Where They Stand: Indiana House District 47 candidate Robb Greene

Editor’s note: Republican Robb Greene is one of four candidates for Indiana House District 47. The district covers the majority of Johnson County, and the portions of northern and western Shelby County. Where They Stand interviews with two of Greene’s opponents, Scott Strother and incumbent John Young, will run in the Daily Journal on Thursday and Friday, respectively. The Q&A below includes answers by Greene in his own words. It has been edited for length and grammar.

Four candidates are seeking the Indiana House District 47 seat in the Republican primary May 3: Luke Campbell, Robb Greene, Scott Strother and John Young, the incumbent.

The Daily Journal asked three District 47 candidates questions about what voters could expect from them if they are elected. The fourth candidate, Luke Campbell, declined an interview. Here are Greene’s responses:

» Why are you running for office?

My wife and I met a little later in life; when our first-born, our son, came along, he was a little delayed. He wasn’t hitting milestones. We … had a full battery of tests done and (found out) it was autism. It changed our entire world. We started to think about what our son’s life is going to be like. Now, I’m very passionate about workforce development issues for special needs people, especially those on the (autism) spectrum. If you look around there’s “We need help” signs in every single window. People are begging, saying, “We’ll pay you tomorrow. We’ll give you sign-on bonuses.” Yet, there’s this workforce that would love to have independence, would love to be providing for themselves. There’s some work to be done there.

When you’re a special needs family, you’re kind of invisible already, and the lockdown really made families like ours even more invisible. If you’re a neurotypical child going to school, it probably wasn’t the best to have eLearning days during the lockdown. They’re saying there was a lot of learning loss, and that kids are falling behind. (Imagine) how much more (that was) for a kid that’s on the spectrum. When we would try to go out, we just got hit by so many one-size fits all mandates that had zero empathy for where we were at. That attitude? We just kept encountering it over and over again in different places. (After) everything that has been happening these last couple years, we could sit on the sidelines and complain … or we could try to make a difference. After talking it over with my wife, we chose the latter.

» How are you qualified for this position?

I was involved in politics for 13 years; I got really burned out. I ventured out into the startup community, so I had my own business – e-pottingshed.com … where you would ship plants through the FedEx supply chain. I wouldn’t say I had a great deal of success, but it was an entry into Indy’s start-up community. I became a co-founder of a company called ClusterTruck … it’s a food delivery service; I spent almost five years with them. I’ve spent a little bit of time both on the political side and out of the political side and I think that gives me a good view into both sides because there’s often this divide between private enterprise and government.

» What are the top issues facing Indiana?

Development. There’s issues like the solar farm they are trying to put in out in Shelby County. All of my neighbors have a tremendous amount of concern about that. Around the Fairland and Pleasant View area, they put a Five Below warehouse on … what used to be prime farm ground. When I knock on doors around here, people talk about what’s all of this stuff going on down Interstate 65. Is this the kind of development we want? I’m not anti-development … but it’s about what kind of development? Are we taking into account the citizens, the farmers, the families that live in these communities? It’s about balancing interests, balancing bringing jobs in and what those jobs are, too.

Big tech. Congress has proven they are either unwilling or unable to reign them in. The state needs to start looking at ways to protect Hoosiers on a state level, including e-commerce. It’s also troubling that debate gets shut down. There is so much angst over differing views. Everybody needs to step back from that. When I grew up, everyone agreed that free speech was there. I remember when both the left and the right would say “I don’t agree with what you’re saying, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” It doesn’t feel like that anymore. It feels like people want to put their finger and their thumb on you and quash any sort of dissenting opinion.

Family policy. The lockdown showed that people lost jobs, their children potentially suffered learning loss, they fell behind. They’re missing prom, sports seasons — some of those milestones you have growing up. There’s a lot of pressures on families; how do we look at supporting families once again?

» What are your top priorities and how do you plan to push legislation that addresses them?

Helping special needs families and people on the spectrum. My No. 1 goal getting in there is helping special needs families, people on the spectrum, and special needs individuals, especially on the workforce development issue. I would love to create some tools to work with businesses that want to tap into the special needs community, particularly the autism community, and provide pathways for them.

Big tech and free speech. I don’t see a lot of understanding at the Statehouse of technology. I would not put myself on any level of some Silicon Valley stalwart at all, but I got a taste of the industry enough to have a better understanding than the folks up there do.

Being an active representative. Where were some of our elected leaders before the buildings and solar farms were being proposed? We could do a lot better at communicating to people when these projects come along. We live in times where there can’t be complacency among legislative officials. You just can’t sit back and expect to send a few mail pieces and call that communicating.

» How do you plan to help your district specifically, and communicate with constituents about what is going on at the Statehouse?

I don’t think communication and involvement stops on Election Day. It’s necessary to get out there and talk to these folks, and not just come along every two years when you need their vote. Job one is the process of how you represent and listen to people. It’s staying engaged and not just coming around and asking for something when you need the votes.

Helping the district. Frankly, just being someone that can look over these interests that are coming down the pike right now, especially with development. The proximity of this district to Indianapolis, it can go one of two ways. It could be terra-formed into this soulless suburb where the community completely loses its identity, or you could be a person who pushes back against it and lets people know what the implications of a warehouse or a solar farm or a certain employer coming in means. Let’s understand all the sides of those issues.

» How would you address, at the state level, the concerns of parents and teachers about what is being taught in classrooms?

There is this tacit feeling when every time a parent asks questions or gets concerned about something, it’s viewed as over-reactionary and that is problematic. Parents have valid concerns and parents are going to be with their children a lot longer than a teacher. But that’s not to say that teachers don’t have a difficult job. Teachers need support; in a lot of ways they have dealt with a tremendous amount of stress during the lockdowns and everything that’s happened over the last couple years. It’s not right to discount those concerns … but it’s ultimately the parents that’s going to care the most about their children. Giving parents more of a voice in what’s happening … is always a good thing. There’s got to be a way to bring parents and teachers a little closer together because their interests are aligned.

» This year, state lawmakers cut some of the state’s tax revenues due to a bigger-than-expected surplus. What are your thoughts on possibly cutting both business personal property and/or individual income taxes again next year?

At the end of the day, it’s about whose taxes are being cut. I do not think Fortune 500 companies and big businesses should get any breaks. They (state lawmakers) think some of these companies have options to go elsewhere, but they don’t. We live in a world now where a majority of these companies care about growth more than they do revenue. The bigger the company, the more they should be paying their fair share.

» Is there a bill that you disagreed with during the 2022 legislative session, and what would you have liked to see passed instead?

House Bill 1001. I wish it was easier for such a conservative state to agree that we needed to end an emergency order after nearly two years. It got over politicized and I’m not really sure why some of the folks that stood against it in the House stood against it. I was really disappointed that it couldn’t happen sooner. It’s really a shame that they made it more complicated than it needed to be.

Workforce development. Personally, I wish there would have been a workforce development issue for special needs families, but, again, that’s one of the reasons why I’m running.

» Is there anything else you would like to say to the voters?

I don’t think it’s good enough in 2022 for people to just send mail, rely on a name to get elected and (think) their job ends there. I’ve been going door-to-door since February. I’ve been writing personal letters and postcards, handwritten things, to people as I go. I’m trying to just share my heart that I’m out there to serve. I have a wife and three small children and I’m concerned about their future. I’m concerned about the direction our community is heading. There’s no ulterior motives in this; it’s not a stepping stone (for me). I took a term limit pledge to only four terms; I don’t want to be there forever. I want to be active and engaged in their lives as their representative if they choose me.

The Greene File

Name: Robb Greene

Residence: Shelbyville

Family: Wife, Erin; three children

Occupation: Self-employed logistics consultant

Educational background: Heritage Christian High School; IUPUI

Past political experience: None

Correction: April 1, 2021 – 2:10 p.m.

A previous version of this story incorrectly said the Indiana House District 47 seat was an open seat. It is not; the incumbent is running for re-election. The story has since been updated.