Hear from the Democratic candidates for County Council
Voters have three choices to make on the Dubois County Council this year.
There are three at-large seats up for election and they will be filled by the three candidates who receive the most votes. (Remember, if you want to vote for these candidates, you cannot vote a straight party ticket).
The incumbent Republican council members — Sonya Haas, Mike Kluesner and Doug Uebelhor — are being challenged by three Democratic candidates — Matt Brosmer, Todd Cassidy and Atalie Schroering.
We sent some questions to each candidate to give readers an idea of their stance on several issues the county is currently facing as well as their views on the county’s role in certain areas of our community.
Each candidate received the same questions.
Here are the Democratic candidates’ answers.
You can read the Republican candidates’ answers here.
Atalie Schroering
Why are you running?
That’s a great question that I have debated within myself lately (haha)! While sitting here trying to articulate this in the most polite and correct way … I can’t.
I am running because I feel politicians, as a whole, have lost the ability to listen to the people. Many political leaders are not modeling behaviors that we wish for our own kids to mirror and we must do better. Politics is now a lot of talking without really listening. It seems in this community, in recent years, we are being told what we need versus listening to the needs.
The tipping point for me personally was the Midstates Corridor. This project and the equation behind it provoked me to run. Being raised and surrounded by strong women throughout my life, each one of them taught me to stand up and speak up for what is right.
So why run? I want my daughter to be able to say that about her mom and know that she too can stand up for what is right, even if it is hard and even if you might fail.
What are your big concerns regarding the county at this time?
I feel very strongly about the Midstates Corridor, but since that is a question asked below, I will use this time to speak to other concerns. Covid-19 exposed many things in this area that need to be addressed now and potentially caused some issues that we will need to address in the years ahead. One of those major issues is access to reliable high-speed internet and cell phone service. Many of us learned this by working and/or teaching our kiddos from home. Your connectivity greatly depends on your address. Our current internet shuts off constantly or slows to snail speed. Combine that frustration with our cell service which only allows calls from our driveway and kitchen, it’s not ideal. Having high-speed internet throughout the county would be a game-changer for several reasons. The internet is the resource that fuels today’s economy. It leads to more jobs, improving small business, elearning, access to telehealth/teletherapy, and continuing education for those furthering their degrees. Each one of those equates to added growth and advancement.
There’s nothing like a pandemic to make us appreciate having a valued health system in our backyard. I feel locally our long-term care facilities, offices, hospital and public health officials have done a phenomenal job, in the ever changing environment that is, understanding COVID. There is one thing I worry this pandemic will impact for years to come and that is mental health.
As a community, we need to educate ourselves on mental health and the layers it has in all facets of life. Education, workforce, health systems, and criminal justice to name just a few. My concern is that we are stuck in old ways of thinking and not using evidence-based understandings to move us forward. The stigma of mental health needs to change locally for all the practices to work and to reach the people that need it most.
We strive in the medical community to advocate for screening of cancers and other debilitating diseases. My request is that we do that same for mental illness. This will help us move forward to stop stigmatizing and to realize that educating and providing resources to those that are most vulnerable, will change outcomes and save lives. We can all have a part in helping our neighbor, friend, family member, coworker, etc. just by asking, “Hey, are you ok?”
Covid-19 and its impacts aside, what is the council’s role in continuing the economic growth in the county?
The council’s role is to make sure that decisions made ensure a secure and stable environment for the present and the future. Economic growth falls inside that role when we start discussing job growth. We can’t continue to use last century solutions for today’s problems. Lower wage job creation can’t be the determining factor for how we measure growth in our future decades. Tax incentives can make sense but everything needs to be measured by asking the return on investment. These incentives shouldn’t be a handshake deal to the business, but rather a “sign here and we will gather the data and not take your word for it.” These incentives are not a novel idea in trying to assist in growth in communities like ours. You must ensure these benefit the county and not just the business. We need to collect the data (unbiased) to prove they truly are benefiting as they were designed.
Please state and explain your position on the MidStates Corridor.
This is personal. However, politics and personal gains/losses are the reason I feel we are in the mess to begin with. The key stakeholders in this project don’t care about our feelings. They care about money and use the word “growth” because that sounds better. The Midstates Corridor (MSC) project has been in the works for years and has had millions of dollars thrown its way both private and public. For many of the same reasons it was postponed/tabled in the past, one should ask, why now? Why would we push a project through in such times of uncertainty? The answer must lie in the power of the pushers and not the people. They will continue to hire groups/firms to collect biased data only to then discuss that data in closed-door meetings, with large stakeholders, that are placed on boards to measure and grow Dubois County to be #Strong.
Meanwhile, those of us in harm’s way, wait for a decision to be made. I can hear that we need a fix to 231. I can hear that we have major trucks in our downtowns. However, I can’t hear displacing hundreds of families and farmers for millions of dollars per mile to gain … not one thing that has been proven yet.
Look at the backers of this project and then decide who will gain the most. My position is that I am angry because I can be. My home will be bulldozed over, like so many others, but my role in the county council is setting feelings aside to collect the factual data. Do I personally feel this is a gain for our county to move us forward? No. Do I want data collected by private firms from Chicago? No. Do I think we should listen to the people in this community and environmental impact studies that tell us this is a disaster. Yes.
What steps should the county take in response to the expected loss of tax income in the coming years?
We need to invest in the future, but that must come with an analysis that proves the cost does not outweigh the benefit. Saying buzzwords like “investing in the future” and “growth” will only get you so far. Spending money without proof can possibly lead to little to no gain and large bills to pay.
When balancing a budget in my household, we feel the hit when suddenly the water heater breaks and needs to be replaced or the family car decides it’s had enough and dies. This unforeseen cost now impacts the whole budget. The things we wanted to spend that money on, get placed on hold while we shift gears. Hopefully, we have enough to cover in the rainy day budget but sometimes that isn’t always the case. So we pull from over here and tighten up the spending and let the scales balance.
In times of uncertainty, it is ok to slow your spending and coast for a bit. The economy will always give you positive or negative feedback. You just have to be patient and wait for it. The adage that states “you can’t squeeze blood from a turnip” can be used for a household and local budget. It’s the county council’s duty to spend the taxpayer’s money responsibly while also keeping revenue streams open and expanding.
Why should the voters elect you?
When assisting my students in their resume writing, we talk about building ourselves up and including things that make us stand out. I usually preface this with thinking about the person that will be reading your resume, “Why pick you over the last gal/guy they just read about?” Well here’s my resume moment.
In today’s political climate we are polarized by the letters – R or D. My request is that we look outside of that and realize in the end that letter does not define us.
Nursing taught me a vital role in understanding humanity. As a nurse, we care for our patients outside of their religion, race, socioeconomic status, educational level, insurance/lack of, criminal history, poor decisions, status of importance placed by society, sexual orientation, and political affiliation. You are my patient. That is it. I will treat you with utmost respect and dignity. It’s burned in my brain and heart to operate in this fashion.
Some might say this makes me weak — false. Having empathy doesn’t make you weak, on the contrary, it makes you stronger. People gravitate towards you, they trust you, and with that trust comes power in understanding humanity and being able to connect with people unlike you. That’s the game changer.
Connection, trust, honesty and empathy need to be restored in politics.
I will end with that statement I tell my students and my own children. I am not the person who tells you what you want to hear, I’m the type of person who tells you what you need to hear because I care.
Todd Cassidy
Why are you running?
In the 1950s, my grandfather was persuaded by his sister, a former teacher of the Jasper High School, that if he intended to start a family anywhere, he could do no better than in Dubious County, “the Jewel of Southern Indiana”, she called it. I have lived in this county my whole life. It is the only place in this big ol’ world I care to call home. Nothing would satisfy me more than to see its potential maximized, to see it flourish.
What are your biggest concerns regarding the county at this time?
Our county officials have been in the process of undertaking to build a new jail. It is of my opinion that this process is being unduly rushed, as was the case thirty years ago when the first jail was built. Considering the hefty more than 30 million dollar price tag, one would think that an equally hefty bit of open discussion would be required, perhaps to assess what I believe quite rightly to be healthier alternatives.
Covid-19 and its impacts aside, what is the council’s role in continuing the economic growth of the county?
The economic growth of our county is almost solely dependent upon the unemployment percentage thereof, which has always been one of the lowest in the state. Maintaining robust wages, the council ought to ensure that it does not overtax or overspend in order to keep everything on an even keel.
Please state and explain your position on the Midstates Corridor
The three incumbents against whom I am running voted to spend 1.7 million dollars on this project, a project that would tear through, thereby ecologically devastating, a National Forest, wherein live dozens of endangered species, as well as through innumerable houses and land, properties established through generations. Something this flagrantly grotesque ought never to be but a mere consequence of “economic development”.
What steps should the county take in response to the expected loss of tax income in the coming years?
Any sort of anticipated tax loss ought only to incite the county to be more frugal with its funds. Perhaps it could start with a moratorium on this exorbitant jail project.
Why should the voters elect you?
It is of my opinion that a change of the council mindset, a “yes-man” mindset, is needed, for our elected members to be receptive and friendly. I am thoroughly interested in the way in which our government operates here in Dubious, and would be more willing to digest a wider array of proposals.
Matt Brosmer
Why are you running?
I am running because I believe our county could deliver much better services than we are currently providing. The decision to build a large jail to lock up our citizens rather than to fund prevention and rehabilitation is a shortsighted and fiscally irresponsible decision. The Mid-States Corridor project will be a disaster for our county and our citizens as well. I was born here, lived here most of my life, and I want to have what is best for my neighbors, the citizens of this great county. I will invest in our citizens and our county to become healthier, happier, and fiscally sound.
What are your big concerns regarding the county at this time?
The three main concerns are the $20 million per mile Mid-States Corridor project, prioritizing a new $30 million jail over rehabilitation and prevention services, and COVID’s economic impact on our county’s finances in the future. Also other issues are the lack of affordable housing, a well-funded public education system, and a diverse job market and an inclusive culture.
Our county is ranked as the most unequal county in the state and one of the most in the country. We need to focus on Quality of Life aspects for our citizens then Quality of Place. Rather than focusing on building a new road and a new jail as my opponents prefer, I will address the real issues of mental health and substance abuse. I would invest in building a rehabilitation and prevention center and to put more funding into projects that show a beneficial gain to our county such as Community Corrections.
My opponents want a new 195 bed jail. We do not need a jail that large. The data didn’t align with their first claim of 270 beds, and it still does not align with their current claim of 195 beds. We cannot justify a jail with 195 beds when our jail population is currently averaging around 70 citizens per month. The State of Indiana or its agencies cannot mandate the county to build a new jail as the current members have stated. As of now, there is no need to build a new jail, only a want. I want to invest in strategies to continue to keep our jail population number low and keep our citizens out of jail.
The county council members have already approved of a local tax increase that started at the beginning of this calendar year called Corrections and Rehabilitation Tax (C&R Tax) to pay for the new jail. They also spent one million dollars to build the jail from our county rainy day fund, which is from my understanding used for emergencies situations. The sad and frustrating part about this tax increase is that none of our money will be spent toward rehabilitation. The incumbents believe the best decision for our citizens is to prioritize building a new jail and locking our citizens up than helping our citizens and providing more funding to rehabilitation and prevention services. First, we can lower the number of citizens in our jail by providing rehabilitation and prevention services before we build a new jail, because we may not have to build an entire new jail but renovate the existing building. Secondly, we need to re-evaluate building a new jail at this current moment given that our county finances will be hurting due to the COVID pandemic.
Covid-19 and its impacts aside, what is the council’s role in continuing the economic growth in the county?
There are several things we could focus on: rehabilitation and prevention services, opposing the Mid-Sates Corridor project, job diversity, and cultural diffusion will continue economic growth in our county. However, we have to focus on our citizens first to grow our county. We do not need a large 195 bed jail to keep our citizens incarcerated but rather more, well-funded rehabilitative and preventative services that will be beneficial for our county and our citizens who will be healthier, happier, and financially sound. Also, encouraging a diverse, well-paid job market and cultural diffusion is the key for economic growth in our county. Job diversity will help retain citizens instead of people leaving for another city for a better paying job or another state. A more inclusive culture in our county is more attractive to businesses investing in our county. These factors will help our county grow.
Please state and explain your position on the MidStates Corridor.
The Mid-States Corridor Project will be a disaster for our county. We do not need nor want this road that will destroy our families, our farms, our small businesses, our schools, our natural habitats/woodlands, our community. People will be forced off their land and out of their home. On every level, this will hurt our citizens and our county.
This is plain and simple cronyism. The county council has already spent $1.75 million for the $7 million environmental impact study (EIS), and we should not put in another dime. My opponents approved of the EIS that siphoned our local tax funds to fund private companies to do the states bidding and expedite this disastrous road. If private businesses could fund half of the study – $3.5 million – then those businesses could have funded the last half to pay for the EIS study to destroy our families, our farms, our small businesses, our community and split our county in half. The private company, Lochmueller Group, gave $4,000 to Indiana Governor Holcomb in 2018 as well as giving $5,000 twice to the Indiana Republican State Committee in 2017 and 2018. Money acquires access and influence. The road is a reflection not for a need but a want for politicians and private businesses and an opportunity for an out-of-district private business. We need to be held accountable and transparent to our citizens that we will make the best decisions and ripping families from their land and their home for politics isn’t that.
What steps should the county take in response to the expected loss of tax income in the coming years?
The COVID pandemic will hurt our local tax income to fund future projects. The main step is that we need to put future projects on hold and this includes the $20 million per mile Mid-States Corridor project and the $30 million new jail. The decision to go ahead with these projects will hurt our county’s ability to deliver crucial services. Instead of using the C&R tax increase for the jail, we can provide rehabilitation and prevention services. Also, Dubois County CASA caseload increased surpassing the 2019 caseload year for this year, and we need to do more to help our citizens during this pandemic.
Why should the voters elect you?
You should vote for me because I will put the citizens first. I will stand firmly against a new jail and the Mid-States Corridor project. As a citizen who was born here and lived here most of my life, I want what is best for every person who lives in the county. I will be transparent, accountable, and spend our county tax dollars wisely.
