Democrat Tom McKenna announced his candidacy for Indiana Secretary of State on Tuesday, saying the current officeholder attempts to stifle democracy.
“There’s an attempt to suppress the voters at the polls,” he said during a meet-and-greet press conference in Jeffersonville. “They’re trying to shrink that [voter] pool because they know their time is gone” he said of the Republicans that now populate the office. “That’s why I’m running.”
The office is held by Todd Rokita, who was elected in 2004.
McKenna’s words were an allusion to a 2005 law passed by the Indiana General Assembly which requires Hoosiers to present photo identification before voting.
In last year’s primary, McKenna said, there was an 84-year-old nun who was denied access to the polls because she didn’t have a photo ID.
Then in the general election, numerous college students — living in Indiana, attending state universities —wanted to vote, but could not get state ID cards without giving up their out-of-state driver’s licenses.
“I’m running for secretary of state because free access to the ballot — the bedrock of our democracy — is under attack in Indiana,” the candidate said in a press release that followed his press conference.
“We would respectfully disagree,” said Jim Gavin, spokesman for Rokita. “[Voter] participation has increased since the voter ID law was enacted in Indiana.”
He notes that the Indiana Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the law and since then other states — Minnesota, Texas and Rhode Island — have approached Indiana officials about implementing similar laws there.
Last year, he noted, there were 345,000 newly registered voters in Indiana. And a record 2.8 million voted in the state.
Further, McKenna said Rokita was planning a run for the governor’s office. Gavin would not comment on that statement.
McKenna has been involved in state government before. He was the executive director of the Indiana Department of Commerce for five years under then Lt. Gov. Joe Kernan.
He also served for a year as the lieutenant governor’s executive assistant for operations and chief of staff. When Kernan became governor, McKenna served as deputy chief of staff for policy.
He’s been on the Indiana Parole Board and has been an administrative law judge for the Indiana Department of Labor.
Most recently, he was vice president of labor relations for AK Steel Corp. in West Chester, Ohio. He’s worked in private law for firms in Indianapolis and Michigan City. He also served for one year as deputy prosecuting attorney for LaPorte County.
“His initial claim to fame is that he’s a Southern Indiana boy,” said Phil McCauley, a longtime friend who organized Tuesday’s rally. “One of Southern Indiana’s very best.”
McCauley and McKenna attended Shawe Memorial High School in Madison.
Numerous local Democrats were present at Tuesday’s rally: Sheriff Danny Rodden, state Rep. Steve Stemler, Jeffersonville City Councilman Nathan Samuel, Judge Dan Moore and Mayor Tom Galligan.
Similar rallies are scheduled across the state over the next three days.
Clark County (The Evening News)
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Staff photo by C.E. Branham
Discussion
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Tom McKenna announces secretary of state bid
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