Jill Long Thompson
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| Jill Long Thompson | |
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| Election date November 4, 2008 |
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| Running mate | Not yet determined |
| Opponent(s) | Mitch Daniels |
| Incumbent | Mitch Daniels |
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| In office 1989–1995 |
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| Preceded by | Dan Coats |
| Succeeded by | Mark Souder |
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| Born | July 15, 1952 Warsaw, Indiana |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Don Thompson |
| Residence | Marshall County |
| Profession | Teacher |
| Religion | Christian |
| Website | http://www.hoosiersforjill.com |
Jill Lynette Long Thompson (July 15, 1952) is an American politician and educator. Born in Warsaw, Indiana, she was raised on a family farm outside of Larwill, Indiana in Whitley County. She is a candidate in the Indiana gubernatorial election, 2008. She is the first woman in Indiana history to be nominated for governor by a major party.[1] If elected she will be Indiana's first female governor.
She lives with her husband Don Thompson, a commercial airline pilot, in Marshall County on a farm near Argos, IN.
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[edit] Education
Long graduated from Columbia City Joint High School, in Columbia City, Indiana. Jill Long Thompson was the first in her family to graduate from college. She earned an M.B.A. (1978) and Ph.D (1984) in Business from Indiana University, and a B.S. in Business from Valparaiso University (1974).
[edit] Career
[edit] Educator
Between 1977 and 1980, Long was an assistant instructor and lecturer at Indiana University before being hired as an assistant professor Valparaiso University, where she worked between 1981 and 1988. She also served as an adjunct professor at Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne between 1987 and 1989. During the 2002–2003 academic year Long-Thompson was an adjunct faculty member at Manchester College in North Manchester, Indiana.
[edit] Politician
Her first elected office was as a member of the Valparaiso, Indiana city council. She served in that post from 1984 to 1986. Long was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the United States Senate in 1986; two years later she was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the One Hundred-first United States Congress.
With the appointment of Dan Coats to the Senate in 1988, Long was elected as a Democrat in a special election to fill the vacancy. Long Thompson's first election to Congress in 1989 made national headlines because Indiana's 4th congressional district was considered a "safe" Republican seat once held by then Vice President Dan Quayle. Long Thompson, then known as Jill Long, easily won re-election in 1990 and 1992 despite being a top Republican target for defeat. She ran for reelection in 1994 but lost to Mark Souder as one of many Democrats to lose a seat in Congress as part of a Republican sweep that brought the Republican Party into majority status for the first time since 1952.
In 1995, Long was appointed by President Bill Clinton as Under Secretary for Rural Economic and Community Development at the United States Department of Agriculture, where she served until 2001 with the start of the George W. Bush administration. As Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development, Long Thompson managed 7,000 employees and a $10 billion budget, which funded rural housing, cooperative, water/waste, and business programs. Among her accomplishments as Under Secretary were reforming the single-family loan program, helping create thousands of jobs in economically challenged communities, and improving the efficiency of the Department.
In 2002, she attempted a political comeback when she ran for the open congressional seat in the 2nd District. She lost 50%-46% to Chris Chocola.
[edit] Life after Congress
Long served as a fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. She most recently served as CEO and Senior Fellow at the National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy.
[edit] 2008 race for Governor
It was reported in February, 2007, that Long Thompson was making phone calls to Indiana Democratic Party leaders in order to gather support for a possible run for Governor of Indiana in 2008. She formally announced her candidacy on July 10, 2007.
A poll by the Washington, D.C.-based Benenson Strategy Group had shown her as the early Democratic front runner to win the nomination with 33% support from 602 likely Democratic primary voters. Indiana Senate Democrat leader Richard Young was 21 points behind in second with 12 percent support and architect Jim Schellinger had eight percent.[1] On September 27,2007 Emily's List endorsed her campaign. By February 25, 2008 the campaign had announced the endorsements of several leading labor unions, including; United Steelworkers, United Transportation Union, Service Employees International Union, Communication Workers of America, and the Local #446 of Association of Federal, State, County and Municipal Employees.
Since entering the race for governor, she has made reforming state government, accountability and making larger investments in vocational education the focal points of her campaign. As a candidate, she has proposed campaign finance laws to prohibit businesses that are working with, or soliciting work from, state or local governments from donating to political campaigns while they are under contract and for two years following the conclusion of their work, and include regulations for lobbyists to report all expenditures, including meals, made to state government employees.
Long Thompson's campaign has raised approximately $907,000 during her campaign in the gubernational race. Her former Democratic opponent, Jim Schellinger, raised $2.3 million total. Long Thompson currently has approximately $485,000 on hand.
Despite being outspent, Long Thompson won the nomination of the Democratic Party of Indiana by just over 13,000 votes more than her opponent. Both split the vote by 50%, and no word of a recount has yet to be mentioned by Schellinger.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Long (Thompson), Jill Lynette's biodata at the Directory of the United States Congress
- Gubernatorial Campaign Site
| Preceded by Dan Coats |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 4th congressional district 1989–1995 |
Succeeded by Mark E. Souder |
| Persondata | |
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| NAME | Thompson, Jill Lynette Long |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Long, Jill |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Member of the United States House of Representatives |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 15, 1952 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Warsaw, Indiana |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
