Democrat Erika Watkins is hoping to oust Republican Ed Soliday, who has been serving in the Indiana House of Representatives since 2007.
Women’s reproductive health is an area where the difference between them is clear.
“When I talk about reproductive rights, I’m talking about that in first person,” Watkins said. “I want to be able to make my own decisions, where it is me being able to choose my OBGYN that I trust that will make decisions for me, being able to get service in my own county and not having to travel elsewhere,” she said.
Soliday acknowledges Watkins is more liberal on social issues, including abortions. “I’m pro-life, and we can dig way down into that,” he said.
Among the sharp divides between Democrats and Republicans lately has been transgender issues. “I don’t know how that plays in my district,” Soliday said. “Personally, what you do with your life is your business, but when you’re under 18,” the state needs to step in to prevent long-lasting decisions like gender-affirming surgery.
Watkins, a member of the Valparaiso School Board, is a strong proponent of public education. That pursuit of excellent schools is what brought her family to Valparaiso, she said. Public funding of private schools is a sore point for her.
“I understand there should be access for people to choose school systems that they want to go to, but when you’re also thinking about people who are receiving vouchers making over $250,000, there’s a part of me that’s uncomfortable,” she said. “When you look at statistics, you get to see that 85% of those families who are receiving vouchers make that type of money.”
In just the last few years, Valparaiso has lost $10 million because of vouchers, Watkins said.
“I’m proud of the work that we are doing in Valparaiso, but it’s saddening to travel from one area to another and see those disparities across the board, and that’s due to funding,” she said. Public schools can suffer in terms of teacher pay, technology and school aesthetics because of funds diverted to private schools.
Soliday is proud of legislation he sponsored to allow Valparaiso’s school buses to be used for Special Olympics participants after the insurance company said the buses couldn’t be used for that purpose. “It was a really memorable bill,” he said.
The kids went to the office of Gov. Eric Holcomb and then visited the House of Representatives and the Senate, Soliday recalls. “They were hugging him, and it was fun,” he said. “In the scope of life, we didn’t solve world hunger, but it’s memorable.”
Where Soliday gets deepest in the weeds are energy and transportation issues.
“We’ve got to deal with these large loads not only data centers but also chip factories require if we’re going to onshore manufacturing,” he said.
He wants to fast-track the process of replacing coal with natural gas for generating electricity. The new high-tech industries need stable voltage and frequencies, something renewable energy might not be able to provide.
“Just to give you an example, the solar array at Indianapolis’ airport,” he said. “Whenever an airplane flies over it, the voltage and frequency fluctuate, so there’s technology that will instantaneously use a battery backup to stabilize that voltage and frequency.”
He’s also pushing to move state responsibility for overseeing broadband expansion from the lieutenant governor’s control so the General Assembly oversees it instead.
Economic development is near and dear to Watkins’ heart. She’s getting an earful while knocking on doors during her campaign. “What I hear at doors is I’m just not making enough money,” she said. “It’s a sham that our minimum wage is still where it is.”
Watkins promises to advocate for more programs for workforce development. “What I often say on the trail is that Indiana does really well in business and infrastructure. What we don’t do well is making sure that the people who live in our communities equally have the support they need,” whether financial or housing.
“People will send me messages. ‘Can you make sure that you fight that even those of us who live in mobile homes have the support we need?’” she said.
Funding Medicaid is going to be a challenge this year, Soliday said. Healthcare in Indiana is so expensive that one big company is even flying employees to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, rather than sending them to providers in Indianapolis.
Next year, Indiana will have a new governor, whether it’s Republican Mike Braun or Democrat Jennifer McCormick.
“Whoever it is, this is the first real transition we’ve had for probably 20 years,” Soliday said. Mitch Daniels was succeeded by Mike Pence, who was followed by Holcomb. “Everybody and their brother is posturing for position and power, and quite frankly it’s been an exhausting summer,” he said. That’s going to affect issues like healthcare policy.
Soliday noted there are areas where Democrats and Republicans have been able to work together, including board shake-ups for the Little Calumet River Development Commission and Gary/Chicago International Airport. He stepped in to push the reforms even though those were both in areas with a high concentration of Democrats.
Watkins said she wants people to know she plans to be available to hear their concerns. When she hands out a business card on the campaign trail, it lists her cellphone number. “I want you to send me a text. I want you to send an email. I want to be available to people,” she said.
Getting clout in the General Assembly takes years, Soliday said. “She’s not going to have that ability for quite a while.”
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
