By Crystal Garcia
TERRE HAUTE — Questions ranging from streamlining government and education to puppy mills and hate crimes were addressed by candidates for state representative at a forum on Wednesday.
The League of Women Voters and Tribune-Star sponsored the forum in Sarah Scott Middle School’s cafeteria.
Candidates running for districts 43, 44, 45 and 46 answered questions from the League, Tribune-Star and some of the 40 people in attendance. Republican incumbent Amos Thomas and Libertarian Darrell Goldman, running for District 44, did not attend nor did District 45 incumbent Bruce Borders, a Republican.
Candidates were allowed one to two minutes to answer each question, depending on the complexity of the question. Candidates running for the same seat also could each have a 30-second rebuttal, if they chose.
In today’s tough economic times, Democrat Nancy Michael, District 44 candidate, said she would like to look at some of the larger state departments such as IDEM and INDOT to make sure they weren’t overspending and look to invest money into economic development and alternative energy.
“One of the things that we cannot cut, that we need to look at is to make sure that the state is investing in incentives and different economic packages that we can provide to our communities in order to be better prepared for new jobs,” she said. “Because it’s going to take those new jobs that we are going to have to energize and we are going to have to invest in alternative energy sources. By investing in alternative energy, we’re going to be able to create some jobs.”
District 43 incumbent Clyde Kersey, a Democrat, agreed about making larger state departments more efficient and added some cuts could be made with the amount of money given to universities in regard to capital improvement projects, but was reluctant to cut any funding to public schools. With many programs mandated by federal law, Kersey said it could be difficult to make cuts.
“It is going to be a very challenging time,” he said, noting Indiana has lost 64,000 jobs since January, which will bring less revenue to the state. “… We’re going to have to set our priorities.”
Kersey’s opponent, Republican Ryan Cummins, said the only government that should exist is the government that exists to make sure people have a right to liberty, life and property, and that supported a free market system.
A better government comes down to accountability and making sure the right people are doing the work, said District 46 candidate Bob Heaton, a Republican. He questioned the need for 239 library districts and 293 school districts in the state and suggested consolidations could save money.
His opponent, Democrat incumbent Vern Tincher, suggested cutting services by allowing some state offices such as the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to operate four days a week.
Democratic District 45 candidate Rick Marshall recognized cuts will need to be made, though didn’t say where. He said money should continue to be invested in education in order for Indiana to continue to compete with other world markets, but was against any school consolidation.
In regard to the ISTEP test, all the candidates said it was a skewed system and called for reform. Kersey proposed doing away with the test and using its funding toward full-day kindergarten.
Michael suggested asking teachers to help redesign the test while Tincher suggested putting more funds toward remediation in the summer for students to catch up.
Marshall said too much class time is spent teaching to the test, and thinks the companies that make up the tests are the only ones profiting.
“Our dropout rates are because a lot of these kids do not enjoy taking this test and they feel bad that they failed the test,” he said.
All candidates were opposed to a statewide smoking ban, stating the issue should be left up to local municipalities.
“Grownups can make their own choices,” Cummins said, noting that as a small-business owner, he has lost business because of his no-smoking rule, but it was his choice.
Local current events came into play as one audience member asked the candidates if they would support legislation to regulate breeding facilities, including inspections. Last week, officials rescued 67 animals including horses, cats and dogs from a Sullivan County “puppy mill.”
As an emotional issue, Cummins said it can be difficult to deal with. He said he would support legislation as long as business owners’ property rights were respected because agriculture and animal husbandry is big business in Indiana.
People who were at the scene in Sullivan County last week called Tincher explaining the horrible conditions the animals were in, he said. As a result, he said he’s gathering information and looking to draft a bill that will regulate puppy mills to have sanitary and humane conditions.
Aside from Heaton and Cummins, candidates opposed competency testing for teachers because teachers already are tested enough to become certified.
Competency testing for teachers would “address a symptom rather than the problem,” Cummins said, noting John Paul II Catholic High School in Terre Haute, in which all graduates of that school go on to the college of their choice without teachers licensed at the same level as public schools. He said competition “would ensure the competency of teachers” as it does in other professions.
Teachers shouldn’t worry about being tested if they’re good at what they do, especially if they are compensated for taking the test, Heaton said.
“There are teachers who are very very intelligent, very passionate about what they do,” he said. “And, if I’m a teacher that is very good at teaching math, then I have no problem passing a test that indicates I’m a good math teacher.”
The candidates’ closing statements referenced issues each candidate wants to focus on, if elected, and they directed voters to their Web sites.
Crystal Garcia can be reached at (812) 231-4271 or crystal.garcia@tribstar.com.
