Please share with our readers your Who, What, Where.

Richard E. Mourdock, Treasurer, State of Indiana and GOP Candidate for United States Senate.

Tell us about your background, bio, etc.

Live in Evansville, Indiana. Happily married to Marilyn. Masters degrees in geology from Ball State University.

Tell us about the When and How of your political career.

Worked in the energy and construction industries for 31 years, prior to public service. Served as a County Commissioner for two terms in Vanderburgh County, Indiana before being elected as Treasurer of Indiana. Re-elected Treasurer in 2010.

As Treasurer, worked to help companies become employee-owned, helped grow the state’s 529 savings plans dramatically and streamlined and improved the management of state funds, resulting in over $1 billion in earnings for Indiana taxpayers.

Tell us about your personal interests and hobbies.

I love history and read every day. In particular, I’m a big Lincoln buff and I enjoy biographies about him and his era. I enjoy my motorcycle and I used to do some racing. I have run a few marathons and Marilyn and I love to spend time together at our Evansville home.

What do you see as the biggest challenges facing our economy and the manufacturing sector in general?

Well, there are so many challenges.

First, we have to make Washington live within its means. Spending is completely out of control, and we’re borrowing 40 cents on every dollar we spend! We are already inviting a crisis, the likes of which this country has never seen. To reverse this will take leaders in Washington who can really make hard choices, just like Governor Daniels and I did here in Indiana to put our state back in good health.

Second, we have to give businesses clear and long term signals and job-friendly policies. Today, a businessman or investor doesn’t know 90 days from now what his or her tax rates will be, what health care will cost, what the regulatory or monetary situation will be. How can businesses thrive in such a climate of uncertainty? I’ll fight for a balanced budget amendment to our Constitution, for term limits, for phasing out whole federal programs and Departments. These are the first and critical steps to putting our house in order and that is the best way to get this economy growing again!

Finally, we have to repeal Obamacare, Dodd-Frank and lot of other job-killing regulations and laws and replace them with reasonable, market-oriented policies based on sound science and common sense.

The manufactured housing industry is facing tough times over the past few years. What are some of the areas you would like to focus on that will address these specific challenges?

We have to reform the SAFE Act and Dodd-Frank and we have to create polices that will actually free up sound credit. We talk a good game in this country about encouraging our banks to support business and consumers, and then we turn around and shut down private lenders and community banks through ridiculous policies like Dodd-Frank and SAFE.

ObamaCare is another dangerous law that kills jobs, raises costs and robs consumers of their freedom and choices.

Across the board, we have to put folks in charge of Washington who understand what it takes to create a robust, job-creating economy. Flatter, simpler tax codes, a reduction in our corporate income tax, pushing back unnecessary EPA and other federal regulators all have to be part of the solution.

What are the main differences between you and your opponent, Representative Joe Donnelly?

We come from two totally different perspectives. I come from business, where I mined coal and faced the EPA every day. Representative Donnelly is an attorney and government guy.

I was a partner with Governor Mitch Daniels and helped us turn a big deficit in state government into a big surplus and we begin to create jobs and make government more accountable. Representative Donelly voted for Nancy Pelosi for Speaker and voted with President Obama over 80 percent of the time.

I respect Rep. Donnelly, but he’s already stated his intention to vote for Harry Reid to continue to run the US Senate, and yet Harry Reid hasn’t even presented a budget to the Senate for over three years. We simply cannot get this economy growing again with folks like Joe Donnelly, Harry Reid and President Obama running Washington. ##