The race for Indiana House District 19 pits five-term incumbent Rep. Julie Olthoff, R-Crown Point, against Democrat Nicholas Neal, 47, of Winfield.
District 19 includes precincts in Crown Point, Hobart, St. John, Merrillville, Cedar Lake and Porter and Union townships.
Olthoff, 69, said she hopes to continue championing family-focused issues as a function of her membership on the House Family, Children and Human Affairs Committee. Referencing past legislative achievements, Olthoff pointed to leading on new state regulations involving residential homeowners associations (HOAs).
“My bill got passed, which really does a good job of reforming HOA governance,” Olthoff said.
She explained that the legislation comes in response to residents of HOA communities statewide who don’t feel they have fair representation on decisions that impact the fees the pay. Thus, the legislation requires more transparency of HOA operators over the administration of these communities, which can operate as a quasi-government entity.
Olthoff is also behind legislation that would assign an attorney to children in the foster care system so that they would have an advocate to thereby ensure more rapid placement in a permanent living situation.
Another legislative focus of Olthoff’s would require police departments to also test motorists for drug in the event of any vehicular accident where there is serious bodily injury, not just those involving a fatality. She hopes the legislation can fund drug swab kits to all police agencies across the state.
The fiscal implications on local communities of Senate Enrolled Act 1 and its sweeping property tax reform measures is on Olthoff’s mind, as well as that of her Democratic challenger. While Olthoff believes the law needs certain “fixes” to bridge funding gaps among local communities, Neal believes his opponent failed Hoosiers when she voted for the bill and is essentially a rubber stamp for the state Republican party.
“She (Olthoff) just votes the way the party tells her,” Neal said. “She needs to better understand what’s going on in her community.”
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As a social services professional, Neal believes he’s more in tune with the issues affecting everyday Hoosiers, especially those who come from economically disadvantaged areas and other challenging circumstances. Toward that end, Neal favors a repeal of SEA1 or at least dramatically altered legislation.
Neal said that state legislators effectively “kicked the can down the road” and placed a new tax burden on local government entities, and thus individual Hoosiers. Now, communities are left scrambling to cut budgets and find new sources of revenues, such as enacting a local income tax.
If elected, Neal said he would be a champion for better access and affordability involving healthcare, education and utility rates, which he believes have harmed Hoosiers under Republican majority rule downstate.
“We’ve had the same policies in place here for the past 20 years because there’s been one party in in office,” Neal said. “We need more balanced government where people can talk to each other. I think we’re missing the basic concept of helping for all, not just for some.”
Jim Masters is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.