GREENFIELD — Mike Crider was raised in a family of eight in small town Shirley.
Growing up, he took up odd jobs — newspaper delivery routes — and hunted, fished and gardened to help put food on the table for his parents and five sisters.
The experience taught him everyone has to pitch in to make situations better.
Now after five years serving as state senator, he’s hoping he’ll get the chance to serve Hancock County and the rest of District 6 in Washington, D.C.
Crider began his career as a conservation officer in Hancock County. He spent 30 years working for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources — four of those years, he served as director of law enforcement for the agency.
Crider’s political career launched in 2012 when he was elected to represent District 28 in the Indiana Senate.
He was re-elected in 2016.
In the five years he’s spent serving in the Legislature, he’s championed victims’ rights, penning legislation that extended the statue of limitation on rape charges and pushing for the Indiana State Police to begin testing the state’s backlog of rape kits.
He’s also created a voluntary veterans preference policy for hiring and authored legislation that steered $1.2 million into Indiana’s Adult Protective Services Agency to hire more caseworkers last year when a study found the department was understaffed.
He’s been awarded a number of legislator-of-the-year honors for his work as a state senator and serves on multiple committees in the Indiana Senate, including as chairman of the homeland security and transportation committee.
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Mike Crider
City of residence: Greenfield
Political party: Republican
Occupation: Retired DNR conservation officer and former head of disaster management and security at Hancock Regional Hospital
Family: Wife, Sherri, two sons
Political experience: District 28 Indiana state senator since 2013
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