Democrat Tyler Bridges is challenging state Rep. Michael Aylesworth for the 11th District seat in the Indiana House.
Bridges is concerned about the effect Senate Enrolled Act 1 has on local government. Lowell, his own community, is enacting a wheel tax to try to recoup money lost as a result of the controversial law that aims to give property tax relief to Hoosiers while limiting this traditional income stream to local government, he said.
Tri-Creek School Corp. has a referendum on the ballot this election. If it fails, the district is prepared to eliminate busing for all students and get rid of K-8 extracurricular activities, Bridges noted.
SEA 1 “is an ill-envisioned bill that doesn’t set up ways to get back that money for your schools,” fire districts and most other forms of local governments, Bridges said.
Except for the smallest towns, municipalities will be able to enact their own income tax if the County Council opts not to include them in the county tax.
Aylesworth said a lot of local government officials have complained about the reduced revenue stream, but most have found a workaround to fund services. “We’ve been overfunding some local governments, like some of the townships and some of the library systems,” he said.
“We’re going to look at all those facets” in the next legislative session, when the General Assembly adopts a new biennial budget, Aylesworth said.
If the state continues cutting property taxes and funding, “we need a serious discussion on how you’re going to get that money back,” Bridges said.
Eliminating property taxes for senior citizens is one idea Gov. Mike Braun has proposed. “We’d have to be very careful,” Aylesworth said. “Property taxes are one leg of a three-legged stool.”
“If you eliminate the property tax, how are you going to replace it? With what,” Aylesworth said. Would that include taxing professional services like haircuts, beauty parlor visits and legal services that aren’t currently taxed? “We’ve got to find a replacement without damaging the state’s budget.”
Bridges said he’s had multiple conversations with a woman in Lowell who lives on a fixed income and struggles with bills. He said he would consider the idea but doesn’t want to hurt schools and other local government units that rely on that money.
The state funds instruction, but schools rely on property tax revenue to pay off debt, maintain buildings, operate school buses, pay utility bills and other obligations.
Funding education, state agencies, local government and community health projects are all very important considerations for the next state budget, Aylesworth said.
“I’m a teacher, so I’m biased,” Bridges said. Public education is his priority. “We as a state rank in the bottom 20 states for per-child public education,” he said. Network for Public Education ranked Indiana 45th overall on education. U.S. News & World Report ranked the state in 22nd place.
Bridges’ other budget priorities include infrastructure, which provides jobs in communities, and not cutting Medicaid coverage.
Aylesworth’s non-budget concerns include “keeping Indiana’s business climate the fourth best in the nation,” he said. Indiana has net in-migration, unlike its surrounding states, he said.
Bridges is concerned about education, affordability and workers’ rights, he said.
As for data centers, “it seems like it’s the topic of this election season,” Bridges said. Two are currently proposed within District 11.
Bridges has been to various board meetings to listen to elected officials and the public. “No one knows what’s going on,” he said. “All I know is big businesses want to put them on our farmland” instead of industrial areas.
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“We need to actually listen to the people in District 11” and consider the jobs artificial intelligence is taking from hardworking people, Bridges said.
Aylesworth and Bridges used the compare and contrast theory to say why voters should choose them.
“I think this process is a job interview,” Bridges said. If he wins, he promises he won’t be visible only at election time. At a bare minimum, he promised to hold a town hall before and after each session.
Aylesworth has served 12 years. “He is very hard to find, plain and simple,” Bridges said. “My promise is I’ll be easy to find, easy to contact, helping people.”
Aylesworth addressed Bridges’ political views.
“He’s part of the Democratic Socialist movement, and he’s got his own ideas that probably don’t fit in with the way Indiana is being managed currently,” Aylesworth said.
“I’ve survived a lot of elections, and hopefully I’ll survive this one,” he said. “Capitalism and democracy are sort of messy.”
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.