Archive for the ‘General Assembly’ Category

It’s just sad it took the death of these two innocent children to potentally bring about legislation which increases the penalties for their murders.

The man who shot a pregnant teller during a bank robbery last week could face as little as two years in prison for killing her unborn twins.

But a penalty stretching several decades to 100 years would apply for the robbery and the attempted murder of the mother — an absurd gap, Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi said. Today, he is expected to announce a proposal that would expand Indiana’s fetal homicide laws to include any unborn child.

The change would remove a condition that the fetus be viable, or have the ability to live outside the mother’s womb.

“I don’t see why we should be talking about viability,” Brizzi said Tuesday. “If somebody takes the life of an unborn child, they should be charged with murder, period.”

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Republican State Rep. Jim Buck won today’s caucus to replace State Senator Jeff Drozda, who resigned earlier this month, quite handily. Final count was:

Jim Buck 68
Dave Mueller 15
Monty Henderson 5

The Kokomo Tribune has the story below the fold. (more…)

Larry Cooper, a perennial ballot filler that filed to run in the primary along with Michael Batz after the Party supported Christopher Swatts, dropped out of the Primary on Friday.

This leaves just one candidate for Chris Swatts contend instead of a three way race.

Have you noticed how many primaries in big time districts there are going on in Indiana? Sure I give attention to Dan Burton’s 5th CD race (he is my Congressman after all), but senior Republicans across Indiana are taking it on the chin this primary season. From Luke Kenley and Teresa Lubbers in the State Senate to Cindy Noe and Mike Murphy in the State House, incumbents are in the fight for their elective lives. We may agree or disagree on whether those people should go or not, but I tend not to voice my opinion on those races because I don’t live in the District (though after interviewing Cindy Noe for HA Radio, I tend to be a big fan of hers).

But my State Senator, Beverly Gard, who represents SD 28 (Hancock and Henry counties with Fall Creek Township in Hamilton) is in a primary fight herself. I’m voicing my opinion on this race because I live in her district. It seems that one trait her primary shares with Congressman Burton’s is that most of her detractors don’t even live in her district. It is true that her opponent, Terry Michael is an openly gay Republican. He’s the only gay Republican elected in Indiana as Fall Creek Township Assessor in Fishers. Kudos to him for getting elected in Fishers as a gay Republican. I’m impressed.

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Governor Mitch Daniels has announced his endorsement of incumbent State Representative Mike Murphy (R-District 90) for the May 6th Primary Election.

“Mike Murphy has been a terrific partner in moving Indiana forward. He has shown courage and leadership in helping pass historic property tax cuts and authored the telecommunications legislation that has created thousands of new jobs and attracted several hundred million dollars in investment,” Governor Daniels said. “Please support Mike’s continued leadership in the statehouse.”

State Representative Mike Murphy has represented south-suburban Indianapolis since 1994. He is currently Ranking Minority Member of the House Technology, Research and Development Committee. Mike also serves on the Veterans Affairs and Public Safety, and Government and Regulatory Reform Committees. He is a former member of the Ways and Means, Public Policy, Rules, Labor, Education, Agriculture, and Families and Children Committees.

Precinct Committeemen in State Senate District 21 are about to have their phones ringing off the hook for the next two weeks getting calls from candidates courting their vote.  That’s because the date for the caucus to replace Senator Drozda has been set.  It will be taking place at 10:00am on April 26 at the Howard County GOP headquarters.  At this point, St. Rep. Jim Buck of Kokomo is the leading candidate to replace Senator Drozda who officially stepped down yesterday.

Earlier this year, State Senator Jeff Drozda surprised everyone as he announced he was resigning from the State Senate. It turned out his job was transfering him to South Carolina. Unknown was when he was going to officially step down. But reliable sources tell me that Senator Drozda is going to officially step down this coming Monday.

Still not known is when the caucus the replace Drozda will take place. But my guess is this will be something that they may want to take care of before the primary. The heavy favorite to replace Drozda is Jim Buck of Kokomo.

State Rep. Jackie Walorski has started a new blog called Capitol Letters! It was recently launched and Rep. Walorski is going to be updating everyday with news from the campaign trail. For our readers up north, check out her site! For those of you in the rest of the state, check it out too! It’s a good way to keep in touch with our elected officials, so we’ve added to our related links page.

Thanks to Monica Boyer for notifying me.

The caucus to replace State Senator David Ford took place today. Attorney and Wells County Councilman Travis Holdman was chosen to fill the rest of Senator Ford’s term.

Via Mitch Harper and Fort Wayne Observed:

Travis Holdman was selected to serve as Indiana’s newest state senator at a District 19 caucus held at Bluffton High School. Mr. Holdman was selected on the fourth ballot. He is filling the vacancy created by the death of the well-respected David Ford.

Read the rest of Mitch’s post here.

I had the pleasure of interviewing District 50 State Representative Dan Leonard (R-Huntington) on Tuesday for Talk of the Town, a local news blog in my home county. Leonard gave us a brief overview of HB1001, what it means, and how it affects taxpayers. He also explained the “Little Red Schoolhouse” Amendment he authored and how it ended up at the end of the legislative session. The quality isn’t great but we’ll work on that for future interviews.

 

 Interview with State Rep. Dan Leonard: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Republican Bob Heaton and former Indiana State Sycamore star is running against Democrat Vern Tincher for HD 46. He will begin running the ad below in Terre Haute tomorrow.

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Jean Leising, a former Republican State Senator who served from 1988 to 1996 and 9th CD congressional candidate, wants her old senate seat back.  The feeling appears to be mutual with former constituents and business leaders alike.  In a four way primary to replace the retiring Bob Jackman (R, SD 42), Leising holds a commanding lead in polls against her other challengers.  And to top it off the Indiana Chamber of Commerce PAC (IBRG) has given their endorsement to Leising. on top of the endorsement she already received from the Farm Bureau.

So far, this looks like a seat the Republican controlled Senate should have no fear of losing.  In fact, it looks like a familiar face will most likely be returning.