| Jill Long Thompson | |
|---|---|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 4th district |
|
| In office January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1995 |
|
| Preceded by | Dan Coats |
| Succeeded by | Mark Souder |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 15, 1952 Warsaw, Indiana |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Don Thompson |
| Residence | Argos, Indiana |
| Profession | Teacher |
| Religion | United Methodist |
Jill Lynette Long Thompson (born 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 was the Democratic Party candidate in the 2008 election for governor of Indiana and was the first woman in Indiana history to be nominated for governor by a major party.[1]
She lives with her husband Don Thompson, a commercial airline pilot, in Marshall County on a farm near Argos, Indiana, where they planted 2,000 trees in two days as a symbol of their love.[2]
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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 PhD (1984) in Business from Indiana University, and a B.S. in Business from Valparaiso University (1974).
Between 1977 and 1980, Long was an assistant instructor and lecturer at Indiana University before being hired as an assistant professor at 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.
Her first elected office was as a member of the Valparaiso, Indiana, city council. She served in that post from 1984 to 1986. Long ran an unsuccessful campaign for the United States Senate in 1986. Long received 38.9% of the vote, losing to future vice president Dan Quayle (61.1%). Two years later (1988) she ran as a candidate for Indiana's 4th Congressional District. Long Thompson received 37.8% of the vote, losing to Dan Coats (62.2%).[3]
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 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 1954.
In 1995, Long was appointed by President Bill Clinton as Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural 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, but lost 50%–46% to Chris Chocola.
Thompson formally announced her gubernatorial candidacy on July 10, 2007. 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 No. 446 of Association of Federal, State, County and Municipal Employees. She defeated Indianapolis architect Jim Schellinger in the May 6, 2008 Democratic primary by 13,000 votes or less than 1 percent.
She made reforming state government, accountability, and making larger investments in vocational education the focal points of her campaign. As a candidate, she 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.
In Thompson's bid for Indiana governor, polling showed her lagging far behind her opponent Mitch Daniels.[4] On Election Night, Daniels was declared the winner and Thompson conceded the race.[5][6]
Thompson's margin of loss of 40.1% to Daniels's 57.8% was the largest in an Indiana Gubernatorial election since 1992.
Long Thompson 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.
In October 2009 she was nominated by President Barack Obama to the board that oversees the federal Farm Credit Administration. The nomination was pending confirmation by the U.S. Senate when Obama installed Thompson on the board by recess appointment on March 27, 2010.[7] The Senate finally confirmed her outright to the Farm Credit Administration on September 16, 2010.
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| 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 |