Two newcomers are looking to snag a seat in the state legislature representing northern Johnson County and the southside of Indianapolis.
Democrat Angela Elliott and Republican John Jacob are vying for the Indiana House District 93 seat. Both candidates are running for a Statehouse office for the first time, and each have different views on Indiana’s biggest issues.
State representatives author and vote on bills that come before the General Assembly, as well as approve the state’s bi-annual budget. District 93 includes the southern portion of Perry Township and Indianapolis in Marion County, and a portion of White River Township in Johnson County.
Elliott has lived in the district for 25 years. She is an independent business consultant and previously worked in information technology at Eli Lilly and Co. for more than 20 years.
She got involved in politics after the 2016 election because she was concerned about the direction the country was going. She got her start in politics with the Johnson County Democrats, and was elected as a White River Township precinct committeeperson in 2018.
Elliott was asked to run for state office by the organization 25 Women for 2020, which has a goal of getting more women involved in the Indiana legislature, she said.
Her platform includes the “Four E’s:” education, employment, environment and equality for all. Education is her top priority, specifically looking at the school funding formula and finding ways to raise teacher pay, which state leaders promised to look at in 2021, Elliott said.
“The public school funding formula needs evaluation … The quality of a child’s education should not be defined by their zip code or by their socioeconomic status,” Elliott said.
Elliott commended Gov. Eric Holcomb for his response to the coronavirus pandemic, saying she appreciated his transparency with the public and use of science to back up his decisions, she said. The state legislature should play a bigger role in the state’s pandemic response next year, taking into account the concerns of their constituents and drafting pandemic-related bills, she said.
“In 2021, the session of the legislature is going to be unprecedentedly complicated. It’s a budget year, it’s a redistricting year and we have this pandemic response to address,” Elliott said. “We need to make sure that everyone at the table is up for the job.”
This is Jacob’s first time running for public office as well. He’s lived on the southside of Indianapolis his whole life, and previously worked as an auditor for the Indiana State Board of Accounts before starting a design firm with his wife a few years ago. He won the Republican nomination in the spring in a very close race against incumbent Dollyne Sherman.
Jacob is also heavily involved in Christian ministry with his wife, including marriage mentoring, street evangelism, ministering international students and completing mission trips.
Jacob’s primary platforms include ending abortion in Indiana and preventing government overreach, he said. If elected, Jacob plans to co-author the already-filed House Bill 1089, known as the “Protection of Life” bill, that would put an end to abortions in Indiana, he said.
“I would say abortion (is the biggest issue facing Indiana),” Jacob said.
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, Jacob said the state legislature needs to pass pandemic-related legislation that does not violate people’s constitutional rights. He added that the executive branch — the governor’s office — should not be the sole body making pandemic-related decisions.
“I don’t want people to think I think COVID is not a reality, that I don’t think there are people who are getting sick from COVID and dying. However … there has to be a way to deal with that but yet not violate people’s constitutional rights,” Jacob said.
