I’m the first to admit I don’t have all the answers to the angst and problems that East Central Indiana Hoosiers face today. What I do know is that the solutions to overcome our concerns are found by engaging one another in respectfully honest ways.
I’m running for Indiana Senate District 26, which comprises the entirety of both Delaware and Randolph counties, because I believe people deserve to be heard and better served. Simply put, it’s time we’re served by a custodian of trust.
Most conversations I’m having with people throughout East Central Indiana are focused on hardships caused by the lack of affordability, the fracturing of Indiana’s public education system, threats to rural health care, and real anxiety anchored in the uncertainty of what the future holds.
These are front-and-center exchanges that boil down to two questions: What can be done to reduce discontentment and uncertainty? And what can I do to help?
These are thoughtful questions, and I believe the answers are found by lining up three dominos.
First domino: Getting Indiana’s tax policy right
Not unlike how a rudder determines the direction of a ship, Indiana tax policy helps express — for better or worse — our values and aspirations, which are born from Indiana state budgets. New roads, the building of schools and services provided by the unit of government are basic examples of what we spend tax dollars on to achieve whatever has been determined necessary for the public good.
If you’re concerned about the implications of Indiana’s recent property tax reforms — known widely as the 2025 Senate Enrollment Act 1 — and a proposal by Indiana state Rep. J.D. Prescott (a plan supported by Sen. Scott Alexander) to eliminate Indiana’s property tax in exchange for expanding state sales tax on most service-based purchases, you’re not alone.
Economist Michael Hicks recently wrote, “The property tax cut to families was laughably small. By next year, every family in Indiana will pay more taxes than they did in 2025. At the same time, 85% of businesses will have seen dramatic tax cuts, with the largest — data centers, warehouses and factories — experiencing a windfall.”
I don’t support risky and lopsided state tax policy like Alexander and Prescott are hawking, but I do support keeping taxes low and fair using a predictable tax policy framework — a mix of income, property and sales taxes and fees — that allow local municipalities to establish local tax rates to address community-supported objectives.
The bottom line is that we’re all in this together and it’s time we started treating our tax dollars as investments rather than punitive payments.
Second domino: Restoring public education
Without a strong public education system in Indiana our future is stagnant, if not behind us.
We need to fully support public education by funding our public schools at a level that supports our children and young adults and the future aspirations we have for our communities. We need to cap the amount of education vouchers that bleed our public-school systems. About 92% of our students attend a public school, yet our Indiana supermajority Republican legislature has cast the die that will cripple public education within just a few years.
And we need to put a stop to unlawful attempts to dissolve public school corporations, like Randolph County’s Union School Corp., which Prescott and Alexander are attempting to do through SEA-1.
To learn more about the state of Indiana’s public education system, I’m holding a public town hall on Saturday, Aug. 29, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the Walker Event Center, 821 S. Hackley St. in Muncie. On hand will be Indiana state Sen. Fady Quaddoura, Galen Mast, superintendent of Union School Corp., Allissa Impink, former IPS commissioner and current candidate for Indiana Senate, and Melanie Wright, teacher, member of American Federation of Teachers Indiana chapter and former member of the Indiana House of Representatives.
Third domino: Creating next-generation opportunities
We all want to benefit from good things, but we need to create an environment in Delaware and Randolph counties for future generations to prosper. That foundation can only be made through a fair, stable and predictable Indiana tax policy and a public education system that provides learning experiences that deliver the best possible outcomes for our young people and contentment and support for those who teach our children.
Both Delaware and Randolph have much to be thankful for but now, more than ever, it’s important to take stock of our strengths and make bold plans for our future. What the future holds is determined by our collective engagement. Today, what the next 20 or 30 years holds for East Central Indiana is an open question.
The answers of how to navigate today’s uncertainties and angst and how to be a part of a solution are straightforward: Help a neighbor who might be struggling; be inquisitive and attend a community meeting; dedicate time to consider what your passion is for making your community stronger; and vote.
November’s election is consequential because it’s about you, and it’s about our neighbors, and it’s about our future. That’s why I’m running to become your next Indiana state senator.
For more information, contact Andrew Dale at andrewforindianasenate@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Opinion: Lining up dominos for Delaware, Randolph counties takes all of us
Reporting by Andrew Dale, Muncie Star Press / Muncie Star Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Andrew Dale, Muncie Star Press | USA TODAY Network
