Candidates share views in election forum

As voters headed to the polls at the end of the primary election season, some candidates took one more opportunity to make their case.

Taxes, education funding, economic revitalization, and transparency and accountability for voters were among the recurring themes in the Wednesday, April 29, forum, which had over 50 attendees. It was one of the only public opportunities residents have had to hear candidates answer questions and exchange views with their opponents directly.

Pete Zaleski, candidate for Indiana House of Representatives’ District 56, said he is passionate about supporting public education funding and finding economic development strategies to help businesses and residents.

Zaleski’s Republican primary opponent, Randy Retter, was invited but did not participate. Democratic Party candidate Thomas Rockwell was expected to attend but had to cancel because of illness.

Candidates for Indiana State Senate’s District 27 also discussed shifts in education funding.

Republican incumbent Sen. Jeff Raatz defended the education policies he’s advanced while in office, some of which have been focused on allowing taxpayer dollars to be redirected away from public schools to charter and private schools.

Raatz’s Republican primary opponent, Anthony Jones, was invited but did not participate.

Democratic candidate Ron Itnyre expressed strong concern for how tax and education legislation coming from the statehouse will affect Indiana communities, especially farmers, and said he supports having strong public schools. He called for a “smart taxes” strategy to address funding challenges.

Raatz said he did not like parts of recent property tax reform legislation but supported the idea that raising taxes for services should be done as “close to the taxpayer” as possible. He also said Indiana is in good financial shape, calling it “about as good a state as you can be with the economy.”

Raatz and Itnyre also disagreed about partisan gerrymandering, with Raatz saying districts are drawn in a way that represents Hoosier voter preferences, and Itnyre saying they were drawn as a part of a partisan agenda to ensure Republican dominance.

The final exchange was between the two Republican candidates for sheriff, Alan Moore and Kyle Weatherly.

Both candidates touted their longtime involvement in law enforcement and community service as qualifications, and said they would bring needed leadership to the role. They generally agreed on strategies to address illegal drug use and build community trust in law enforcement. Both affirmed that the sheriff’s office would continue to partner with other agencies on matters such as immigration policy enforcement, though Moore said to applause that the department has a clear duty to intervene if another agency is acting illegally.

The event was hosted at Earlham College in Richmond by NAACP’s Richmond Branch No. 3066, Wayne County League of Women Voters, Wayne County Indivisible, and Earlham College’s Center for Social Justice and Department of Peace and Global Studies. Kelley Cruse-Nicholson served as moderator.

The Western Wayne News primary election voter guide has a full list of candidates, voting locations and voter requirements, as well as all of WWN’s election coverage from the past year.

Primary Election Day is Tuesday, May 5.