TERRE HAUTE — Democrats have had a stronghold in the Indiana House District 46 for more than two decades, but Republicans have won the seat twice since 1994.
The Nov. 4 election is a match-up of experience versus a call for change.
Incumbent Rep. Vern Tincher, D-Riley, touts his experience, serving 22 of the past 26 years as the district representative. He lost in 1994 to David Lohr, a former Vigo County GOP chairman, and in 2002 to Brooks LaPlante, a Vigo County businessman.
Republican challenger Robert Heaton, 52, said people want a change, a measure Heaton says is needed in the House district long held by Tincher, 72.
Tincher, retired, served 22 years in the Indiana State Police and worked as a bricklayer, later becoming a union representative. He said Indiana must address funding for worker unemployment compensation. He also advocates for a state illegal immigration law.
Heaton, owner of Heaton Financial Services, which sells insurance and mutual funds, said government policy should not weaken families, adding that he is a pro-life advocate. He said the Indiana General Assembly needs to be responsive to voters.
Heaton may be best-known for playing basketball with future NBA Hall of Famer Larry Bird on the 1979 Indiana State University team that went to the NCAA championship, falling to Magic Johnson’s Michigan State team. Heaton was known for two “miracle-man” shots that won games against New Mexico State and Arkansas.
Both candidates favor a constitutional amendment in the 2009 Indiana General Assembly for property tax caps, which then would require a statewide voter referendum in 2010. Heaton favors school vouchers, giving parents ability to select a school. Tincher opposes vouchers, saying as property taxes are removed, public school districts may face funding hardships.
District 46 covers half of Vigo and Clay counties and all of Owen County, except one township, as well as a township in Monroe County. Some cities and towns in the district include Riley, Brazil, Center Point, Clay City, Stinesville, Spencer and part of Terre Haute.
When asked about his view on abortion, Tincher said that he does not support abortion but “I think Crisis Pregnancy Center and Planned Parenthood have a role to play, and it should be a free choice of a woman to visit either one and make the decision that affects her life and her body.”
Tincher said a representative must work for his elected district.
“I believe I am an independent, experienced thinker that does what is in the best interest of the district, rather than what the governor wants,” Tincher said. “I have always been an independent thinker. When Evan Bayh was governor and he created the Family and Social Services Administration, I thought it was too large and a bad idea, and I was one of three Democrats that voted no. In fact, I think it is still a bad idea, too big.”
Tincher said a change in the state’s property tax law has altered how public schools are funded.
“I do not want to see school vouchers that allows a student to go to a private or parochial school. When we have tax dollars going away from public schools that creates a hardship and shortfall in the school funding area. The state just cannot afford to have dollars leaving public schools,” Tincher said.
Heaton said Indiana had 11 charter schools in 2002, which has since grown to 38 as of last year.
“I think overall in western Indiana, the public school system is doing great. In some parts of the state, in Lake County or maybe Marion County, I think it is important for parents to be able to say they want their son or daughter to go to another school, because they don’t feel like their child is getting educated,” Heaton said.
“If we are for the kids and the low-income or inner-city kids, they need help. That is what they need, in my opinion,” he said.
Heaton said Indiana must focus on jobs and small business development should be among priorities for the state. He referred to Van-Tec, a company started in 1981 by Jim Vance in Spencer. That company in 1988 was sold to Boston Scientific, which now employs about 1,200 workers with a $46 million payroll in Owen County, Heaton said.
“What a success story,” he said. “In some way, we need to further small business development. In Vigo County, there is 500 acres undeveloped in the county industrial park and Pfizer has land that can be developed. There is potential to grow.
“We need quality jobs. Vigo County lost 660 jobs with Pfizer. I would be willing to work with people such as Steve Witt, executive director of the Terre Haute Economic Development Corp.; talk to people in Indianapolis; or if I have to go to another country and talk to whoever to entice businesses to come to Indiana and hopefully the Wabash Valley, I’ll be willing to do it,” Heaton said.
Heaton said learning people’s viewpoints on issues is one of the biggest responsibilities of a legislator.
“People want to be represented, that it what it boils down to. The grassroots approach of representing people in District 46,” he said. “You have to represent all the people, whether in towns, cities or out in the country.”
Tincher, part of a House study committee, said the State of Indiana should adopt an illegal immigration law, one patterned after an Arizona law that has been upheld by a federal appellant court.
“That bill requires employers to verify, through federal Homeland Security, that all new employees are U.S. citizens. As long as that employer does that check, and it later turns out they have hired an illegal worker, there is no penalty. If they failed to check workers through Homeland Security for citizenship, then they can be penalized by losing any type of license or permit required in their business,” Tincher said.
“With Indiana’s unemployment rate at 6.3 percent, we have a surplus of workers and these illegal, undocumented workers are taking all kinds of jobs, including jobs in construction,” Tincher said. “It is estimated that 13 percent of workers in construction are undocumented, illegal aliens.”
“Plus those illegal aliens are using our emergency rooms and we have to teach English as a second language. And in a few school corporations, the students that need English as a second language are the majority of the students. That is taking a lot of resources in education and medical attention and social services that cost the state dollars,” Tincher said. “By not having jobs for the illegal workers, this is protecting Hoosier jobs for our Hoosier citizens who need jobs,” he said.
Tincher said Indiana ranks near the bottom in benefits for worker compensation benefits. He said the state’s worker unemployment compensation fund “is dangerously low because we have not had an increase in the level of assessment and have given breaks to employers. With our current unemployment rate over 6 percent, that fund is going to have to be addressed. We need to have adequate reserves to ensure we have benefits for unemployed workers."
Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.
Election 2008
October 4, 2008
ELECTION '08: Indiana House District 46
- Election 2008
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Vigo County election results
More than 44,000 ballots were cast Tuesday of the nearly 80,000 registered voters, giving Vigo County a 55.76 percent voter turnout. Voters who cast provisional ballots have until noon Nov. 14 to show proper identification in the clerk’s office. Members of the Election Board will certify the results by the end of Nov. 14.
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Obama triumphs, will be first black U.S. president
Barack Obama swept to victory as the nation’s first black president Tuesday night in an electoral college landslide that overcame racial barriers as old as America itself. “Change has come,” he told a huge throng of jubilant supporters.
- Ellsworth downs Goode in District 8 In a strong Democratic election year, U.S. Rep. Brad Ellsworth was re-elected Tuesday to a second term as the 8th District congressman representing southwestern and western Indiana.
- House District 44: Former Greencastle major wins A former Greencastle mayor will head off to the Statehouse come January, and she said Tuesday night she’s ready to go.
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YOUTH VOTE: Sarah Scott students elect Obama, Daniels
Tribune-Star
Students and staff at Sarah Scott Middle School voted to make Barack Obama president and Mitch Daniels governor during a mock election Tuesday. - Vigo picks presidential winner again Vigo County voters chose Democrat Sen. Barack Obama as president, maintaining its status as a “bellwether” county, picking the winner in every presidential election since 1892 with only two exceptions.
- Harrison Township opts to keep assessor Voters in eight precincts in Harrison Township opted to retain a township assessor under a referendum vote on Tuesday’s election ballot. That’s was good news to Mick Love, who will retain his elected seat as Harrison Township assessor. The final tally on Public Question No. 1 was 6,587 for a “yes,” which would remove the office, to 9,506 for “no” which would retain the office.
- House District 46: Tincher pulls out win The race between Democrat incumbent Rep. Vern Tincher and Republican challenger Bob Heaton for the Indiana House District 46 seat went down to the wire Tuesday night, with Tincher pulling out a win.
- Republican Daniels wins 2nd term as Indiana governor Republican Mitch Daniels defeated former Democratic congresswoman Jill Long Thompson on Tuesday to win a second term as governor, but he may need a supply of olive branches to advance his agenda if Democrats retain control of the Indiana House.
- House District 45: Borders wins close race The Indiana House District 45 race between incumbent Republican Bruce Borders and Democrat Rick Marshall was too close to call for much of the evening Tuesday, with the final outcome apparent near midnight.
- House District 43: Kersey remains in seat Rep. Clyde Kersey, D-Terre Haute, will remain in the Indiana General Assembly for another two years, as the 12-year incumbent defeated Republican challenger Ryan Cummins for the House District 43 seat.
- Clay County's turnout one for record books Clay County’s voter turnout was one for the record books, officials said Tuesday evening.
- Parke County incumbents retain their seats Parke County incumbents retained their seats in Tuesday’s election. Republican County At-large Councilmen Dale Gerrish and John Pratt will be joined by fellow Republican J.B. Butler, a newcomer who received more votes than Gerrish and Pratt. The three GOP candidates won over the three Democrats in that race.
- Nearly 64 percent of registered Vermillion voters cast ballots Vermillion County voters turned out in big numbers Tuesday to hand victories to Democrats up and down the ballot. Nearly 64 percent of registered voters turned out in the mostly rural county, which includes the towns of Clinton and Newport.
- Sullivan County votes Repbulican in national election For the second time in its traditionally Democratic history, Sullivan County voted Republican in the national election. Overall, Democrats saw unexpected upsets, incumbent Republicans lost a few offices, and voter turnout here was exceptionally high, as expected.
- Indiana State students await impact of their votes Ashley Roce sat in the Cunningham Memorial Library eating pizza with her friends, waiting to see the impact of her first vote in a presidential election.
- Indiana transplants watch from east coast Indiana has done what couldn’t have been predicted in 2004: It has gone Blue — and by so doing, the Hoosier state has broken its 44-year tradition of being a Red state, and helped put a Democrat in the White House.
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Voter turnout in Clark County, Ill., highest it's ever been
Voter turnout in Clark County, Ill., was the largest it has ever been, but it wasn’t as high as County Clerk Bill Downey had hoped for.
- Presidential election turnout down in Edgar County Despite an increase in registered voters for Tuesday’s election, turnout was lower than the last presidential election in Edgar County, Ill.
- Incumbents easily win school board seats Three Vigo County School Board incumbents readily won re-election Tuesday. In District 1, Mel Burks and Jackie Lower retained their seats, defeating Larry Faulkner. In unofficial results, Lower had 24,321 votes, Burks, 19,253, and Faulkner, 11,383.
- Democratic Commissioner Mason gets another four years Vigo County voters on Tuesday returned Democratic Commissioner Paul Mason for an additional four-year term as one of the county’s top executive officials.
- Rader wins Vigo judge Superior Court Divisioin 5 The winner of Vigo County judge for Superior Court Division 5 is Dr. Michael Rader. With 23,636 votes, or 56 percent, Rader defeated Republican challenger Dan Kelly, who earned 18,216 votes, or 44 percent. Totals are unofficial results from the Vigo County Election office.
- Allsup defeats Royer in Vigo Recorder race In a night that was friendly to Democrats, Nancy Allsup won the office of Vigo County Recorder, defeating Republican Bruce Royer. Allsup, with 26,486 votes, or 65 percent, celebrated her victory Tuesday night with friends and family at the Paradise Pavilion in West Terre Haute.
- Mansard wins another term as Vigo County clerk Democrat Patricia “Pat” Mansard has won another term as Vigo County clerk. Mansard, who has served as county clerk for 20 years, was busily working Tuesday night to finish up election results, but she took a minute to savor her win.
- FINAL: VIGO COUNTY ELECTION 2008 RESULTS Final election night results from Vigo County
- FINAL: VERMILLION COUNTY ELECTION RESULTS 2008 Election results from Vermillion County
- FINAL: CLAY COUNTY ELECTION 2008 RESULTS Election results from across Clay County
- FINAL: PARKE COUNTY ELECTION 2008 RESULTS Election results from Parke County
- FINAL: SULLIVAN COUNTY ELECTION RESULTS 2008 Results from Sullivan County
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NEW: Vigo County’s election record cited by Karl Rove
Karl Rove, the man credited with orchestrating President George W. Bush’s two successful campaigns for the presidency, reportedly singled out Vigo County as a place to watch tonight when election returns start coming in.
- More Election 2008 Headlines
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