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

Gov. Eric Holcomb vehemently disagreed with critics who argue his first term lacked bold action.
Gov. Eric Holcomb vehemently disagreed with critics who argue his first term lacked bold action.

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.

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Brandon J. Smith has previously worked as a reporter and anchor for KBIA Radio in Columbia, MO. Prior to that, he worked for WSPY Radio in Plano, IL as a show host, reporter, producer and anchor. His first job in radio was in another state capitol, in Jefferson City, 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.