INDIANAPOLIS–The former state health commissioner wants to be Indiana’s next governor. Dr. Woody Meyers is running on the platform of better health care for Hoosiers, education and job creation, he announced at a news conference Wednesday.
“I’m running for Governor because Indiana has too many pre-existing conditions that typical politicians just can’t treat,” said Myers, after being introduced by former Congressman Barron Hill, in front of the former Wishard Hospital Emergency Room, where he once practiced. “And treating tough problems is what I do.”
Myers pledged to focus on education, health care and job creation during the campaign.
“I learned very early in my career that the people with the best health were the people who got the best health care,” Myers said. “The people with the best insurance are the people with the best jobs. And the people with the best jobs are the people with the best education. All Hoosiers deserve the best schools, the best health care and a state that is creating jobs and opportunities for workers and their families faster than wages are rising.”
He told media at the event that he has been a businessman and has served in both the public and private sectors, after promising to address some of Indiana’s infrastructure problems.
He painted a bleak picture of the state’s education scene, and health care, saying the infant mortality rate is one of the worst in the country.
“Teachers are leaving our state in record numbers. Students are being forced to deal with overcrowded classrooms and less individual attention. And, it is wrong that music classes and art classes are becoming optional.”
Myers criticized Gov. Eric Holcomb and the state legislature for providing tax cuts to corporations in efforts to bring them to the state, while “middle class families or families that are struggling to get into the middle class are paying the price”.
Though he spoke about the virtues of organized labor, a cause that is typically taken up by Democrats, Myers said he believes in bipartisan cooperation.
Myers said his experience with state-wide positions began when he was appointed the state health commissioner at age 30.
“When a decision had to be made about whether or not a boy named Ryan White, who had HIV/AIDS could attend our public schools, we did not play politics,” said Myers. “We educated a worried public and we helped Ryan’s new school do the right thing and welcome him with open arms.”
Myers acknowledged that his campaign will have to raise a lot of money to keep up and compete with the Holcomb campaign. But, he said he believes Hoosiers are far more interested in his policies than the Holcomb campaign bank account.