Mayor considering run for state post

Mayor John Fernandez thinks Indiana needs new ideas.\nAnd he thinks he might be just the person to innovate.\nFernandez said he might seek the Democratic nomination for Indiana secretary of state, a seat that will be up for election in 2002. He has made no formal declaration of candidacy and said that might still be a year away.\n"I am putting together an exploratory committee," he said. "It's never too early (to start working) when you're only a year off from a campaign of that magnitude."\nThe committee will help him decide whether to run and what the campaign would require.\n"What I feel like I need to do is sort of test the waters before I can declare candidacy and go out there," he said.\nFernandez, who is in his second term as mayor, said friends and colleagues from around the state encouraged him to look into candidacy because "as mayor, I've been able to win a very strong record of accomplishments." \nKirk White, the Republican candidate who lost to Fernandez in the mayoral race in 1995, said the mayor is suited for the secretary of state. \n"I think John has developed some great skills as a municipal leader. He's done some innovative things with investment," White said. \nFernandez has never run a statewide campaign, and said he is unsure of the support for a Democrat in the secretary of state's seat.\n"This is a challenge. It's an uphill battle for a Democrat to win a statewide office," he said.\nBut White said he hopes the challenge of being a Democrat in a generally conservative state does not discourage Fernandez. \n"Having someone from Bloomington in the state office would be wonderful for this community," he said.\nWhite said Fernandez has the experience and ideas to settle easily into the office.\n"He's a formidable candidate. He's well-versed on the issues," he said. "He has a good grasp of how government should be organized."\nFernandez said he believes Indiana will be experiencing statewide issues similar to those Bloomington faced during his two terms. This, he said, gives him valuable experience.\nAlthough he said he is unsure of who his competition for the Democratic nomination might be, Fernandez said he can predict some of the election issues, including possible changes to the election process.\n"I can't think of anything more important than having confidence in the people in an election," he said. "We have an electoral system in this state that is in many ways questionable after the Florida issue."\nState Rep. Mark Kruzan, D-Bloomington, is considered another potential Democratic candidate as the majority floor leader. But he said he has no interest in the position. \nThe next secretary of state will be instrumental in creating a voting process in Indiana, Fernandez said. And he wants to "get politics out of the electoral system."\n"Considering the amount of cynicism in our elections today, to introduce skepticism is very disturbing," Fernandez said.\nWhile he said he hopes Indiana will resolve voting problems before he even makes a decision regarding his candidacy, the mayor has already considered some ideas. \nFernandez said he also hopes to run on the issue of business investment, a statewide problem he believes mirrors Bloomington's situation. \nWith the number of recent layoffs in the manufacturing sector, Fernandez has tried to bring more high-tech firms into Bloomington. Although he said he generally opposes extending tax breaks, he has worked on arranging partnerships between the firms and the University, one of the most wired in the country.\n"(The secretary of state's office) should be a place that's full of innovation in dealing with business investment," he said, adding that more technology is necessary. \n"It can be an engine for that kind of change," he said.