NORTH LIBERTY — The Potato Creek and Lions Strawberry Festival did not have any strawberry vendors, but it did have St. Joseph County Democratic candidates and Indiana Congressional candidate Jamee Decio there speaking to residents.
The Tribune spoke with seven candidates Friday, June 12 about what challenges they believe their respective role faces, how they aim to foster transparency with the community and why, they believe, voters should vote for them.
Here is what they had to say:
Jamee Decio — 2nd Congressional District
If given the role of a House Representative, Decio described herself as a “conduit” for constituents’ concerns to make it to Washington D.C.
In an effort toward engaging with constituents and media, Decio said “First of all, because of the First Amendment, I need to speak with media whenever they have any questions because the constituents need to be informed.
“Second of all, I’ll have town hall meetings. I’ll answer constituents’ phone calls. My father did that in his business, and that’s what I know how to do,” Decio said. “I’ll respond to them because the job is about working for the constituents. They’re who we work for. They hire you. They pay you, so you have to listen to their concerns and bring them back to D.C.”
The biggest issue Decio believes is affecting Hoosiers is the economy.
The state minimum wage is $7.25 and has remained that way since 2009, when Indiana raised the rate to match the federal minimum wage. Decio said it’s time for the state minimum wage to increase.
But it’s not just a minimum wage increase she believes Hoosiers need.
“They need a tax cut,” Decio said. “The people that don’t need a tax cut are the billionaires. They need to be taxed because they are 50% of the economy. They need to be taxed accordingly.”
Pertaining to the economy, she wants to look for solutions to healthcare and childcare costs.
“The American people are struggling. It should not be this way,” Decio said. “We’re the wealthiest country in the world for god’s sake.”
She said it’s time to get Indiana into the 21st century.
“We want to be … we are the number one nation in the world. We’re the most powerful nation and we’re not treating our people with real respect,” Decio said. “And we should be.”
Mike Hamann — St. Joseph County Council District A
There are a few key challenges Hamann wants to address if he is elected back to the County Council, including “putting a pause” on data centers in the county, providing affordable housing, and quality, local healthcare.
But in addition to those goals, he said, his vision is to restore compassion and common sense within St. Joseph County.
“I want a community that’s flourishing as opposed to one that people are pointing fingers and going after folks,” Hamann said. “This is not the community I grew up in. It is not the community I want grandkids to live in.
“What we have is not good. And I want to do whatever I can to help restore that compassion and common sense.”
When it comes to engaging with the community, Hamann said, “It’s pretty easy because they engage you. You’re never going to be sitting out on an island. People are always reaching out to you and talking to you. And my job is to respond.”
Hamann is going to retire from his job teaching religion and history at Marian High School, he said, and intends to use his time and connections to work for the people.
“It’s just work,” Hamann said. “You have to care. You have to work, and I’ll work for them.”
Amy Cressy — St. Joseph County Prosecutor
Cressy has many priorities if elected for St. Joseph County Prosecutor, but she said her number one priority is to engage the prosecutor’s office with the community more.
“I can’t expect people to trust us if they don’t know us,” Cressy said. “So, we have to be out in the community more than we have been.”
To foster trust and transparency with the community, Cressy said, her theory comes down to one case at a time. Because people don’t usually engage with the prosecutor’s office for positive reasons, the key to her theory is communication that is consistent, methodical and lets people know they can call the office, speak to a human being and get an answer.
Cressy has served as chief deputy prosecutor and chief of staff since 2022. She explained that one of the roles of a prosecutor is to determine if it is in the interest of justice to prosecute.
“I don’t think people consider us a part of the law enforcement criminal justice system,” Cressy said. “They don’t know that we can be a resource too when they’re in their hardest time. If they’re a victim of a crime, we are here for you. We will stand by you through the entire process.”
Lori Camp — St. Joseph County Council District E
In her personal life, Camp said, she is fiscally responsible. And she wants to make sure that the county is spending money wisely on things that are important for all residents, including a “robust” health department, clean parks, and maintained roads, among other things, she said.
“I plan on doing that as a council person, making sure that where we spend money, we don’t push things off until it’s so bad that we have to spend the money right then … making sure that we’re taking care of things,” Camp said.
When it comes to fostering unity with Republican Council members, Camp said, that even members of the current county council tend to come together on things that matter.
“Quite honestly, a lot of what the county council does, shouldn’t be focused on what I would call a MAGA agenda,” Camp said. “We should be doing the best that we can for all of us in the county.
“I’m District E, but what I’m going to vote on is going to affect pretty much everyone, and so I think we just need to focus on how we can do the most good, for the most people, for most of the time,” Camp said.
Camp believes that people across party lines should vote for her because she wants “to do good for everyone” despite the party they identify with.
“We have to start thinking about the county as a whole,” Camp said. “If you’re on the county council, either you care about everyone in our county or you don’t.”
Stephanie Ball — St. Joseph County Clerk of the Circuit Court
In order to fully support citizens seeking clerk services, Ball said, there needs to be integrity within the staff, which is one of the biggest challenges she believes is facing the clerk’s office.
“I want to be able to evaluate the [people] we have currently and really help them to thrive in the best spots so that we can serve the clients in the best way possible,” Ball said. “Customer service is really important to me because when people are coming to the clerk’s office a lot of times they’re in an emotional high.”
To address concerns about election fraud, she wants to set up a live feed aimed at the ballot room that the public can access.
“It’s a locked room, where you have to have two keys and you need to have a representative from both major parties going into the room at the same time,” Ball said. “I was like, ‘We can live stream that.’ So, then that takes away any issues of transparency or honesty.”
Through outreach, Ball said, something simple like workshops teaching people how to correctly fill out a form, could help establish trust and transparency with the community.
“There is an educational component for everyone to pay more attention to the countywide positions, what we do, how we serve people and what towns and cities are covered in the county,” Ball said. “I mean it really is an educational process that is available for everyone. We take for granted that people know.”
Vic Cummings — St. Joseph County Assessor
The easiest way to address misinformation and misunderstanding — what Cummings said he believes is the assessor’s office’s biggest challenge — is communication, he said.
He would approach this by “engaging the community.”
“The biggest thing is figuring out ways to get in front of the people,” Cummings said. “In this position you can’t just be in front of the people asking for their vote, you have to also let them know I’m going to continue to be in front of you and let you know why your property taxes look like this.”
His priority, if elected, is to make sure the staff “has absolutely everything in their power” to be able to do their jobs.
“I don’t think you’ll find a more qualified person that’s more dedicated to this community and wants to see it do well,” Cummings said. “I was born at St. Joe hospital. I went to high school here. I met my wife here. I’m going to be buried here when it’s my time to go.
“I am from here, so nobody wants to see us do well more than me, and I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that happens. I’m ready.”
Scott Ruszkowski — St. Joseph County Sheriff
Scott Ruszkowski is the Police Chief at the South Bend Police Department, and he has held that role since 2015. He said the challenges that the county faces are no different than those at a city level.
One challenge that sticks out to him is the personnel at the St. Joseph County jail.
“There are some things that I have some pretty good ideas that I think we will be able to work out to up the personnel, up the enthusiasm and the career mentality,” Ruszkowski said.
To encourage trust within the community, Ruszkowski said, he would like to do something similar to the South Bend Transparency Hub at the St. Joseph County Police Department.
“When people ask questions, they want answers,” Ruszkowski said. “And they need to have those answers.”
Ruszkowski didn’t want to discuss his priorities as sheriff, but he said Sheriff Bill Redman knows what his intentions are and what he is able to do.
“Externally, everyone knows who I am, and if they don’t, I would love to meet with the person/persons who don’t and take the chance to have a conversation,” Ruszkowski said.
Ruszkowski told The Tribune the only time he has been away from the community is when he was in the military.
“I always felt compelled to [serve my country], never to be a cop. That came later,” Ruszkowski said. “When I was serving my country, it was never for me. Never for me.
“It was for you. It was for them. And that’s how I operated to this very day,” he said. “So, I simply went from country to city to, hopefully, county.”
Email Tribune staff writer Juliane Balog at jbalog@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Exclusive: Seven St. Joseph County candidates answer Tribune questions
Reporting by Juliane Balog , South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Juliane Balog , South Bend Tribune | USA TODAY Network
