Jobs and the economy, health care and education are among the issues that candidates vying to be Indiana’s next 6th District congressional representative said they would advocate for on behalf of constituents.
The field for the Nov. 6 general election includes Republican Greg Pence, of Columbus; Democrat Jeannine Lake, of Muncie; and Libertarian Thomas Ferkinhoff, of Richmond. In addition to the nominees for the three main parties, independent candidates Heather Leigh Meloy, of Indianapolis, and John Miller, of Greenfield, are on the ballot.
The winner will step into a job in Congress that represents constituents in 19 counties, stretching from northeast to southeast Indiana, and includes some of the central and south-central regions of the state. The job pays $174,000 and is tasked with making and passing federal laws.
The candidates are vying to succeed U.S. Rep. Luke Messer, R-Ind., who didn’t seek re-election. Instead, Messer ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat held by Joe Donnelly, D-Ind.
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Pence said issues that matter to 6th District Hoosiers matter to him.
“In Congress, I will focus on creating jobs, growing our economy, fixing our infrastructure and protecting our borders,” Pence said. “As a former Marine officer, I will fight to take care of our veterans and active service members.”
Lake said the issues constituents are most concerned about are encompassed in health care.
“I would address them by fighting for Medicare for all to ensure all people have access to quality health care and receive it,” Lake said. “I would combat the opioid crisis by expanding the amount of treatment centers statewide.”
Ferkinhoff cited a teacher shortage in Indiana and the “big government” takeover of Indiana public schools, and the opioid crisis as his concerns for Hoosiers.
“We need to return control of our schools to our communities and control of our classrooms to our teachers,” Ferkinhoff said. “On the opioid crisis, we need grassroots involvement from many angles. The government needs to give support and coordination of resources to those efforts.”
The three major party candidates also shared their views on several additional topics.
Q: President Trump has recently announced trade tariffs on Chinese-made products that are imported into the United States. Do you think these actions will have a positive effect on the U.S. economy or a negative one?
Pence: I support the president’s efforts to put American workers first. As we saw with the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement, President Trump is a strong negotiator and committed to ensuring American workers, farmers and businesses get a better deal from international trade agreements so they can prosper and grow jobs.
Lake: I believe they will have a negative effect on the U.S. economy as we have already seen the effect on farmers as the prices of their crops have dropped. Creating competition with China will negatively impact the livelihood of many in the heartland.
Ferkinhoff: It depends on how long they remain in effect.
Q: The United States’ national debt is more than $21 trillion. How concerned are you about the amount of the national debt, how do you see that impacting the U.S. economy and what steps, if any, should be taken to reduce that debt?
Lake: I am concerned about the national debt, but believe that now we can only curb national spending to improve it. To do this, we should reduce the amount spent on our already vast military and reinvest it in education and health care, which will provide greater returns to our economy.
Ferkinhoff: Extremely concerned. As interest rates rise, the interest on this debt will destroy the value of the dollar. This debt does not even include unfunded pensions or other unfunded obligations. We need to dramatically reduce the size of the federal government.
Pence: Government spending at the federal level is out of control. Our federal government needs to spend within its means and balance its books, just like Hoosier families do daily. I support the steps President Trump has taken to reduce the size of government, cut regulations and let our economy grow.
Q: With successful efforts to hack into U.S. computer systems, including government systems, assess the need for the U.S. to take additional cybersecurity measures.
Ferkinhoff: This is a major issue; our nation needs to continue to employ our top talent and former hackers to stay on top of this. It is not something that we can become complacent on as technology changes every day.
Pence: Cybersecurity is a serious and growing concern. As a former Marine Corps officer, I fought to protect Americans against all enemies, both near and far. Now in 2018, our enemies include cyber terrorists who threaten our democratic process. We need to aggressively protect our government systems from outside interference.
Lake: It is critical that the U.S. take additional cybersecurity measures to protect our democracy. We should prioritize preventing our democracy from being vulnerable to attacks that would undermine it, including ones carried out by new technology.
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Name: Tom Ferkinhoff
Political party: Libertarian
Age: 56
City of residence: Richmond
Occupation: Certified public accountant
Education: Bachelor’s degree in business and accounting
Previous offices held: None
Previous offices sought: None
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Name: Greg Pence
Political party: Republican
Age: 61
City of residence: Columbus
Occupation: Small business owner
Education: Bachelor of Arts and Master’s in Business Administration from Loyola University, Chicago; post-graduate work at Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis School of Public and Environmental Affairs
Previous offices held: None
Previous offices sought: None
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Name: Jeannine Lee Lake
Political party: Democratic
Age: 49
City of residence: Muncie
Occupation: Publisher and CEO, Elite Media Group
Education: Bachelor’s degree in journalism, Ball State University; graduate school, coursework for master’s degree in journalism completed except for thesis.
Previous offices held: None
Previous offices sought: None
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Meet the candidates for Indiana Senate District 41, incumbent Republican Greg Walker and Democrat Ross Thomas.
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Jennings County Election Board takes no action on complaint about candidacy of a woman running for county clerk. See story on Page A5.
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