State Senate District 4 (LaPorte Co)
The Indiana State Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year terms without term limits. According to the 2010 U.S. census, the average state senator represents 129,676 people. The Senate convenes at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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Rodney Pol
(Dem)
What experiences, education, and personal characteristics qualify you to serve as a member of the Indiana General Assembly?
What are some of the unique challenges you see facing Northwest Indiana and how, specifically, will you work to address those challenges?
What is your understanding of the movement to establish an independent, non-partisan redistricting commission in Indiana to manage the redistricting process? How will you ensure that all Hoosiers are equally represented?
Share your thoughts about data center regulations at the State level that could possibly interfere with municipality's authority to establish ordinances? How would you address the cost of infrastructure for these data centers?
How will you ensure that your constituents have an equal opportunity to make their voice and opinion heard?
Occupation/Background
Attorney
YouTubeVideo Link
I was honored to be named the Most Effective Democratic Senator in the Senate by the Center for Effective Lawmaking (Uni. Of Virginia and Vanderbilt University). My ability to pass substantive legislation despite being in the super minority by working across the aisle and serving in leadership is what keeps me going. That ability came from my work in the criminal justice system as a State Public Defender and continued in local government as a City Attorney, handling everything and anything that the City of Gary needed. I have spent my adult life learning the meaning to serve my community in a very real and substantive way and have used that ability to District 4 the best representation I can.
I believe challenges we face are affordability, jobs, and education.
On affordability, I have been championing legislation to lower our utility bills both and bills that I have authored and amendments on bills that have moved. I’ve also focused on making sure our folks on fixed income, such as our seniors and veterans are getting property tax breaks, given the rising assessments in the area. I’ve authored bills to lower our healthcare costs such as capping insulin at $35.
On jobs and education, I have passed legislation to bring new businesses to Michigan City this session and I’m working to bring new industry and jobs to the greater NWI area. I’ve also been one of the biggest champions for childcare and early childhood education.
I’m a full proponent of an independent non-partisan district and commission in Indiana. This is incredibly important given how gerrymandered Indiana is. It’s the reason Democrats only hold 20% of the Senate seats but elections are typically 40 to 47% for many of the statewide races.
I gave everything I had in the fight against redistricting in December. I think anybody that supported those efforts were not listening to their constituents. Between the attempts at redistricting and cutting early voting, I’ll spend every moment I can fighting to ensure that our state is fairly represented, and people have access to expressed themselves at the ballot box.
I’m very concerned about data and a regulation at the state level and believe that local autonomy should be protected when it comes to large industrial developments. I have been dubbed “Local Control Pol” because of my belief that issues in local community should be determined by the local community and not a one size fits all approach from the state. I’ll fight any effort to take away local control control, particularly on data centers.
I believe the cost of infrastructure and data centers should not be on the backs of taxpayers that are not seeing any benefit in return.
I will always fight for free and fair elections and representation at every level of our government. That means making sure people are not given poll taxes through various efforts to stifle of vote. That means making sure we protect early voting. That means we protect polling centers and precincts.
I love hearing the opinions of my constituents because it lets me know what is really happening in my community. I don’t believe anybody in the state House had evolved 150 legislators has more Town halls than I do.
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