Candidates for the Indiana General Assembly were asked to complete a questionnaire in advance of the Nov. 6 general election, in addition to participating in interviews with The Journal Gazette editorial board. Following are the replies submitted for the written questionnaire:
Indiana Senate District 16
David Long (R): No reply
Charles “Tom” Keen (D): No reply
Indiana House District 50
Dan Leonard (R):
Occupation: Owner, South Side Furniture of Huntington, Inc.
Age: 63
What letter grade would you give to the General Assembly for the last session and why?
I would give the General Assembly a B+ for the last session.
Much of the legislation we passed in the last two years was not our best. With the Democrat walk-out in 2011, several bills did not receive the full benefit of a two-sided debate. Bills were prepared in committee and then rushed through the process when the Democrats did decide to come back. In 2012 there was a rolling walk-out by Democrats, causing disruption in the process. I do believe that the minority has the right to walk-out and use it for a tool in the legislative process, but they also have an obligation to their constituents to represent them.
I believe Brian Bosma has done a superb job of running the session. He has been open to patient with both sides of the isle. He is the first Speaker of the House to appoint committee chairman from the Minority Party, truly making an effort to be bi-partisan.
Aside from job creation, name the most important issue facing state government in the next year and explain how your talents and experience could help to address it.
So far this summer I have noted two important issues that will face the General Assembly in 2013. First, will be local road funding. Many Counties and municipalities are running out of road repair money. Federal funding is drying up. The General Assembly will be faced with trying to help local government raise the revenue to keep roads in good repair. Second, I believe there will be a debate over whether or not the Governor has the authority to lease or out- source the lottery. The Governor’s office has already started taking bids from private companies to run the State Lottery.
What should be the primary focus in adopting a biennial budget in 2013?
With the Governor’s race this year we have two candidates that have proposed different tax cuts. Candidate Pence wants to reduce the Indiana personal income tax from 3.4, and Candidate Gregg wants to declare a Sales Tax holiday and reduce the gas tax. Both of these proposals cause problems with the State Budgeting process. Sales tax and personal income tax are both large sources of revenue for the state. To balance a budget and keep a Governor, that wants a tax reduction, happy will not be easy. My past involvement on the Ways & Means Committee for the House of Representatives will be a big help in making decisions that keep taxes as low as possible and still maintain services for the people of Indiana.
Mike Wallin (D): No reply
Indiana House District 52
Charles Odier (D): No reply
Ben Smaltz (R): No reply
Indiana House District 79
Matt Lehman (R)
Occupation: Agent/owner, Bixler Insurance
Age: 49
What letter grade would you give to the General Assembly for the last session and why?
I would give the Indiana General Assembly an A. With all of the issues that were addressed I felt we did a good job of putting Indiana back on a strong fiscal track. We are phasing out the inheritance tax. We cut the corporate tax rate. We passed right to work. These are all parts of moving Indiana in the right direction for economic growth and stability.
We also enhanced education. We gave parents more say in where their children can go to school. We are holding failing schools more accountable and we are giving more students who cannot afford to leave their school the ability to make those changes.
Aside from job creation, name the most important issue facing state government in the next year and explain how your talents and experience could help to address it.
The biggest issue facing Indiana in the future is to make sure we continue to provide the best education for our kids and continue to be a state that lives within its means. I graduated from Vincennes University with a degree in Aviation Technology in 1984. Since that time high schools have been scaling back their vocational training. We need to promote vocational training in high school as well as for those graduating students who do not desire to pursue a four-year degree. Because of my own education I can be a voice for vocational training.
As president of the Adams County Council for the last six years of my tenure I worked with department heads to craft a sound budget. There were good years and bad years. We made sure we didn’t cut too deep and that we didn’t spend too much. With my experience I will continue to help Indiana live within its means.
What should be the primary focus in adopting a biennial budget in 2013?
The primary focus on the budget should be to reinstitute cuts that were made in the past in a very concerted method. If a department has been able to function with the cuts they do not need to be restored to prior levels. Education is obviously the greatest portion of our budget and there is where we will need to find common ground on restoring cuts.
Mike Snyder (D):
Occupation: Bunge. Local union president.
Age: 55
What letter grade would you give the General Assembly for the last session and why?
D–There was no fiscal accountability. $526 million tax error over a 3 year period. $320 million placed in an incorrect fund. $206 million in local income option tax that the counties were shorted. $536,000 in excise tax revenues not distributed. A $2 million surplus after all the budget cuts and the stress put on all the communities and the families in the communities because they were told that there were no funds available for community needs. FSSA is in both financial and administrative turmoil. The state failed when they privatized the welfare system and hired IBM. Now we not only have to pay to fix the welfare system but we have to pay for the litigation and any amount due to IBM.
The Right to Work Legislation was rushed through the State House. There were no hearings and the public was silenced. And let’s not forget that they adjourned early last session. BLS show that Right to Work states have lower wages, less benefits and higher mortality rates in the workplace. If the only way you can create jobs is to take money from workers making a living wage and hope jobs will come to the state, then you are not improving the communities we live in. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is bad business and the constituents are not being represented but the special interest groups are.
Our public schools need help. We need to invest in the local school systems not destroy them by creating private charter schools and handing out vouchers to attend private schools. We have great administrators and educators and giving them the opportunity and the resources to educate our children and to shape their schools to meet the needs of the communities is a must.
There was not enough research done with respect to small communities when it comes to the Nepotism Law and the Hospital Tax. We need legislators that look out for the people of House District 79 and not just the big cities.
Aside from job creation, name the most important issue facing state government in the next year and explain how your talents and experience could help to address it.
Repeal of Right to Work and the budget is the most important issue. The lack of checks and balances in the previous administration budget led to numerous accountability issues. My college education speaks for its self. A local union president has the same duties as a small business owner including overseeing the payroll, budgets and property. I also was a financial officer in the local and the part of the duties of the job to was to do payroll and taxes. Another strength I have is my years of experience in negotiations. Not only do you have to negotiate contracts, but the continuous administration of a contract requires a different set of negotiating skills.
What should be the primary focus in adopting a biennial budget in 2013?
There is a huge accountability issue as I have outlined above. Not only do we need to be accountable for the budget but, legislators need to have ways that track the budget during the budget cycle. We cannot have all these errors in the taxing system like what is going on right now in Indiana. There was tremendous pressure put on elected officials and non elected officials to cut budgets and programs to meet the state budget. How can cities and towns trust legislators when the taxing system failed in so many ways?
Indiana House District 81
Alexander Avery (L): No reply
Martin Carbaugh (R):
Occupation: Financial services industry
Age: 33
What letter grade would you give to the General Assembly for the last session and why?
“B+” – It would be hard to ever give an “A” because there are always ways to help and improve. The state of Indiana is the fiscal envy of the nation. With a federal government in such poor financial state, I believe it is important that we remain in the black. Having a surplus is rare and good, however if we have the revenue to support restoring cuts that were made to core services, I would like to see that happen.
Aside from job creation, name the most important issue facing state government in the next year and explain how your talents and experience could help to address it.
I believe government spending is always an issue that needs a constant watchful eye. In working with my clients as a financial representative I help folks examine their budget and look for ways to be more efficient with how they spend their money so that they get the most bang for their buck. In government I believe this translates well as we look at ways to get maximum value when we spend tax payer’s money.
What should be the primary focus in adopting a biennial budget in 2013?
The focus should be to keep a balanced budget. By doing that we can maintain our rainy day fund. As our income forecast allows we should be able to responsibly increase education funding for K-12 and higher education. With proper revenue levels we should fully fund our Medicaid needs, continue to improve and repair our state roads and bridges. Being frugal with taxpayer’s money should be able to do these things while maintaining a strong DNR and state park system.
Win Moses (D): No reply
Indiana House District 82
David Ober (R):
Occupation: Owner, Vanguard Strategies
Age: 25
What letter grade would you give to the General Assembly for the last session and why?
I believe the General Assembly earned an A for the last session. The legislature addressed many important issues, such as Right-to-Work, elimination of the Inheritance Tax, funding full-day kindergarten, adding new provisions to help fight synthetic drugs and strengthening the state’s Castle Doctrine.
Aside from job creation, name the most important issue facing state government in the next year and explain how your talents and experience could help to address it.
The most important issue facing state government is infrastructure development. Indiana is known as the Crossroads of America because of our strong transportation network that connects us to surrounding states and the rest of the country. As investment dollars from Major Moves curtail, the legislature must develop a new plan to fund development and maintenance of an aging network of roads and bridges.
What should be the primary focus in adopting a biennial budget in 2013?
Passing a structurally balanced budget where state spending does not exceed revenues will be my primary focus. Accomplishing this will help Indiana maintain the triple-A bond rating that it earned in 2010. This will allow school corporations and local governments to continue to finance at the lowest possible rate, saving Hoosier taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Michael T. Wilber (D):
Occupation: President/Business Representative, Sheet Metal Workers Local 20
Age: 42
What letter grade would you give to the General Assembly for the last session and why?
D– The 2011 General Assembly in Indiana seemed to lose focus on everything except destroying Unions and Public Education. The attacks that started on the teachers in 2010 continued into 2012 with a vengeance. More talk of teacher evaluations, increased private school voucher programs, and charter schools helped keep the general publics mind off of the more controversial Right To Work bill and the effects that it would have on Hoosier workers, both Union and non-union. The RTW bill was rammed through the house as fast as possible to keep the public from learning the real meaning of the bill. Instead of slowing down the discussion or putting the bill to a referendum, it was passed very quickly along party lines. I guess the urgency was needed so that we could move on to more important issues like specialty license plates, fenced hunting, and teaching creationism. The only reason I did not give the entire session an "F" is that there was value in the Full Day Kindergarten law that passed.
Aside from job creation, name the most important issue facing state government in the next year and explain how your talents and experience could help to address it.
My most important issue is to restore public education to a more productive level, however I think that the most important issue that we will be faced with as legislators is increased Medicaid funding. Depending on the outcome of the election in November, Indiana leaders are going to have to make some tough decisions about how to fund mandates associated with Federal Medicaid changes. These decisions will have to be made out of the best interest for the taxpayers, and affected individuals. These decisions can not be made as part of any type of political strategy or game to achieve votes or abuse a majority status of a party. It is going to take sensible leadership such as myself to make these tough decisions based on what is good for the people of Indiana, not the political party.
What should be the primary focus in adopting a biennial budget in 2013?
The primary focus of adopting a budget in 2013 should be accurate accounting. At this point we as taxpayers have no idea how much money is laying around un-accounted for. Money was cut from much needed programs based on errors. It is unclear at this point how much and why this happened. It is also unclear what the revenue projections will entail. I would like to control taxes at current levels, however I would like to restore funding to public education if the revenue is available. Funding that was cut from vocational programs, music programs, and other programs that give our students a reason to enjoy school and excel. We also need to restore funding that keeps an effective student/teacher ratio. We should be focused on producing educated individuals, not a mass produced work force. Public education is the foundation of generations of Hoosiers, both long before and long after our time here on Earth.
Indiana House District 83
Kathy Heuer (R):
Occupation: Real estate broker
Age: 64
What letter grade would you give to the General Assembly for the last session and why?
B+ – Despite the challenges of two walkouts, two years of heavy union demonstrations and the lack of bipartisanship on many of our major issues, I believe we worked extremely hard to craft the best legislation we could in focused areas. My hope is that, moving forward, we will be able to work across the aisle in a more effective manner, realizing that our constituents are always best served when “politics” are put aside and all perspectives are given due notice.
Aside from job creation, name the most important issue facing state government in the next year and explain how your talents and experience could help to address it.
Addressing the “skills gap” that exists in our workforce. My experience at the Whitley County Economic Development Corp. has given me the opportunity to listen and learn from employers in my district that this gap is real and to ask them where and how the state can help address this issue in ways that will make a real difference to existing businesses and employees along with potential new employees.
What should be the primary focus in adopting a biennial budget in 2013?
Keeping the budget balanced … spending no more than what the state brings in. If possible, I believe we should focus on restoring dollars to programs that have suffered severe cuts in previous years.
John A. Good (D):
Occupation: Retail management and small business owner
Age: 48
What letter grade would you give to the General Assembly for the last session and why?
D– Lost money, Ethics Scandals, Gutting of Public Education and DCS, Attacks against workers rights, passage of ALEC-Sponsored legislation, a sharp rightward lurch & extreme partisanship.
Aside from job creation, name the most important issue facing state government in the next year and explain how your talents and experience could help to address it.
Breaking the gridlock & partisanship so that we may work together for the betterment of all Hoosiers. Compromise is essential to solving our collective problems & attaining our goals.
My experience as a Retail Manager & Small Business Owner brings strong analytical & problem solving skills to the table. I’m comfortable bringing together others, combing our best ideas, and executing a plan to achieve success.
What should be the primary focus in adopting a biennial budget in 2013?
Maintaining a balanced budget without making extreme cuts to important services, as was done in the last session.
Indiana House District 84
James Hanson (L): No replyLee Jordan (D): No reply
Bob Morris (R): No reply
Indiana House District 85
Phyllis Pond (R):
Occupation: Retired educator
Age: 82
What letter grade would you give to the General Assembly for the last session and why?
A+. – We passed several bills aiding economic develop0ment to create more and better paying jobs. Created a phase-out plan for the Inheritance Tax starting in 2013.
Aside from job creation, name the most important issue facing state government in the next year and explain how your talents and experience could help to address it.
Continue the progress we have made in developing a balanced budget to not obligate ourselves to spend more money than we take in. (Not like the Feds.) I serve on the Ways & Means committee which will be developing our next 2-year-budget.
What should be the primary focus in adopting a biennial budget in 2013?
Focus on the State’s needs – not wants. We must carefully cover all the neds of our citizens whle not raising taxes. We have great needs in education, roads and bridges, child services for neglected and abused children and many others.
When speaking of the social issues, I forgot to mention that I believe in a couple’s right to family planning. This is an area the government should stay out of. (Sorry to use a preposition at the end of a sentence. I know better.)
Audrey Queckboerner (Constitution Party):
Occupation: Customer relations and data entry experience with family business
Age: 44
What letter grade would you give to the General Assembly for the last session and why?
When grading the General Assembly, I think we need to look at not just the last session, but also the long session as many bills carried over into the short session.
I would have to give them a letter grade of “D”.
First, the voters felt it was very irresponsible of the Democrats just to up and leave the state and hide out in some hotel in Illinois because they couldn’t get their demands met over the Right to Work issue. This is not how legislators, who are elected by the constituents and employed by the taxpayers should behave. We have a process at the State House for discussing and voting on legislation.
Second, how are 871 bills introduced in the long session and 815 bills introduced in the short session, limited, Constitutional government?
I do applaud the General Assembly for passing SB 1 which protects Hoosiers civil liberties and SB 4 which outlaws human trafficking in Indiana. Those actions saved me from giving the General Assembly an “F”.
Aside from job creation, name the most important issue facing state government in the next year and explain how your talents and experience could help to address it.
Cutting the size and scope of State government and standing on the 10th Amendment against unconstitutional Federal government mandates and regulations.
What should be the primary focus in adopting a biennial budget in 2013?
Whether any of the money taken is for constitutionally authorized purposes...or whether we just forget all the legal restraints and spend like there is literally no tomorrow for this republic.
Evan Smith (D)
Occupation: teacher – Saint Joseph-Saint Elizabeth School
Age: 29
What letter grade would you give to the General Assembly for the last session and why?
I would give the General Assembly a C for the last session. I feel that the average worker in Indiana came under attack with the passage of right-to-work as well as the restrictions placed upon the collective bargaining for teachers. Also, they had to chance to pass a tax credit to businesses that hired unemployed persons and that bill never got out of committee. I feel that not enough is being done to help the unemployed in Indiana. We need to focus on attracting more businesses to Indiana not only to help those who do not have jobs, but to also employ the next generation of graduates.
Aside from job creation, name the most important issue facing state government in the next year and explain how your talents and experience could help to address it.
Aside from job creation, the most important issue facing our state government next year is fixing the atmosphere of partisan politics and working together for the good of Indiana. I feel as if both parties have become unwilling to compromise on many issues and in the end Hoosiers are losing out. I feel that the people of Indiana are missing out on good ideas in education as well as in other areas because the opposite party does not want to even acknowledge the ideas from across the aisle. We need to come together as a state and do what is right for everyone, not just what is best for our own party or political future.
What should be the primary focus in adopting a biennial budget in 2013?
The primary focus in adopting a biennial budget in 2013 should be keeping a balanced budget while slightly increasing the K-12 education budget and making sure that we do not raise taxes or fees on our Indiana residents during these bad economic times. One of the key parts of increasing the education budget should be making sure that schools do not make any additional cuts to the fine arts or industrial arts programs, as many have done in the past. These programs have been shown time after time to be essential in the learning process for students, and I firmly believe that not all students are the same so they should have options when it comes to education. By getting rid of these programs we are trying to force all students into the same classes and have them leaving high school with nearly identical educations. Some students will not be 4-year college bound, instead they may decide to go to a vocational/trade school in which an industrial arts program would have been valuable to their education. As for taxes and fees, they should not go up when many families are living on a fixed income due to the downturn in the economy. Many would not be able to easily adapt to an increase in taxes or fees.
