Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during an interview with the Tribune Thursday, citing her political experience and support of the auto bailout.
Clinton, fresh off a victory in Tuesday’s New York primary, will face off against Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Indiana primary on May 3.
Goodnight first voiced his support of Clinton in an email distributed Tuesday by the candidate’s campaign, where he was quoted alongside U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly and Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry.
In the email and during the interview, Goodnight referenced Clinton’s 2008 vote in favor of auto bailout funding, which was provided through the Troubled Assets Relief Program, a measure initially intended to assist financial institutions.
Clinton also voted in favor of a separate bailout program intended specifically for the auto industry. That measure failed to pass the U.S. Senate.
“One in four workers in Kokomo depend on the auto industry, and Hillary Clinton has never wavered in her support of workers and their families,” said Goodnight in the email. “When the American auto industry was in distress and it counted most, there was one candidate who voted to save Hoosier jobs and prevent an economic collapse, and that’s Hillary Clinton.
“Hillary Clinton stood with the workers here, and I’m proud to stand with her.”
In addition to Clinton’s bailout votes, Goodnight said the presidential candidate has long been a vocal advocate of auto workers, even when local politicians were voting against federal funding.
“It’s not just her vote, but also her leadership and being an outspoken proponent of the auto industry and the bailout,” he said. “There were people, even [Indiana Gov. Mike Pence] that voted against the auto bailout. He was very outspoken about letting the U.S. auto industry be liquidated. Now, time has proven he was absolutely wrong on that issue.”
Goodnight also cited Clinton’s experience as a U.S. senator and secretary of state when discussing why she is the best candidate for a place heavily reliant on manufacturing jobs and union employment. Most importantly, he said, is Clinton’s ability to lead coalitions and make progress in the face of ceaseless criticism.
Story continues below video
“I go back to her leadership roles, her ability to get things done,” he said. “She is well known through the world and she has … taken more criticism, more attacks, been demonized by the far right for more than two decades, and she has never withered, she never buckled.
“There is no politician tougher than Hillary Clinton.”
When asked about Clinton’s promise to keep manufacturing jobs in America and avoid a repeat of Carrier’s recent move to Mexico, Goodnight acknowledged that such guarantees can be hard to uphold, but said he trusts Clinton’s judgement.
One plan addressed by Clinton policy adviser Michael Shapiro during a press call last week was Clinton’s “Make it in America Partnerships,” which would dedicate $10 billion in funding to partnerships “that link together all parts of the supply chain and build on the strength of a region in particular industries,” according to her campaign website.
The project’s goal would be to make American companies manufacturing steel, cars, aircraft, clean energy products and other products the first choice for parts production and assembly. It would also endorse domestic manufacturing and reshoring, and the rights of unions to organize and collectively bargain, according to the Clinton campaign.
“I think she will do everything she can, and I think she will put in policies to try to make sure that doesn’t happen,” he said. “But to be completely honest, I don’t know that anyone can make that promise.”
Finally, Goodnight addressed the many controversies surrounding Hillary Clinton, specifically her role in the 2012 attack on an American compound in Benghazi.
Each of these situations has been nothing more than political machinations to smear Clinton, he said.
“The whole Benghazi thing, they admitted, [House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy] admitted that it was an orchestrated political attempt to discredit her,” said Goodnight. “It is again, why I support her. They have called her everything but an ax murderer, but it is all smoke and mirrors.”
