Q&A
What do you consider the two most important issues facing Hoosiers who will see your name on their ballot this November? And if elected, what policies will you push for to address each one?
1. Personal freedoms
Politicians should stay out of healthcare and education. Leave medical decisions to medical professionals and education to educators. Intruding in these processes, the supermajority strips Hoosiers of the freedom to make the best decisions for their families, their health and their futures.
2. Supermajority putting profit over people
Legislators give tax breaks to big businesses, give public dollars to private institutions with vouchers that give tuition assistance to wealthy families and let corporations to save money and dirty our air and drinking water by reducing pollution regulations.
As your representative, I will fight for freedoms by:
- Introducing legislation to reverse the near-total abortion ban.
- Opposing legislation introducing party affiliation into school board elections.*
- Working with legislators to let Hoosier put issues on the ballot.
As your representative, I will put people over profit by:
- Introducing legislation to create a need-based system for school vouchers aligned with established poverty guidelines.
- Maintaining environmental regulations that put Hoosiers' health first and penalizing corporations that don’t abide.
*Editor's note: For context, House Bill 1428, introduced during the 2023 legislative session, would have let Indiana residents decide if local school board elections should be partisan. But that effort died in the Indiana House. Currently, there are no other efforts underway.
We've heard from many in our audience that they feel frustrated — sometimes disenfranchised — by our current political landscape. These feelings sometimes contribute to people deciding not to vote, and Indiana consistently ranks near the bottom of the list on voter turnout. What would you say to a potential voter who feels this way?
For more than 20 years, Indiana has been run by a supermajority with legislators who traffic in culture wars, take orders from donors and suppress votes to stay in office, but Indiana isn’t a red state, it’s a RIGGED state. They want us to feel like our vote doesn’t count so we don’t hold them accountable by voting them out of office.
If you’re considering not voting because you’re unhappy with the current political landscape, remember that, since 2012, one party has created the landscape you don’t like. The only way to change it is to go to the polls and elect leaders who actually care about Hoosiers.
Use your voice. Make it count.
Economic anxiety is top of mind for many in our audience and around the country, with a common concern being inflation and the high price of basic needs. In all the complexity around economic issues, what specific changes need to happen to help Hoosiers and their families?
As your representative, I will work with fellow legislators to fight inflation by:
1. Fighting greed-flation
When businesses raise prices even though their production costs don’t go up, that is greed-flation. Legislators can hold businesses accountable for responsible pricing by creating an affirmative defense for small businesses whose price increases are due to credible circumstances and create a rebuttable presumption of price gouging against businesses whose prices don’t align with their cost of creation. In plain English, that means we won’t punish small businesses for keeping up with demand, and we will penalize big businesses for raising prices for no reason.
Empowering small and medium-sized businesses
2. I will work with local governments, business owners and chambers of commerce to create an environment that allows small and medium-sized businesses to thrive. This will force big box stores, chain restaurants and major corporations to lower their prices in an attempt to keep everyday Hoosiers coming back. This will also boost local economies and put money in people's pockets because nearly half of all working Hoosiers are employed by small businesses.
Endorsements - Source
ICPE
Mad Voters
Indiana House Democratic Caucus
IHD
Better Indiana
ISTA
Our Choice Coalition
Candidates for Common Good
Center for Freethought Equality PAC
UAW Region 2B PAC
Moms Demand Action
Indiana Young Dems
Women’s Caucus of the Indiana Democratic Party
Notable Donors - Source
ActBlue Donations
Joellyn Mayer
Josh Lowry
Amanda Rubeck for Zionsville
Better Indiana
Citizens to Elect Greg Goodnight
James David Ford
Gregory F Hahn
Brian Pollie
Alexis for Westfield
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