Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 10 September 2004 — Page 5

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2004

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

PAGE AS

Bill Mays' endorsement of Daniels a stunner

By AMOS BROWN III Rtcorder Correspondent Indiana’s most prominent African-American businessman and civic leader, Indianapolis Recorder Publisher William G. “Bill” Mays, endorsed Republican Mitch Daniels for governor Tuesday; a decision that shocked and rocked both political parties and many in the African-American community. Among those astonished was Mays’ niece, Carolene Mays, a Democratic state representative and Indianapolis Recorder president and general manager. Bill Mays reached his decision late last week and communicated it to Daniels in a meeting last Thursday. It was publicly announced Tuesday on the WTLC-AM (1310) “Afternoons with Amos” talk show. Explaining his decision, Mays told the radio audience and community that he’d known Mitch Daniels for years “going back to when he ran the Hudson Institute (in the mid1980s).” “I know that Mitch will be strong in dealing with minority issues,” Mays continued. “I’m doing this as an individual,” Mays told the radio audience, saying his endorsement doesn’t reflect the views of his business enterprises, which

include Mays Chemical Co., the nation’s 23rd largest African-American business according to Black Enterprise, and The Indianapolis Recorder, which he has owned since 1990. Mays emphasized that his endorsement will not affect how The Recorder covers the governor’s race or any other community issue. Like many Indianapolis area business leaders, Mays feels strongly that Indiana needs to change the ways government operates. “We need radical change,” said Mays. “We have to change the way things are done in this state,” believing that Daniels is the individual best qualified to do that. “I think that he will have to take a clean sheet of paper,” Mays continued, “start with getting advisors around him that will come up with more creative kinds of solutions to the problems that we have - unemployment and so forth and so on.” Insisting that his decision was “not a desertion of the Democratic Party,” Mays said he talked at length about his decision with Congresswoman Julia Carson, D-Ind., State Rep. Carolene Mays D-India-napolis, and also spoke with House Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Bill Crawford, D-Indianapolis. Mays will continue to strongly support all.

William G. Mays

Mays indicated that he was deeply concerned about Gov. Kernan’s AfricanAmerican appointments and the visibility and sensitivity of the governor’s office and the Kernan/Davis campaign to the African-American community. “We have to have more inclusiveness from the (Kernan) campaign,” Mays recounted. “We as a community need to look at who surrounds the candidates and need to be concerned with the lack of access.” In his comments on WTLC and to Indianapolis television stations, Mays accused the Kernan campaign of not reaching out to the AfricanAmerican community and taking the community for granted. “Mitch has appeared in some places (in the Black community) where he wasn’t expected to be seen,” Mays declared, “while Gov. Kernan only sent a representative.”

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Mitch Daniels After Mays made his announcement, Daniels appeared on the “Afternoons with Amos” program saying he was “thrilled” with the endorsement. “Bill Mays has been a hero of mine for a long, long time,” said Daniels. “His endorsement is an act of conscience, so I’m gratified that he agrees that ours must be a state that moves forward.” While Mays downplayed the significance of his endorsement, Daniels was aware of the personal risk Mays was taking. “I was concerned that this endorsement could cause bruised feelings or reaction,” Daniels said. In a written statement, Kernan/Davis campaign manager Bernie Toon said, “Bill Mays has supported numerous Republicans over the years, so his endorsement of our opponent today comes as no surprise.” “Mays and Daniels cer-

tainly have a long history of acquaintance in Indianapolis business circles, and it’s not unusual that Mays would lend his support to a fellow member of the Indianapolis corporate community," Toon added. Speaking to WRTV7 Channel 6’s Norman Cox, Gov. Kernan said, “I have no idea what impact it (Mays’ endorsement) will have. It’s certainly something that I wish hadn’t happened, but it did. I respect Bill Mays. I have tremendous respect for him, and I’ll certainly respect his decision.” The Kernan/Davis campaign refused to make Kernan available to The Recorder for direct comment. When reached, Kernan/Davis communications director Tina Noel first refused to comment other than Toon’s written statement. After insisting on more than the written statement, Noel said the Mays endorsement “is not a shock,” though The Recorder learned most top Democratic leaders were stunned when Mays personally phoned them with the news or when they w ere informed by media organizations. Noel said Mays “has been a Republican,” forgetting that he’s been a strong, vocal supporter of many Democrats throughout his career, including Mayor Bart Peterson, Congresswoman Carson, State Rep. Carolene Mays, Sheriff Frank Ander-

son, Sen. Evan Bayh, former attorney generals Jeff Modisett and Karen Free-man-Wilson, state Treasurer candidate Cleo Washington, African-American legislators and City-County Councilors and the late Gov. Frank O’Bannon. Other prominent Democrats besides Mays who occasionally supported Republicans include former Indiana Democratic National Committeewoman Bren Simon, Bishop T. Garrott Benjamin and the late, legendary African-American leader Dr. Frank P. Lloyd. This weekend Mays will be an active participant and supporter at the annual Congressional Black Caucus Conference in Washington. Despite the endorsement, Mays encourages African Americans to re-elect Afri-can-American candidates to the Indiana General Assembly. But Mays feels that a lackluster effort by the Kernan campaign could dash those hopes. “The biggest thing I want to have happen,” Mays said, “is encouraging people to vote. Apathy is the real villain here. I’m deeply concerned about voter apathy. That if there is a lack of excitement about Bill Crawford’s race or Julia (Carson)’s race, if not a lot of people vote after pulling the lever against George Bush, then our community will be the loser.”

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