GREENFIELD — Since 1998, Bob Cherry of Greenfield has represented Indiana House District 53, which includes most of Hancock County and part of Madison County.
On Election Day, Cherry will face Democrat Nancy Tibbett for the second consecutive time.
Here is more information of each candidate’s views, in their own words:
Why are you running for office?
Cherry: I am running to ensure Indiana continues to grow in opportunity and prosperity, while also working to confront our most pressing challenges in education, workforce and substance abuse. This school year, Indiana will spend nearly $7.2 billion on K-12 education representing the largest ever K-12 investment in Indiana’s history. If elected, I will continue to ensure Indiana remains a bastion of growth and opportunity, that we drive more of the increased education funding to teachers, and adequately support our substance abuse services to combat the opioid crisis.
Tibbett: I feel that the citizens of District 53 are underrepresented, and I want to provide a choice for the voters. I feel strongly that if I’m unhappy with something, rather than just complain, I should contribute. These are the two main reasons I am running for State Representative for District 53. My priorities include an economy that works for all Hoosiers including earning a living wage, equality for women as well as all minorities, election reform and redistricting.
What is the biggest challenges facing your district?
Cherry: The opioid crisis is the greatest challenge currently facing House District 53. Since 2003, over 12,000 Hoosiers have died due to opioid overdoes, devastating many communities and family. Altogether, the opioid crisis has caused an estimated $43 billion in economic damages to Indiana. Hancock County’s share is just short of $500 million, while Madison County has endured a staggering $2.2 billion. My colleagues and I have enacted numerous bills in recent years to combat this crisis in a number of ways.
Tibbett: District 53 is comprised of most of Hancock County and some of Madison County. Hancock County has a 6.5 percent poverty rate and a person needs to work 49.2 hours to pay for affordable housing. Madison County has a 17.1 percent poverty rate; 13.1 percent of the population does not have health insurance, and a person needs to work 44.2 hours to pay for affordable housing, all of which are above the national average, according to U.S. News & World Report.
How do you think the Indiana General Assembly should next assist in responding to the opioid crisis?
Cherry: In my current term in office, I supported legislation which provided $185 million in addiction treatment services for those in the criminal justice system, created nine new opioid treatment centers in underserved areas of the state, expanded training for life-saving overdose intervention drugs and created a pathway for recovering substance abusers to find employment while participating in addiction treatment. If reelected, I will make sure we sustain strong state support for substance abuse treatment, but I will also work to ensure we prevent many from ever turning down this path by making sure we are providing the skills and training necessary for all Hoosiers to have the opportunity to prosper in our 21st century economy.
Tibbett: More than 1500 Hoosiers died in drug overdoses in 2016, half of which were related to opioids, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Collaboration – instead of each county trying to solve this problem, work together with other and/or all counties to find successful solutions. A new statewide group (Addiction Policy Forum) recently released a report with numerous suggestions to address this problem, some of which include putting evidence based solution programs in every school in Indiana, expand the availability of medication-assisted treatment, increasing the availability of syringe exchanges and bolstering substance-abuse interventions in child welfare agencies.
A May special session of the legislature resulted in adding an extra $5 million to the state’s school safety fund. What else do you think lawmakers need to do to keep schools safe?
Cherry: In addition to the $5 million in augmented school safety funding, we made $35 million available for loans from the Common School Fund for school safety projects, required the Department of Education’s Division of School Safety to conduct an on-site audit of every school, enhanced the training for school safety specialists to included active shooter training, broadened the scope and responsibility of the Secured School Safety Board and required them to periodically identify and report on matters of school safety. While much has been done and said about the physical hardening of schools, going forward I believe that in order to improve school safety the focus needs to be on enhancing mental health and comprehensive student services for students.
Tibbett: First and foremost, I think there should be mandatory active shooter drills in every school. While this may not help 100 percent in the occurrence of an “event” at worse it is a great teaching tool and can highlight gaps and deficiencies in current programs, at best it can help save lives. The 2018 Indiana School Safety Recommendations report offers numerous programs, including active shooter drills.