Assistant Police Chief Ted Uzelac, a Republican former Portage City Council member, is challenging longtime state Rep. Chuck Moseley, a Democrat, in House District 10.
Moseley said he’s working on a bill that creates penalties for anyone convicted of grooming a child.
He’s also working on a bill that allows people receiving workers’ compensation to get a second opinion from their own doctor instead of just relying on the advice of a doctor the employer chooses. That would apply to when the worker can return to work or has a procedure done.
Uzelac is concerned about the nation being divided by politics. “I think the political rhetoric and the division we have, a lot of it is driven by our local officials,” he said. “We’ve got to knock it off.”
Hatred toward others needs to stop, he said. Nor does Uzelac want to be defined by a party label or other stereotype. “I will not allow myself to be placed in a box, whether I’m a male or I’m a policeman or I’m running on the Republican ticket,” he said.
Uzelac wants to create an equal playing field where everybody gets to be their own person and lives their own American dream, he said.
Next year is a budget year. Both candidates have strong opinions and priorities.
“The No. 1 thing I’d like to see happen is let’s restore funding for in-home health care for people with behavioral issues and disabilities,” Moseley said.
Parents are in a tough spot if they have a child with a disability or behavioral problems. Indiana’s Medicaid rules next year require recipients to work, and the Family and Social Services Administration has started denying waivers to parents who need to support their children.
“We’re talking thousands of people in Indiana are facing this today,” Moseley said. “We need to stop it. It needs to be done.”
He cited a neighbor with a close relative for whom the state has taken away funding for her to live in a group home. Now the neighbor has to juggle a job and taking care of the relative. “It’s not a good thing.”
“I can’t believe that more people don’t know about this. It’s not getting any coverage at all for the most part, and it is a disaster,” Moseley said.
Uzelac begins with public safety and education. “We need to make sure that law enforcement is fully funded throughout the state. I think we need to make sure our schools are fully funded,” he said.
“We want the best and the brightest, and we have the opportunity to create them” in public schools, Uzelac said.
Indiana needs to keep funding roads and other infrastructure, too. “This stuff is all kind of like a snake eating its tail,” he said. “If you take money from schools or infrastructure, where are you in a decade? “We have to be cautious as to whether we want to invest money in pet projects or we want to build a strong foundation.”
For Uzelac, building a strong economy includes the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor, located in Portage. “I think we should invest more in the Port of Indiana. That’s a pet project of mine,” he said.
Uzelac promised to be a voice for the port, whether it’s expanding the site or maintaining roads better or keeping leases to a reasonable amount to retain jobs. He also dreams of ships being built there.
“I would love to see companies just fighting to be there. It’s an international port, and we should be bringing in more international cargo,” Uzelac said.
The candidates have concerns about Senate Enrolled Act 1, which aims to give property tax relief by reducing revenue for local government.
“I do believe it needs to be amended,” Uzelac said. In Porter County, the former local income tax structure is being changed. Whether municipalities enact their own income tax remains to be seen.
The county’s rate is currently at 0.5%, the lowest in the state. Uzelac could envision it increasing. “We’re approaching the 6% income tax at the state level if we start doing these things,” he said.
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Moseley voted against the legislation. “I believed it was very ill-conceived from the very beginning, and they’ve been struggling to find ways to fix what they broke,” he said. “It pretty much decimates funding for local units of government, and it forces their hand to have a hard, serious discussion about whether or not they want to implement a local income tax.”
The money to fund local government traditionally has come from property taxes. If that’s eliminated, how will towns get the money to provide those services, Moseley asked. He stressed the need to fund essential services. “Every time you flush your toilet, you’re practicing socialism,” he said.
Moseley said when the state took over funding instruction at public schools, one of the reasons cited was to level the playing field between wealthy and poor districts. But schools were allowed to ask voters to approve tax increases via a referendum. When they fail, programs are cut.
School vouchers become more popular when referendums fail, but now more than 40% of vouchers go to families with more than $100,000 in annual income. Moseley said the voucher program was sold as helping low-income families and students. “What happened?”
Like everyone else, Moseley and Uzelac are concerned about affordable and reliable electricity.
Mosely said he has legislation drafted, waiting to be filed in December, to place Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission members on the ballot. Unhappy with rates? Vote them out. “That’s what they do with state representatives. That’s what they do with governors. That’s what they do with attorneys general. Why not do that with IURC members?”
“I think the Legislature should hold NIPSCO accountable on several fronts,” Uzelac said, prompting the need for an immediate investigation. He said bills that have had bipartisan support included fees to support infrastructure but not for monitoring or accountability.
“I’m paying a $645 NIPSCO bill just like they have,” Uzelac said about voters in the 10th District. He, like many of them, is fighting with the insurance company over storm damage from the Aug. 11 derecho. It took the insurance company over 50 days to get back to him, he said.
“I’m new. I’m energetic. I have a vision,” he said.
“I’m not one to talk bad about my opponent. I consider him a friend,” Uzelac said. “We need a new face down there and someone who experiences the same things our neighbors have.”
“I believe I have the experience and the ability to do the job. I think I’ve done a good job,” Moseley said. “I still have plenty left to do.”
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.