, with minors in political science and history. He was born and raised in Chicago.