Don Knebel: Update from the Board President
When we launched ReCenter Indiana last fall, our objective was to reclaim the political center for a better Indiana. That goal included moving both the rhetoric and the candidates of political parties closer to the center, which is where we think most Hoosiers are. We knew that this goal could not be achieved overnight and would require a dedicated effort over several years. In short, it would require a long-range plan.
I am delighted to report that ReCenter Indiana now has that plan to accomplish our objectives.
The plan starts with articulating our values:
People over parties;
Results over rhetoric;
Patriotism over politics.
It then lays out seven long-term strategies for achieving those goals, some of which will be executed by ReCenter Indiana, Inc., an Indiana not-for-profit corporation, and some by ReCenter Indiana PAC, an Indiana political action committee.
Our not-for-profit corporation will:
Build the ReCenter brand,
Build a following among Generation Z voters,
Develop an electoral reform agenda,
Develop a research agenda and
Build an organization capable of carrying out these objectives.
Our PAC will identify and support centrist candidates from any party, both in primaries and general elections. Both organizations will engage in fundraising to support their activities. Any good long-range plan must start with short-term actions. ReCenter Indiana PAC has already begun to identify and support centrist candidates in the May municipal primary elections.
We recently interviewed candidates in contested primaries for mayor in Carmel and Evansville. Our PAC identified candidates in both races that deserve our endorsement and support and one candidate in the Carmel race who refused to be interviewed. ReCenter Indiana believes that a candidate for public office who refuses to be interviewed on the record deserves to lose the election for that reason alone.
Accomplishing our goals will require funding. I am delighted to report that sufficient funding has already been achieved to hire a part-time executive director. More is needed, so I hope if you support what we are doing, you will help accomplish these objectives.
About Don
Don Knebel is the president of the ReCenter Indiana board. He is of counsel with the law firm of Barnes & Thornburg LLP in Indianapolis, having retired as partner in 2013 after a career of almost 40 years as an intellectual property litigator. He currently serves as an adjunct professor and senior advisor to the Center for Intellectual Property Research at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law in Bloomington.
