By Howard Greninger
State Rep. Vern Tincher, D-Riley, will not seek re-election to the Indiana House of Representatives in the May primary election.
Tincher, 73, made the announcement Monday at the Vigo County Annex, at First and Oak streets.
His wife, Linda, also attended the news conference.
“I think Linda and I have contributed a great deal of public service to our community and this seems like a good time to retire from politics,” said Tincher, who was first elected to Indiana House District 46 in November 1982. He has served in the Indiana House 24 of the past 28 years, losing just two times — in 1994 and 2002.
Tincher’s announcement places a political question mark on District 46, said Ed Feigenbaum, publisher of Indiana Legislative Insight. However, the pullout can be viewed in different ways, he said. One view, likely shared by both Democrats and Republicans, is that incumbents may face a tough election this year.
“The betting money at this point, when you take a snapshot today, suggests that new faces, challengers to incumbents and people who have not been part of the system, will fare better on Election Day than incumbents,” Feigenbaum said, Monday.
Feigenbaum said Republicans could even face a backlash with GOP candidate Bob Heaton, who lost against Tincher two years ago. “There may be people who think Bob Heaton is a retread, couldn’t win the first time and that is bad. There are different ways of perceiving that,” Feigenbaum said.
“Republicans will say [Tincher’s pullout] it is a big plus for them and gives them an opportunity to pick up an open House seat. Democrats will probably say they now have an opportunity to give voters what they seem to be looking for this year, that is someone who is a different face,” Feigenbaum said.
Yet predicting any outcome is not easy, he said.
“We just don’t know what the environment will be like after Labor Day,” Feigenbaum said. “It is just too early to tell.”
Feigenbaum said one thing is certain: Democrats must scurry to back a new candidate.
“The filing deadline is Feb. 19 and the primary is less than 90 days away,” he said.
Heaton said he was “a little surprised” at Tincher’s announcement, but said he thinks the political climate favors him. “It is a different mood and political climate. People are truly fed up. To us, it is all about jobs and the economy,” Heaton said Monday.
Tincher said he and his wife had first considered him not seeking re-election in 2008, but after Heaton announced his candidacy in November 2007, “we decided we would take that challenge and run against him,” he said.
“The fact that Bob Heaton filed again was not involved in our decision [to not seek re-election]. We beat him by about 500 votes [in 2008]. Interestingly enough, Gov. Daniels carried House District 46 by 4,000 votes in 2008,” Tincher said, adding that the state GOP and Indiana State Chamber of Commerce spent nearly $300,000 on Heaton’s unsuccessful 2008 election campaign.
Tincher, a Democrat, also targeted the Republican Daniels, saying there were 169,000 Hoosiers unemployed in November 2004, the year Daniels was first elected governor.
“In November 2009, that figure had risen to 298,001 unemployed,” he said.
Tincher also said that, to date, the state has borrowed $1.5 billion from the federal government for the state’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund and “will likely have to borrow an additional $1.5 billion to pay unemployment benefits in 2010 to Hoosiers out of work.”
Tincher added that he thinks property tax caps proposed for the state’s constitution will likely result in tax increases.
“The caps will not produce the savings homeowners and farmers need and expect. Statewide, only 16 percent of homes will not see an increase in property taxes in 2010,” Tincher said, citing figures from the Legislative Services Agency.
“In Vigo County, 18 percent of homesteads and 11 percent of farmland will be at the cap, so that means 82 percent of homeowners will see an increase in their property tax bill,” Tincher said. “And if assessed values go up, those caps may be an elusive item.”
Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.
