Occupation/Current Position
Owner, Redbud Wine Company
Education
B.S. Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis; A.A.S. Lake Michigan College; John Adams High School
Candidate video
I will continue to work with Senate and House members on legislation to advance tenant protections in Indiana. Indiana has some of the weakest renters’ protections in the country. I will support legislation that allows Indiana to join the 45 other states that have established a rent escrow program where tenants pay rent to a third party until essential maintenance requests and repairs are made. Additionally, I will support legislation that allows the city to hold problem property owners accountable for neglecting to make necessary repairs. At this time, local governments have their hands tied by the state legislature, which has banned their ability to enforce local ordinances related to landlord-tenant relationships since 2021. I believe landlords must be held accountable when they put the safety and well-being of their residents at risk.
Initially a program to serve low-income families, in 2023 Indiana expanded Choice Scholarship eligibility to any family of four earning up to $222,000. That's an income of 400% the federal free and reduced-price lunch program. As a result, Indiana saw a record number of students participate in the voucher program resulting in a near-universal choice program funded by taxpayers, which is a major growing state fiscal impact. Despite the important role early childhood education plays in development, we have not seen the same expansion in eligibility. The top reason why parents do not enroll their child in preschool is because they cannot afford it. I propose that we raise the income eligibility standards for On My Way Pre-K to match that of the Choice Scholarship Program, instead of an income at or below 127% of the federal poverty level.
The Secretary of Education, formerly the Superintendent of Public Instruction, is responsible for setting the standards of public education including curriculum. This once elected position is now an appointee of the Governor, and has been held by one-party Republican rule since 1985, with the exception of 5 years. The real issue that’s been revealed, is that some legislators don’t trust the profession of teachers, and want to reduce them to burdensome governmental oversight. Parent engagement has always been welcomed into the foundation of our education system. These avenues should be strengthened locally to encourage steady parent engagement with their child’s learning. Legislators should focus their attention on empowering, attracting, and retaining educators instead of undermining them in a state that faces a severe teacher shortage.
There’s an urgent need to protect children from unattended firearms and accidental shootings which are 100% preventable. I was proud to introduce language last year that became law and requires the Indiana Department of Education and State Police to distribute information annually to every school parent or guardian about the best practices to safely store a firearm in a home where a child is present. This new law will help educate firearm owners on how to ensure a home remains a safe place for a child. Additionally, I support legislation that would allow for strict prosecution should a child access a firearm that is not stored safely and causes bodily injury or death. States like Texas and Florida have Child Access Prevention laws, which say that should a minor access a firearm, the person who failed to adequately secure it is liable.
As a member of the House Environmental Affairs Committee, I opposed legislation in 2021 and 2024 that rolled back state protections for our remaining wetlands. Just this past session, I stood with a coalition of scientists, environmental advocates, moms, and pediatricians to defeat dangerous legislation that would have given chemical companies a free pass to continue using toxic chemicals, called PFAS, in everyday household products without any requirement to notify the public. There was a time when Indiana led the way on environmental policy, and now we rank among the top states for toxic chemical production. Our environmental health is a direct reflection of our public health. It would be wise of the legislature to strengthen protections for our natural resources to ensure that we are creating healthy communities and healthy futures.
After the deadliest fire in our city's history since 1929, it’s critical that we pass stricter renters protections and safe housing standards in the next legislative session. A bill that was introduced this past year would have prevented a landlord from renting a unit until prior violations were remedied, however, it failed to pass committee in a tied vote. While we still await the fire investigation results of LaPorte Ave., it's clear that renters deserve more options to be able to hold negligent landlords accountable for failing to make necessary repairs. This is also evident in the living conditions at Cedar Glen, where residents have gone with low or no heat or hot water in the middle of the winter. It's also why Sen. Niezgodski and I have called on the Attorney General’s Homeowner Protection Unit to investigate the living conditions.
The legislature can reverse course on our 3rd highest maternal mortality rate in the nation. In Indiana, 75% of pregnancy-associated deaths are on Medicaid. Over 50% of births in Indiana are unintentional. The close spacing of births leads to poor health outcomes like premature birth, the leading cause of infant mortality. During the abortion ban debate, I asked the legislature to take action to reduce unintended pregnancies, expand birth control access, and take action to reduce Indiana’s infant and maternal mortality. This session, I was proud to co-author a law that will do all three of these by expanding access to long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARC) for Medicaid -eligible women in most need. In the end, the best thing the legislature and public can do to support women and infants in Indiana is listen to women and trust women.
Our elections are safe and secure. Indiana has many barriers in place for voters, however, compared to other states. While about 21 other states allow for same day voter registration, which has been proven to increase voter turnout, Indiana cuts off registration 29 days before election day. Across the country, 29 states and Washington D.C. have “no excuse” absentee voting, which means that any voter can request and cast an absentee ballot without cause. In Indiana, however, you must meet certain criteria in order to vote absentee. A new law passed this year requires county clerks to crosscheck voter rolls with BMV records to identify and purge potential non-citizens, which has landed other states like Texas, Georgia and Arizona in lengthy and expensive lawsuits. All of these reasons are why Indiana ranked 50th for voter turnout in 2022.
I believe in local control, which is why I opposed HB 1214 which overrode local ordinances that banned the sale of puppies in pet stores, and why I opposed HB 1235 which bans cities from suing firearm manufacturers. In recent years, the Indiana state legislature has blocked cities from passing rental property regulations, has banned cities from passing common sense gun reform, it has even banned local’s ability to ban plastic bags. This year, we saw the state legislature attempt to play city council once again, when they tried to pass a law that would have banned dedicated traffic lanes for public transportation in Indianapolis, despite 59% of voters passing a referendum to approve the project. The supermajority’s reputation as the party of local control is long gone as demonstrated in their repeated efforts to overrule local officials.
