As I step outside, I quickly forget that our Indiana summer has long passed and in fact, I should be getting prepared for a rapidly approaching winter. It is barely November and I am starting to see holiday commercials and stores preparing for the frenzy that is the shopping season. Time flies by too quickly.
Nonetheless, we must prepare for what we know will be coming up next, the cold weather, the holidays or the 2012 legislative session. As you know, I have always taken an active role in hearing from constituents to better understand your concerns in order to serve you to the best of my ability at the Statehouse.
Saying that, I am meeting with members of our community and holding town halls to get an idea of what you think needs to be addressed this legislative session. Which, like the holiday season, is quickly approaching.
I want to personally thank everyone that was able to attend last week’s town hall meetings. I know it is asking a lot when you have to take time out of your schedules to attend. Many thanks for your input and questions. I really appreciate your participation.
Many questions regarding legislation that we previously passed last session were asked. However, most of the conversation surrounded what is expected to be the main focus this session. To no one’s surprise, we discussed education reform, job creation, and more controversial topics, such as Right to Work.
In the current economy, I agree that everyone should be focused on education and jobs because those two topics go hand-in-hand in improving a state’s economy. Although Indiana’s economy is slowly improving, we must focus on the fact we are still improving in general. States surrounding us and most states in the nation can’t say that, but there is still more that we need to do with the unemployment rate hovering around nine percent.
In order to keep up the progress, we need to do all that we can to ensure Indiana continues to stay on the right track in attracting jobs whether it is through employer incentives tax credits or improving the training that workers need in the 21st century.
Education reform was a big topic last session—one that brought many heated debates. I expect those debates to continue even if we have legislation concerning the topic or not. The bottom line is that K-12 education is one topic that brings everyone to the table, whether or not you are directly affected by it. Whether you are a parent, teacher, taxpayer or employer, all of us need to remain engaged in this critical issue.
As a legislator, I need to know your concerns and your questions, so that I can address them accordingly. On Saturday, I was able to walk away with several reasonable ideas. Overall, we had a great discussion and, even better, had a lot of feedback. I want to again thank the people that were able to attend.
Over the next few weeks, I plan to continue meeting with county officials, educators, parents, small business folks and other various groups in our community to gain feedback and input as to how we can make our community and our state better for all Hoosiers.
If at any time you have concerns or ideas, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Bring your concerns and ideas to the discussion table, and together as a community, we can find solutions. You can call my office at 1-800-382-9841 or email me at H58@in.gov.
