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?
Smart government and healthcare. In terms of smart government: I would work too establish term limits for politicians and would establish citizen led initiatives. Regarding healthcare, we would do a complete review of policies and legislation that have limited and hurt our citizens in terms of the accessible and affordable healthcare that they desire. This includes trusting women to fully determine their own healthcare choices, including reproductive choices.
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?
Voter disenfranchisement is understandable given that for for over 20 years, one political party has dominated state politics. As a result, voters who think differently feel there is no point in going to vote because their vote does not matter. In fact, in this state we’ve become so out of balance in our approach to our democracy that many career politicians get reelected over and over again because there are no other choices.
With this one party domination, we’re also limiting our solutions to our most challenging problems. We need to bring back a real democracy to this state where you have a variety of political perspectives at the table working together to solve our greatest challenges. This is one of the primary reasons I am running as a Democrat to bring back, a fair and effective approach to government for all.
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?
Not surprisingly inflation was an outgrowth of the pandemic which interrupted our lives profoundly.* Over the last couple of years we have slowly reduced inflation and it’s about to move to a more normal level. What we’re experiencing now are some corporations who are taking advantage of this time and who have become greedy in their profit taking as reflected by unnecessarily high prices. I believe the role of government is to ensure level playing fields. Specifically corporations providing our basic necessities should be held accountable to offer fair prices and not take advantage of us.
It’s fair to be a business owner working to earn a fair profit. It’s unfair to be greedy. I would push to use existing laws and policies to hold greedy corporations accountable. If we do not have those tools then I would work to establish them. Another area that I am very passionate about is ensuring that there are great jobs in Indiana. For me, a great job is a job that pays enough that you can handle all your bills, you can handle life emergencies, have health insurance and comfortable retirement. All of us deserve this.
*Editor’s note: This is an ongoing debate. While the Chair of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell says inflation post-pandemic has many origins, some Republican lawmakers say government spending programs signed by the Biden administration is the main driver. To read more about inflation, you can check this reporting from NPR: The debate over what’s causing inflation, The mystery of Inflation (2022) and Everything you always wanted to know about inflation (but were afraid to ask).
Endorsements
Moms Demand Action
Mad Voters
Planned Parenthood
Our Choice Coalition
Indiana Coalition for Public Education
Better Indiana
Notable Donors - Source
Karen Whitney
ActBlue donations
Lou Worl
Ella Johnson
My Life Inc.
Carol Neaville-Wright
Huntington Bank
DONATE
Support WFYI. We can't do it without you.