INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The public intensity over time as a political issue in Indiana may be fading somewhat, and it hasn't been a major topic in this year's governor's race — at least not on the surface.

But the sun hasn't set on the quarrel that's dragged on for decades, and became especially heated in 2005 when Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels got statewide observance of daylight saving time through the Legislature without a single vote to spare in the House.

Take the first governor's debate last week, when one of the questions posed to Daniels, Democrat Jill Long Thompson and Libertarian Andrew Horning was whether they would try to put all of Indiana in one time zone.

The law Daniels won brought Indiana in line with 47 other states that observe daylight time. But it also resulted in several counties in northwest and southwest Indiana winning federal approval to switch from the Eastern time zone to Central time. Most later switched back.

Long Thompson said the law led to "sort of this random assignment of time zones to various counties and it is simply not working."

She has proposed having two nonbinding referendums. One would ask voters what time zone Indiana should be in, and the other would ask whether the state should observe daylight time. The statewide votes would give lawmakers and the governor guidance on how to pursue the time issue, she said.

Campaign spokesman Jeff Harris said Long Thompson gets many questions about time while campaigning in northwestern and southwestern Indiana, where some counties are on Central time and others on Eastern. But she gets only occasional questions on the issue in the rest of the state, he said.

During the 2004 campaign, Daniels said he would push for statewide DST because it would eliminate confusion over time that was hurting commerce. He said it was his preference that most of Indiana be on Central time, but he backed away from such statements after getting elected.

He said during the recent debate that he didn't mind the jokes about most of the state not observing daylight time when that was the case.

"What I did mind was the lost dollars, missed shipments, missed conferences and all the rest that went on ... with people elsewhere not knowing what time it is in Indiana," he said.

And he said having two time zones was better than three. Before the law took effect in 2006, during the spring and summer months, 77 counties in the Eastern zone did not observe DST, five in southeastern Indiana did, and five counties each in the southwestern and northwestern corners were on Central time and changed clocks.

Democratic state Rep. Dave Crooks of Washington in southern Indiana's Daviess County fought hard against the daylight bill in 2005 because he wanted a nonbinding referendum on what time zone the state should be in before considering action on daylight time.

Daviess County was among those that switched to Central time and later moved back. Crooks said after the move to Central time, many residents didn't like it getting dark around 4:30 p.m. in the winter, and many people and businesses didn't like being an hour behind Indianapolis.

Crooks, who is not seeking re-election this year, said DST was still an issue with some, "but I think it's a fraction of what it was when it was debated in the General Assembly."

On the first day of summer this past June, Crooks made time the issue on a weekly radio talk show he hosts. A couple of callers said they liked Eastern daylight time, but most either said the whole state should be on Central time or that the 2005 law should be repealed.

"I liked it the way it was before when we did not change our time at all, we just let the world go by," one caller said.

Republican Sen. Allen Paul of Richmond in eastern Indiana cast a deciding committee vote to keep the DST bill alive in 2005. He said he thought the whole Senate deserved to vote on it, and when it did, he voted no because most of his constituents were against it.

But he said many constituents skewered him for keeping the bill alive.

"There are still people who mention that to me often when talking about the governor," Paul said of DST opponents. "It's not as big (an issue) as it was, but it's still a factor," he said.

A new Indianapolis Star/WTHR-TV statewide poll of 600 likely voters showed that 48 percent thought DST was good for Indiana, 36 percent thought it was bad, and 5 percent were unsure. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

According to Daniels' constituent services office, of all the missives it has received from January through August, time never topped 1 percent as the main issue each month. And many were from people who wanted DST and the time zones left alone.

The issue may be fading, but according to lawmakers, it's still a big deal to some folks.

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