HPI Interview: Hill and Policy Crises Attorney General Talks of Drug Epidemics, Cyber and Terror Threats by BRIAN A
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V22, N39 Thursday, June 15, 2017 HPI Interview: Hill and policy crises Attorney general talks of drug epidemics, cyber and terror threats By BRIAN A. HOWEY INDIANAPOLIS – Last week Howey Politics Indiana reported that new Attorney General Curtis Hill has been approached about a U.S. Senate run in 2018. In this HPI Interview, we talked with Hill at the Statehouse about his first five months after spending nearly three decades working in the Elkhart County prosecutor’s office, the last 14 in that elected position. He entered the at- For instance, the Washington Post reported that torney general office this year with some seismic issues the opioid epidemic that has “ravaged life expectancy ranging from an opioid and methamphetamine epidemic, among economically stressed white Americans is taking a to cyber security issues that are hitting Hoosier businesses and consumers in the wallet. Continued on page 3 Mayor Pete heads to Iowa By CHRIS SAUTTER WASHINGTON – It is said that no politician travels to Iowa to give a speech unless they plan to run for presi- dent. So the announcement this week that South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg is scheduled to be a headline speaker at a Des Moines political event “We may have our differences in September begs the question: What is Pete up to? He will be but we do well in times like these speaking along with Oregon Sen. that everyone who serves in our Jeff Merkley, who is by all ac- counts mulling a presidential run. nation’s capital is here because Undoubtedly, Buttigieg is a rising star in the Democratic above all they love our country. ” Party. He earned rave reviews for - President Trump, reacting to his recent dark horse campaign for Democratic National Commit- the shooting of House GOP tee Chair. Though he didn’t win Whip Steve Scalise sufficient commitments from the Page 2 delegates to seriously compete for the would seem that Buttigieg is using his post, his message of reforming the Iowa trip and other recent national party by going outside-the-Beltway speaking engagements (last month resonated. Nearly all of the former he gave the commencement speech DNC Chairs, including Howard Dean at the University of Pennsylvania’s Fils and Ed Rendell, endorsed him. He Institute of Government) as a plat- clearly elevated his national stature, form to continue the conversation he one that was already climbing. started during his DNC campaign. The Democratic Party David Axelrod, the architect is in desperate need of the kind of of Barack Obama’s rise to the presi- Howey Politics Indiana change that Buttigieg advocates and dency, commented to me by e-mail: WWHowey Media, LLC 405 offers. The party’s 2016 presidential “Pete’s one of the great talents in the Massachusetts Ave., Suite candidate lost to possibly the least Democratic Party. He has a compel- 300 Indianapolis, IN 46204 prepared candidate in American his- ling personal story and has written an tory. Republicans control both Houses impressive record of achievement in www.howeypolitics.com of Congress and two-thirds of the public office. That said, I don’t think governor’s offices. Republicans have he is speaking nationally in prepara- Brian A. Howey, Publisher veto proof majority’s in nearly half of tion for a race so much as to try and Mark Schoeff Jr., Washington the state legislatures in the county. provide thoughts, as a progressive Jack E. Howey, Editor As Bernie Sanders points out in an mayor in the Heartland, about where opinion editorial this week in The New Democrats should be going.” Mary Lou Howey, Editor York Times, “If Mark Curry, photography these results are not a clear Subscriptions manifestation of a failed political HPI, HPI Daily Wire $599 strategy, I don’t HPI Weekly, $350 know what is.” Ray Volpe, Account Manager A But- 317.602.3620 tigieg presiden- email: [email protected] tial campaign would undoubt- edly point the Contact HPI party in the right [email protected] direction, just as his DNC race Howey’s cell: 317.506.0883 did. It would be Washington: 202.256.5822 a magnate for Business Office: 317.602.3620 young activists and organized at the Would that be enough to put grass roots. And, his focus on winning Buttigieg in the position of influence © 2017, Howey Politics back working class white voters would that he seems to be seeking? It’s help him with a critical and too often not clear that it would. Nor is it clear Indiana. All rights reserved. ignored segment of the party. But, his whether Buttigieg is in a position to Photocopying, Internet forward- youth and inexperience in national af- move up politically in his home state. ing, faxing or reproducing in fairs would likely undermine prospects He is apparently taking himself out as any form, whole or part, is a for any realistic success in a presiden- a candidate for Congress in Indiana’s violation of federal law without tial campaign. In the end, it is hard 2nd District, though that is a race he to see how a Buttigieg presidential would stand a good chance of win- permission from the publisher. campaign would be any more success- ning. Incumbent Republican Jackie ful than his DNC effort. Walorski’s record of accomplishment is During his run for DNC thin and 2018 looks to be a good year Chair, Buttigieg talked about the for Democrats. He has said Congress importance of building the Democratic doesn’t interest him because of the Party from the ground up and to start partisan culture and gridlock. winning back statehouses instead of Some have suggested that a treating the presidential campaign as run for governor of Indiana is a more the only one that matters. By that, it logical move. But in 2020 Buttigieg Page 3 could face the popular India- on the losing end. napolis Mayor Joe Hogsett in Such an analysis could land him a difficult primary. Even if he on the presidential campaign trail as a won the nomination, he would candidate after all. Even if all he wins is somehow have to topple the the same kind of positive reaction to his incumbent Republican governor, ideas and message that he generated as Eric Holcomb, who so far is a DNC Chair candidate, he is probably avoiding the ideological pitfalls in a stronger position to influence the that marked Mike Pence’s ten- direction of the party than running for ure. governor or advising another presidential Axelrod suggests candidate. And, he could be rewarded for that Buttigieg would be wise to his ideas and approach to government by play a major role in a presi- being asked to join the new administra- dential campaign in hopes of tion. landing a top administration Pete Buttigieg is a brilliant idea position should that candidate guy and presidential races are usu- win. But the likely Democratic ally driven by ideas. A campaign for the field—including everyone from presidency would allow him to continue former Vice President Joe Biden to showcase his ideas and demonstrate to the progressive icon Senator that the most successful progressive ones Elizabeth Warren to newcomer come from outside the Beltway. v California Sen. Kamala Harris is huge. It would be a big gamble to attach himself to any one of them early on. Sautter is a Democratic consultant based in Wash- And, it would be a wasted effort if his candidate wound up ington. ment visits due to opioid overdoses increased from 28.5 Attorney General Hill, from page 1 (n=1,856) to 45.0 (n=2,977) occurrences per 100,000 rising toll among blacks, Hispan- population. The Centers for ics and Native Americans, driv- Disease Control and Pre- ing up the overall rate of death vention notes that Indiana among Americans in the prime ranked 15th in the nation of their lives. Since the begin- in drug overdose deaths at ning of this decade, death rates 16.0 per 100,000 people. have risen among people be- Concerning the Senate tween the ages of 25 and 44 in bid, last week Hill told HPI, virtually every racial and ethnic “I’m very busy with my job group and almost all states, ac- as attorney general. I am cording to the Post analysis. The 100 percent focused on death rate among African Ameri- what I’m doing here. I’ve cans is up 4 percent, Hispanics 7 heard comments and I’ve percent, whites 12 percent and also been approached by Native Americans 18 percent.” people. I think people are “What it reflects is an looking for bold, fresh lead- out-of-control epidemic right ership in all areas of govern- now,” said Josh Sharfstein, di- ment, including the United rector of the Bloomberg Ameri- States Senate. For now I’m can Health Initiative at Johns doing my job and feel pretty Hopkins. “It’s affecting the good about how we’re doing economy. It’s affecting the entire and will stay focused on community. This is an absolute that.” call to action for public health.” Our interview with Attor- The Indiana Depart- ney General Hill focused on ment of Health reported that policy issues: from 2011 to 2015, the rate of HPI: What have been the non-fatal emergency depart- high points of your first five Page 4 months as attorney general and your policy contributions? the information is developing. We certainly make sugges- Hill: It’s difficult when you come into a new office tions and are willing to engage in discussions. There were and everything is a process.