Ahead of the election, we invited the candidates for Indiana’s 3rd Congressional district into the station to discuss their reasons for running, their policies and how they’ve campaigned since May.
Democrat candidate Kiley Adolph, a former educator from Angola talks education, mental health and showing up for voters.
Northeast Indiana especially has seen a significant increase in its immigrant population over the past few years. Those immigrants are important to a number of business sectors. How do you speak to their value in the community at large, and what would happen if they weren't here?
Kylie Adolph: Immigration reform is a critical issue, not just in Indiana, but across the country, and we can all agree that comprehensive, humane immigration reform is a critical issue, and that we all want to solve that particular problem. And if we look at the most bipartisan bill with regard to immigration, was put on the table here recently in Congress, and it was actually pushed aside because far too often people want to politicize the issue instead of problem solving and really focusing in on the issue. So we can all agree that comprehensive immigration reform is a necessity. However, we also need to talk about the impact that immigrant residents have on our local communities. If we look at the impact economically, it's incredibly significant to our local economies, whether that's through buying power, whether that's through the jobs that they hold and they carry. Around 19% of the jobs in our manufacturing sectors are held by immigrants. Look at the impact of agriculture in our communities, which is huge across the district and across the state. So they play a significant role in our local economies and in our local communities through that holding those jobs, through that purchasing power and also paying taxes.
We've seen an uptick in politicizing education. This new conflict seems to be drawing former educators into politics. As a former educator running alongside Jennifer McCormick, who's a former educator, what are the pros and cons of education and politics mingling, especially here in Indiana?
Does Kylie Adolph support...
Police Reform: Yes. “Reform just means that we want to improve, right? That there’s opportunity for improvement.”
Ending Qualified Immunity: Yes.
Legalized Cannabis: Yes, both medical and recreational.
Abortion protection: Yes. "There are women living in fear because they may not be able to get access to the care that they need."
Codifying marriage equality: Yes.
Protection for LGBTQ+ people: Yes.
KA: Great question. Well, I think it's vitally important that educators realize that they have a voice and that their voice matters, and it's critically important that they continue to exercise that voice, because they're the ones in the classroom every day. You know, educators are critical to the backbone of our society, and education plays a vital role in our society. I think it's incredible that educators are stepping up and saying, we need more for our kids and we need more for our communities. I feel incredibly honored to share the ticket with someone like Dr Jennifer McCormick, who has proven to be an incredible leader, both in schools and in communities and at the state level. So the more teachers realize that their voice does matter, I think the more impact we can have on public education. You know, ensuring that every child in every zip code has access to a high quality public education is critical.
And how could the federal government better support education in the state for all residents?
KA: There are things that can be done at the federal level that impact education here in Indiana. So for example, I think it's around 10% currently of the state's funding comes from federal dollars. So looking at the different categorical funding that we provide from the federal level to our states, whether that's things like CTE (career and technical education) funding or Title I funding. So there are funds that are allocated through the federal government to our state's impact education, you know, I also look at it from the perspective of, you know, teaching and learning. So what can we do for our teachers? So the amount of money that teachers are spending out of pocket to ensure that our students have the resources that they need would surprise so many people in our communities. So looking at things like, you know, how can we potentially up the out of pocket expense, that tax deduction for teachers? Where we're not putting money into our schools, but we're putting money back into the pockets of teachers. So there are things that we can do. We just have to get creative, and we have to ensure that we're supporting our educators and we're also supporting our students.
Pivoting a little bit, with regards to gun control; How do you propose making schools safer for students, and should schools also work to counter the anxiety and fear that's built into those active shooter drills?
KA: Most people would agree that comprehensive gun control is a critical issue, particularly for our young children. Our children should be able to go to school and get home safely. There's no question about that. There's also another issue that I think we're not talking about enough, and that's mental health in our schools. So talking about how we can ensure that children have access to those mental health resources, and looking at how we start to, again, address the problem, not just put band aids on some of these problems, but it really get to the root of the problem for our kids and ensure that they're safe and ensure that they are able to learn in our schools and aren't living in fear of going to school.
You've been traveling around the district, meeting people. What have you learned about Hoosiers, and why is it important for you to be on the ground campaigning?
KA: Yes, we have been across the district. We have zigzagged from Fremont to Fort Wayne, Huntington to Hartford City and back again. And I have to tell you, although this has been one of the most challenging experiences of my life in running for a seat like this, it has also been the most rewarding, and the reason for that is the people. No matter if you're in one of our cities or our towns or our rural communities, the people are incredible. So that's been our push from day one, is just to say, this is about people, and how do we best serve people if we don't sit down with them, if we don't have those conversations about, how can we help, and what do they need? And so, yes, we've been doing that. It's been obvious that not everyone in this race is sharing that same ethos in putting in that work, but regardless of what everyone else is doing, we're going to keep showing up.
Republican candidate Marlin Stutzman has not responded to requests for interview.
