Indiana Democratic Party 2-13-16 Weekly Radio Address

Chairman John Zody and the Indiana Democratic Party’s weekly radio address:  “Overall, it is imperative that every candidate seeking office follow the rules set by the state, and it appears Todd Young may not have followed the rule and thereby may not be eligible.”

Transcript:

This is Chairman John Zody, bringing you the weekly podcast for the Indiana Democratic Party.

The Party this week formally challenged Rep. Todd Young’s U.S. Senate candidate petitions in Indiana’s First Congressional District.

According to the Indiana Election Division and state law, any U.S. Senate candidate must submit 500 validated signatures from registered voters within each congressional district.

After many counts by the IDP AND by the media, the petitions filed by Young’s campaign reflect that only 498 were submitted from the First District — two below the state’s requirement.

As it stands today, Rep. Young’s ability to be on the ballot for the U.S. Senate in Indiana could be in jeopardy.

Overall, it is imperative that every candidate seeking office follow the rules set by the state, and it appears Todd Young may not have followed the rule and thereby may not be eligible.

Also this week, Governor Mike Pence once again put his ideology ahead of Hoosiers when he nominated Eric Holcomb to replace Sue Ellspermann as Indiana’s next Lieutenant Governor.

It took a back room deal to help bring in the same man who played ‘bad cop’ for Mike Pence’s 2012 campaign, a move that shows Mike Pence is running scared by once again putting his ideology ahead of the everyday Hoosier.

With this latest move, Hoosiers should expect nothing new but the same ideals that put Indiana’s “Hoosier Hospitality” reputation in jeopardy.

As Chair for the state’s GOP, Holcomb supported ideologues like Richard Mourdock and fanned the fire for extreme ideas and division in our state.

These are qualifications that might work with political insiders, but not for someone running to be our Lieutenant Governor – and this move is a clear reflection on the judgment of Mike Pence.

His latest move only seeks to drive a partisan wedge that will cause Indiana to continue falling behind the rest of the nation.

And finally, after a long delay on the Pence Administration’s failure to provide any records on the HIV outbreak in Scott County, the Indiana Democratic Party filed a formal complaint Monday with the Public Access Counselor asking once more for the governor to explain why he waited 65 days to act on the worst HIV outbreak in state history.

The complaint follows an open records request by the IDP last August – where we formally asked Mike Pence to release all communication surrounding his knowledge of the HIV outbreak and why it took him 65 days to react to this health crisis.

But now more than 196 days have passed, and the IDP’s request remains idle in the Statehouse.

And in the words of the current Public Access Counselor, Pence’s neglect seems to be a clear “violation” of the request given the public’s interest on the issue.

The IDP’s complaint highlights a call for better transparency for the Hoosier taxpayer.

Recently, John Gregg announced his new “Open Government Initiative,” a proposal that would open up government and improve upon the state’s dismal “F” rating in public access.

In the plan, Gregg will mandate a ten-business day turnaround for all records requests while also strengthening the powers of the Public Access Counselor.

Hoosiers, we can do better than having Mike Pence as our governor. This begins by electing Democrats who will bring forth commonsense ideas that would help lead Indiana and our country into the future.

We deserve better than Mike Pence and Statehouse Republicans leading our state. We must come together and make sure we elect John Gregg Governor, that we elect Baron Hill to the US Senate – people who will unite and improve the lives of all Hoosiers across Indiana – and we must return Glenda Ritz to the Superintendent’s office in 2016.

Until that time comes, Democrats in Indiana will continue to talk about ways in which we can do better for Indiana’s economy, our infrastructure, our education system, and for the overall well-being of Hoosiers.

Thank you for listening.