In Indiana House District 11, voters face two good candidates -- Democrat John T. Hart and Republican Rick Niemeyer.
Hart has strong public safety credentials, having helped develop EMS trauma protocols for the Indiana Fire Chiefs Association. His perspective might be useful as Northwest Indiana's legislative delegation and health industry leaders discuss how to create a regional trauma center.
Among Hart's ideas are to require a 10 percent bid preference to Indiana companies (except where federal law forbids it) to increase jobs for Hoosiers, plus forbidding the use of credit scores in evaluating job candidates. Some very good candidates might have seen their credit suffer because of the poor economy, Hart pointed out.
Niemeyer said one of the ways to help create jobs is to be careful in creating regulations. "It just seems like we get more and more all the time," he said. Business leaders are reluctant to hire new people because of uncertainty over future benefit costs, he said.
Niemeyer also said that while the new right-to-work law was "just a piece of legislation that wasn't necessary," he would give it three or four years to see if it works.
As a Lake County Council member, Niemeyer knows how government works and local government needs. "We've just had a federal inspection on bridges, and it's not good," he said. Investment in infrastructure is important not just at the state level, but also for local government. And with counties getting less money from the state, roads and bridges suffer.
Both candidates seem to be moderates, which is a refreshing change from races where polarization has caused so much consternation.
As we considered the candidates in this race, we realized Niemeyer has an edge because of his experience in local government. But we hope Hart will run for office again.
We endorse Niemeyer in House District 11.
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