Letter: Senator Schmitt should come to our town halls

Senator Schmitt,

I read your town hall schedule in the Free Press, and I want to be among the first to congratulate you. Six counties, six meetings, every corner of the district. That’s a real public service.

You said something in that announcement that I couldn’t have put better myself: “the best ideas don’t come from Indianapolis — they come from the people who live and work here every day.” Exactly right.

Now, everyone reading this knows I’m running for your seat. Come November, you and I will be opponents, each of us standing in his first election. But between now and then, I see no reason we can’t work together for District 48. We both believe the best ideas come from the people who live and work here. That’s common ground enough.

I’ve spent two years finding out how true it is. It started with the Mid-States Corridor. Public records requests, county meetings, organizing the landowners in its path. And it grew into town halls. My wife and I both hold full-time jobs, so we built them nights and weekends, because that’s when working people can meet. We’ve held twelve now. Ten on the corridor, and two in our new series, “Your Community, Your Say,” at St. Anthony and Jasper. Lucky thirteen is this Thursday in Ferdinand.

I want to tell you how ours are built, in case you haven’t seen our livestream. At St. Anthony, the panel was two Republicans and one Democrat. At Jasper, an even split with a Republican moderator. Everyone in this district is welcome, and that includes every officeholder and every candidate, either party. Senator, you and Congressman Messmer both have standing invitations to sit on that panel. The Jasper meeting is on video if you’d like to see the format before you take a seat. Our next four: Ferdinand on August 13, Dubois on August 19, Huntingburg on August 26, and Ireland on September 8. All at 6:30.

Every meeting so far has been in Dubois County, but we’ve had meetings in the works for Spencer, Perry, Pike, Gibson and Crawford for a while now. We’re building each one with that county’s local Democratic party, around the people closest to that county’s own questions. The family in Spencer County worried the hospital they count on will close, and wondering how far they’d have to drive with a sick kid in the back seat. The taxpayer in Gibson County wondering why the tax increment financing districts stay flush while the county roads wait. Standing that up takes real coordination, and it moves at the speed of volunteers and the shoestring budget of our local party. So I’m glad you’re getting out there too. Those folks shouldn’t have to wait on anybody’s timetable.

Everyone knows the headlines out there. The corridor in Dubois. The hospital in Perry. The data centers eyeing Pike. The power bills in Gibson. The gap at Rockport hanging over Spencer come 2029. And in Crawford, how long you wait for an ambulance. But twelve town halls taught me the headlines are never the whole story. That’s the point of going.

So I’ll be at yours, listening. I’m coming to take it in and adjust to what I hear, because that’s the job as I understand it. Some of your dates conflict with meetings we already have, which is understandable, the way both calendars are filling up. When I’ve made a commitment to the people, I keep it. Beyond that, I’ll be at every one.

Think about what this adds up to, Senator. Your six. The meetings already on our schedule. At least one in every county in this district before we’re done, and as many more as we can find the time for, because this district has a lot to say.

Here’s what I hope: town halls in all six counties, every year, election year or not, until that’s just what people expect from this seat, whoever holds it. I’ll commit to that right now, win or lose. I suspect you would too.

And if some night the two of us end up in the same hall, taking the same questions from the same neighbors, that would be a good night for District 48.

Congratulations again. I’ll see you in Chrisney on the 25th.

Brad Hochgesang 
Candidate, Indiana State Senate, District 48