***Please note, this race is uncontested. When there is only one candidate running in a particular race, the race may not appear on your ballot on election day.***The Indiana General Assembly is responsible for enacting the laws by which the state of Indiana is governed. The two houses of the General Assembly are the House of Representatives and the Senate. Representatives serve terms of two years and Senators serve terms of four years. Both houses can create bills, but bills must pass both houses before they can be submitted to the governor and enacted into law.Legislative authority and responsibility include:Passing bills of public policy mattersSetting levels for state spendingRaising and lower taxesVoting to uphold or override gubernatorial vetoes
Education: increase funding for public education, increase compensation for teachers and support staff, provide a universal pre-K, improve high school graduation and college completion rates, expand opportunities for job training.
Healthcare: Restore reproductive rights, reduce cost of healthcare, and expand access to mental health services.
Housing: provide income-based tax relief for low income families (especially senior citizens, veterans, and individuals with complicated health conditions); increase affordable housing supply, reduce evictions, and provide protections for responsible tenants against negligent out of state entities.
Protecting Democracy/Voting Rights: We must end gerrymandering.
Public Safety: reduce gun violence
Marion County would benefit from a more fair distribution of road funding, more flexibility to address gun violence, and better funding for public schools.
Over the past four years, I’ve successfully led efforts in the Senate to fund the Nickel Plate Tail and to improve state road funding for Marion County by securing the passage of a bipartisan legislation that allocates $8 million in new/additional road funding for Indianapolis each year.
The quality of life for Marion County residents will be improved with better and safer infrastructure, affordable housing options, safer communities, and high quality public schools. These investments will make Indianapolis an even more attractive place for families to call home.
As a member of the Senate Committee on School Funding, I worked tirelessly to advocate for a universal pre-K; increase funding per student for K-12 and compensation for teachers, social workers, and support staff; increase funding to support English language learners and students with special needs; increase funding to support foster youth, and students who are enrolled in programs such as SNAP and TANF (Complexity index under the school funding formula).
In addition, I opposed diverting state funding from public schools to private and charter schools. It's the state's constitutional responsibility to fully fund a system of common schools (i.e., traditional public schools), and not promote the privatization of public education.
I authored pro-democracy legislation each session I served since I was elected four years ago including a constitutional amendment to end gerrymandering, a bill to create an independent citizens redistricting commission and to establish redistricting standards. I firmly believe that gerrymandering is the root cause of political/policy extremism because it creates safer legislative districts that suppress voter turnout due to limited options on the ballot. Gerrymandering is an anti democracy tool that pre-determines the outcomes of elections for at least a decade.
I support mail in voting options, expanding vote centers to increase civic participation, expanding early voting, and automatic voter registration at the BMV.
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I am a public servant, not your typical politician. I work for the people, it's not the other way around as some politicians may think. It's my commitment to continue to work tirelessly to serve all Hoosiers by protecting democracy, civil liberties, and freedoms. I am honored to be your public servant.
