Dem candidates speak ahead of election
September 13, 2022 at 7:48 p.m.
With exactly two months left before Indiana voters go to the polls for Election Day 2022, a few of those on local ballots appeared at a Meet the Candidates event Thursday hosted by Third Place and organized by Christina Persson and the Franklin County Democratic Party.
Those addressing the attendees were Ronald Itnyre, Richmond, running for the Indiana Senate 27 seat that represents all of Randolph, Wayne and Union counties and portions of Franklin, Fayette and Dearborn, as well as Matthew Fyfe, Bloomington, looking to join the US House of Representatives for the recently realigned District 9 (part or all of 18 counties – approximately 550,000 registered voters). Thomas McDermott, mayor of Hammond, was originally on the speaker list but sent a campaign representative in his place; McDermott is running for US Senate.
Itnyre, originally from a strong farming background in Illinois, now teaches at Indiana University East as a biology/environmental science professor and directs the campus sustainability office. He is focusing on what he calls the 3 E's – education, environment and economy.
He denounced House Bill 1134 (Education Matters) as essentially anti-Critical Race Theory. The bill would have helped establish local committees to review curricula and allowed parents to review learning materials. It died in the Senate this past spring.
“Public education is crucial to the state of Indiana,” he said. “We need to be supporting educators, not making it harder for them to do their jobs.”
Itnyre added Indiana is 41st among all states in teacher pay and the legislature has “balanced the budget on the backs of teachers, public employees and public retirees.” He said he'd support any bill that increases funding for public schools. “(Educators) shouldn't be questioned on every decision they make or every book they present to children.”
Moving to environment, the candidate said Indiana ranked 45th in the nation for air quality and has the most mileage of polluted waterways. He said legislation is needed to protect the state's air, water and soil and recent statutes have had the effect of discouraging solar power for residents.
“I'm about to say something controversial; climate change is real,” said Itnyre. He gave examples of farmers needing to plant well into May due to saturation, as well as spring conditions skipping a beat from cool and wet directly to extreme heat.
On the economy, Itnyre favors a “greener” tint with a smaller carbon footprint. “Agriculture is an important part of the economy, especially in my district,” he said. “We need to support family farms.”
The candidate answered a few questions from the audience.
About the state levying additional excise tax on hybrid/electric vehicles to offset the loss in gas tax revenue, Itnyre said there should be “better ways of encouraging conservation while also covering infrastructure” costs. Likewise, he addressed the need to balance environmental issues with farmers' necessity to sustain farms and raise crops.
“I'm not smart enough to answer all the questions, but I'm smart enough to reach out to the people who can,” said Itnyre.
Fyfe is also an educator, teaching high school math. He's adamant about reversing the nationwide focus on student test scores and instead hopes to change policy in favor of trade schools and technical schooling. Practical courses like personal finance and civics should be emphasized. A member of the teachers' union, Fyfe decries that the National Labor Relations Act currently skews more toward corporations than workers looking to improve wages, benefits and retirement. He would wish to sit on the Education and Labor Committee in congress to address both issues.
As a father of three young children, he'd like to change policy to help working families juggling careers while paying ever-increasing childcare costs. Ultimately, he'd like policy that helps keep children in the state once they've gone through the academic system.
The most important issue to him, however, is candidates not taking “big lobbyist money” and being more beholden to constituents. Fyfe said this resonates with people of any political party. In fact, he mentioned this as the top selling point when trying to convince voters in “red” districts to elect Democrats. He asked the crowd to help by donating time and money, speaking to friends about candidates or even running for office themselves.
In response to a question, Fyfe said he's “not a huge fan” of right to work laws; Indiana is a right to work state, which essentially means non-union employees can benefit from the same workplace advantages as union members. He said unions encourage teamwork and strive to help the middle class. The candidate also supports a living wage.
Addressing an immigration question about how to best help undocumented workers who wish to live and work in America, Fyfe said small business owners are having difficulty finding employees. He added most people want to see immigration reform that works for those folks wanting to come here and build better lives.
“Politics affect everyday lives,” he added. “I got into this because I feel like we're very divided nowadays and it scares me for the future of my kids. It particularly scares me the very undemocratic things happening in government.”
The general election is Nov. 8.
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With exactly two months left before Indiana voters go to the polls for Election Day 2022, a few of those on local ballots appeared at a Meet the Candidates event Thursday hosted by Third Place and organized by Christina Persson and the Franklin County Democratic Party.
Those addressing the attendees were Ronald Itnyre, Richmond, running for the Indiana Senate 27 seat that represents all of Randolph, Wayne and Union counties and portions of Franklin, Fayette and Dearborn, as well as Matthew Fyfe, Bloomington, looking to join the US House of Representatives for the recently realigned District 9 (part or all of 18 counties – approximately 550,000 registered voters). Thomas McDermott, mayor of Hammond, was originally on the speaker list but sent a campaign representative in his place; McDermott is running for US Senate.
Itnyre, originally from a strong farming background in Illinois, now teaches at Indiana University East as a biology/environmental science professor and directs the campus sustainability office. He is focusing on what he calls the 3 E's – education, environment and economy.
He denounced House Bill 1134 (Education Matters) as essentially anti-Critical Race Theory. The bill would have helped establish local committees to review curricula and allowed parents to review learning materials. It died in the Senate this past spring.
“Public education is crucial to the state of Indiana,” he said. “We need to be supporting educators, not making it harder for them to do their jobs.”
Itnyre added Indiana is 41st among all states in teacher pay and the legislature has “balanced the budget on the backs of teachers, public employees and public retirees.” He said he'd support any bill that increases funding for public schools. “(Educators) shouldn't be questioned on every decision they make or every book they present to children.”
Moving to environment, the candidate said Indiana ranked 45th in the nation for air quality and has the most mileage of polluted waterways. He said legislation is needed to protect the state's air, water and soil and recent statutes have had the effect of discouraging solar power for residents.
“I'm about to say something controversial; climate change is real,” said Itnyre. He gave examples of farmers needing to plant well into May due to saturation, as well as spring conditions skipping a beat from cool and wet directly to extreme heat.
On the economy, Itnyre favors a “greener” tint with a smaller carbon footprint. “Agriculture is an important part of the economy, especially in my district,” he said. “We need to support family farms.”
The candidate answered a few questions from the audience.
About the state levying additional excise tax on hybrid/electric vehicles to offset the loss in gas tax revenue, Itnyre said there should be “better ways of encouraging conservation while also covering infrastructure” costs. Likewise, he addressed the need to balance environmental issues with farmers' necessity to sustain farms and raise crops.
“I'm not smart enough to answer all the questions, but I'm smart enough to reach out to the people who can,” said Itnyre.
Fyfe is also an educator, teaching high school math. He's adamant about reversing the nationwide focus on student test scores and instead hopes to change policy in favor of trade schools and technical schooling. Practical courses like personal finance and civics should be emphasized. A member of the teachers' union, Fyfe decries that the National Labor Relations Act currently skews more toward corporations than workers looking to improve wages, benefits and retirement. He would wish to sit on the Education and Labor Committee in congress to address both issues.
As a father of three young children, he'd like to change policy to help working families juggling careers while paying ever-increasing childcare costs. Ultimately, he'd like policy that helps keep children in the state once they've gone through the academic system.
The most important issue to him, however, is candidates not taking “big lobbyist money” and being more beholden to constituents. Fyfe said this resonates with people of any political party. In fact, he mentioned this as the top selling point when trying to convince voters in “red” districts to elect Democrats. He asked the crowd to help by donating time and money, speaking to friends about candidates or even running for office themselves.
In response to a question, Fyfe said he's “not a huge fan” of right to work laws; Indiana is a right to work state, which essentially means non-union employees can benefit from the same workplace advantages as union members. He said unions encourage teamwork and strive to help the middle class. The candidate also supports a living wage.
Addressing an immigration question about how to best help undocumented workers who wish to live and work in America, Fyfe said small business owners are having difficulty finding employees. He added most people want to see immigration reform that works for those folks wanting to come here and build better lives.
“Politics affect everyday lives,” he added. “I got into this because I feel like we're very divided nowadays and it scares me for the future of my kids. It particularly scares me the very undemocratic things happening in government.”
The general election is Nov. 8.