Even if Election Day Nov. 5 produces its share of surprises, few would probably compare to the bombshell dropped on the Indiana General Assembly back on Feb. 5.

That's when House Speaker John Gregg, setting a few minutes aside on the agenda for himself, announced from the rostrum he would not seek re-election. An audible gasp rose from the floor. As he spoke, tears welled in the eyes of colleagues, Democrat and Republican, male and female.

"It's real nice to be called ‘Speaker,' but it's a lot nicer to be called ‘Dad,'" the bewhiskered Democrat said recently at his home about his decision to walk away from power. Moments earlier, he had hustled down the lane that leads from the yellow-brick house on the edge of Sandborn to meet his two boys off the school bus. As Gregg, fifth grader John Blackwood and third grader Hunter walked back together, they talked about the school day, the evening's agenda and baseball.

"It was just time to come home and spend time with the kids," Gregg said. "Even though it's a part-time job, if you're Speaker, it's really a full-time job."

Make that a full-time job — and more. As Speaker, Gregg would leave his family on Sundays or Mondays, driving from his Knox County home to Indianapolis. He wouldn't come home till Thursdays or sometimes even Saturdays. And he did that for five to six months of the year. In between sessions, he spent long days away attending festivals and fund raisers, and stumping for others. "That's just not any way to live," he said.

So, when the General Assembly reconvenes for the 2003 session later this month, it will be without the charismatic, gregarious Gregg. For the first time since 1996, a new hand will hold the gavel, a new hand will set the agenda in the Indiana House. For the first time since 1994, the state's House Democrats will have to find a new leader. For the first time since 1986, folks in House District 45 will be electing someone new.

And, for the first time since their sons were born, the 48-year-old Gregg and wife Sherry will have a chance to have a more typical family life.

"I have loved every moment that I have spent in this chamber serving the interests of the people of the 45th House District," he said when announcing his decision, "but I believe it is time for me to go back to Sandborn and spend more time with my family."

Election years are littered with magazine and newspaper stories titled "what makes so-and-so run." Here's one on why one of the state's most powerful leaders has decided to sit this one out.

Serving the hometown

John Gregg grew up in Sandborn, a town of 450 people, in the lower Wabash Valley of southwest Indiana. Knox County is the cradle of all Hoosier history. It was Indiana's earliest established county, site of a Revolutionary War battle and home of the territorial government before Indiana's statehood.

But out beyond Vincennes, where cornfields and coal mines commingle, the past 25 years have not been kind to farmers or miners and the small rural towns where they live. Still, it was here where Gregg, the oldest of Don and June Gregg's three sons, wanted to live. It was here he wanted to serve.

"I've seen the most beautiful sites in the world: Louis the XIV's palace at Versailles, the Great Wall of China … and the back porch light of my parent's house," he said. "This was home.

"I wanted my kids to sit in the same church pew that I sat in when I was a kid and ride their bikes on the same sidewalks I rode my bike on."

After high school and college in the 1970s, he started work with two large coal mine companies, first Peabody, then AMAX. Active in local politics since high school, he decided by the early 1980s he wanted to run for the state Legislature from his home district. The conservative Democrat wanted to be the strong voice in Indianapolis for the folks back home and all those in small rural areas, he said. He called them "the true backbone of America," and he felt their voices were not being heard.

Gregg said his parents instilled him at an early age a strong belief in public service. "I knew I always wanted to hold elected office from the fourth grade," he said, "… dreamed of being in Congress, president, governor, state legislator … I've always had the bug."

To be a legislator, though, he needed an occupation with more flexibility. "If I was going to return home to Sandborn to work and raise a family and be near my parents, lifelong friends, etcetera, I needed something to ‘do' to make a living," he said. "Law always fascinated me and was a natural fit."

As a self-employed lawyer, he could be in the Legislature and still make a living. So, he went to law school at nights at Indiana University in Indianapolis, earning his law degree in 1984. Today, he practices in Vincennes with the Gregg & Brock law firm.

In 1986, he made his first run for the Statehouse. He beat an entrenched 12-year incumbent by a two-to-one margin in the Democratic primary. The race in the general election ended early after his opponent dropped out.

Once in the General Assembly, he quickly made a name for himself and was selected "Outstanding Freshman Legislator" by his peers in 1986.

In each of the following elections, the people of District 45 — which includes all of Sullivan and some of the most rural parts of Knox, Greene, Vigo and Daviess counties — sent him back to Indianapolis with around three-quarters of the vote.

As a legislator, Gregg became a champion of natural resources, local government, public health, coal mining and welfare reform. He led legislation on child support and reforms that gave more protection to the rights of adoptive parents. He was also a strong supporter of many of the same rural concerns shared by Indiana's electric cooperatives — everything from energy issues to tax issues to education issues.

"He was always sympathetic to rural Indiana," said Maureen Ferguson, director of government relations for Indiana Statewide Association of RECs. "Despite all the pressures placed on him by outside interests, especially after he became Speaker of the House, he never lost touch with the people who elected him."

Gregg shares a mutual respect with co-ops. "REMC is a great organization," he said. "They understand what people still don't get: it's grassroots." And he praised the role electric cooperatives play in spurring rural development.

Early in his tenure as legislator, Gregg also played a major role in defending the programs and initiatives of Gov. Evan Bayh. He calls Bayh, who remains a close friend and confidant, "the Moses" of the state's Democratic Party.

During his 16 years in office, Gregg played an integral part in the rebirth of the Indiana Democratic Party. "We showed Hoosiers that Democrats in Indiana could govern," he said. "I was proud and honored to be part of the that."

On the House floor, it didn't take long for Gregg to develop a reputation for spirited and persuasive debate. But his congenial nature and touches of humor also helped defuse tension and soon he earned bipartisan respect and cooperation. As his stature in the House grew, he became one the state's leading Democrats. In 1990, he was chosen to be Majority Leader.

In 1996, he ascended to Speaker of the House. That election produced a House evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. A law passed in 1995, designed to avoid the confusion that occurred with dual speakers during the 50-50 split in 1988, gave the Speaker position to the party of the governor in event of another 50-50 split. With Democrat Frank O'Bannon's election as governor that year, Gregg became the first Speaker in Indiana history to preside over an evenly divided House.

Democrats then won a majority control of the House in the 1998 and 2000 elections, allowing Gregg to become the longest serving Democratic Speaker in state history.

While Gregg's political star was rapidly rising, his personal life was slowly taking deeper root in Sandborn. At age 35, he married Sherry Biddinger. They met in law school and dated for five years. Three years later, John Blackwood, now 10, was born, followed closely by Hunter, now 9.

Sherry, who grew up in Washington, Ind., meanwhile, began her own political career. In 1998, she was elected Knox Circuit Court Judge.

Coming home

Beginning in 1996, just as he was reaching the pinnacle of power in the House, Gregg said he began to think about life after the Legislature. He said he thought he'd serve two more years, which became two more and then two more. He said it could have just kept going. In Indiana, he noted, though, we're supposed to have a citizen Legislature. "They're not meant to be full-time jobs, or life-time jobs," he said.

He decided to run again in 2000 because it was an important legislative term that, following the 2000 census, would redraw Indiana's U.S. Congressional districts. But he decided that would be his last for the General Assembly. The overnight trips to Indianapolis were becoming less enjoyable, as he and Sherry spent more time with their growing sons and became more involved in their activities like baseball, 4-H, scouting and church.

"I asked myself if I had only one day to live, would I rather spend it here or would I rather spend it at home," he told the spellbound House during his announcement last February, "and just like all of you, I'd rather spend it at home.

"The other day, I sat on a piano bench practicing with one of my sons, then I spent some time shooting the basketball and putting a model together, and I realized I enjoyed that too much to spend this much time away from them."

He said he talked it over with his family and his parents, thought about it and prayed about it. "I knew this was the answer," he said.

"I told him, ‘Kids are only going to be young once,'" said his dad, Don Gregg. He and June still live in Sandborn, too. "On Monday when he'd go back, their faces would be a mile long," he said. "They love him at home."

"It was easy to make the decision," Gregg said, "but it was hard telling it."

The day he made the announcement, he told only a few staffers first, and then walked across the hall at the Statehouse to tell the president pro tem of the Senate, his good friend Republican Bob Garton. Too many people had helped him to the top for him to start picking and choosing who to break the news to first, he said. He didn't want to hurt people's feelings. That's why he chose to make the surprise announcement in front of the full House.

For the next couple of years, at least, Gregg's agenda still will be full, but as a practicing country lawyer, a concerned and involved citizen and as a full-time husband and dad.

Gregg said he thinks much was done during his tenure as Speaker. "Things that made the state better," he said. One major accomplishment wasn't any particular issue but rather a return of civility and decorum to the House. He said Democrats and Republicans now treat each other with more respect and work together better for the public's interest. That, he said, helps restore the public's faith in democracy.

"John Gregg has represented the rural areas of southwest Indiana with honesty and integrity," said David Jones, CEO of WIN Energy REMC which covers most all of Gregg's district. "He has been a loyal supporter of the REMC program when it came to issues such as deregulation and territorial protection. He will be missed in the Legislature, and those of us who know him wish the very best for him and his family."

Looking ahead

Gregg's future has been the topic of much speculation. Other opportunities have been offered. Last year, he publicly declined the invitation to run for Indiana's newly-redrawn U.S. 8th District Congressional seat against incumbent Republican John Hostettler. Rumor has it that he'll be tapped to run for lieutenant governor in 2004 on a ticket with current Lt. Gov. Joe Kernan. Gregg neither denies nor confirms it. Instead, he said, "I'm just looking forward at least for the next couple of years watching my kids grow.

"You never say never in this business … but right now I'm concentrating on practicing law and being with my family. I guess it's hard for folks to really believe that someone would walk away from power … that is my legacy. I left it, didn't covet it, used it not abused it, and laid it down and left voluntarily."

He joked that things may change quickly come 2003. Sherry and the boys have never had him around for an entire winter, day in and day out. "She has said that I've always been gone nearly half the year and come February, after I've been home for months, she may wish I was back in the Legislature!"

Count on Gregg remaining in the public eye — and ear. Since 1999, he's hosted a radio talk show from 6-9 a.m. on Saturdays on WIBC in Indianapolis (1070 on the AM dial). He replaced Mike Pence, a law school classmate and friend, when Pence, a Republican, filled the U.S. Congressional seat vacated by Rep. David McIntosh during his unsuccessful bid for governor.

The call-in show touches on politics, legal issues and a broad range of other topics with Gregg serving up socially conservative philosophy along with his folksy, jovial demeanor. He noted the show is number one for its time slot in the central Indiana market and, depending on the weather, can be heard throughout much of the state. "We all have a little ego in this business," he said. "It's just helping people, and it's a lot of fun."

Gregg will also continue his staunch support of Democrats and the responsibilities he said all Americans have for living in a democracy. "People should either run for elected office or offer assistance to those running for office … at the very least they should be well informed and vote," he said.

"I take great pride in a democracy that allows a person from a town of 450 people to be second or third most important person in this state," he said. "My service in the House has been a tremendous honor and privilege, not to mention a significant personal growth experience for the not-so-skinny, bald guy from Sandborn," he said.

He has described the service as a lawmaker as "a merry-go-round that never seems to stop." He always had a full agenda. Letters, e-mails and phone calls, even on Christmas Day. Even after he announced his decision not to run again, he had folks pulling him aside to talk about Indiana's fence law, and other issues important to them. "It's been a good ride," he said, "but it's time for me to get off.

"Life's kind of like a book. I've closed a huge chapter, but there are a lot of chapters to be written. Starting election night at 6 o'clock, I'm going to start writing them."

Richard G. Biever is senior editor of Electric Consumer. Some material for this story was taken from the Indiana General Assembly's Web site, www.IN.gov/legistive.