INDIANAPOLIS – Fort Wayne voters have a choice in the House District 80 seat even if one candidate is keeping a low profile.
Rep. Phil GiaQuinta, D-Fort Wayne, is seeking a third term in the Indiana House against Republican Jonathan Moosey – a 27-year-old IPFW student who hasn’t campaigned in the contest.
The district covers much of the south side of Fort Wayne, and the seat includes an annual salary of $22,600 plus a per diem.
“I don’t really feel like the job I started is finished. I feel like we’ve made some good strides in Indiana but we have a ways to go regarding job creation and other pieces of legislation,” GiaQuinta said.
“I also enjoy public service. It’s certainly been a trademark of my family. It can be trying at times and difficult, but I think when you accomplish some things it makes it very rewarding.”
GiaQuinta, 46, has been an employee with the city of Fort Wayne for 10 years and has a bachelor’s degree in telecommunications from Indiana University.
He is a native of Fort Wayne who took over his father’s seat in the House in 2006. He previously served on the Wayne Township Advisory Board. He is single with no children.
Some accomplishments from his two terms in office include automatic filing of homestead deductions and restructured funding for a Fort Wayne capital improvements board.
Moosey hasn’t campaigned or raised money. He did not return calls, e-mails and Facebook messages seeking an interview.
His Twitter and Facebook pages describe him as a conservative Catholic interested in education reform, such as vouchers, more charter schools and homeschooling.
GiaQuinta wants to focus on attracting good-paying jobs to the state. One way is to provide tax credits as incentive for science and engineering jobs or those involving green technology.
He also thinks Indiana could get creative and phase in payroll taxes. To pay for the program, he would eliminate some existing credits that are inefficient.
GiaQuinta will offer a bill to move Allen County to a single-county executive system instead of county commissioners. He tried unsuccessfully to push this as a pilot program last year.
