Prescott, Kloer running in D-33

With two legislative sessions under his belt, State Rep. J.D. Prescott (R-Union City) wants to keep going.

Prescott, who topped then-Winchester Mayor Shon Byrum in the 2018 general election, is facing a primary challenge from Jay County High School teacher Brittany Kloer for the Republican nomination for state representative in District 33.

Campaigning this time has been a lot different because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s been a really weird cycle,” Prescott said. “One of my favorite parts of the job is interacting with the people.”

Prescott last had a public event in Jay County in February when he gave a legislative session update in Portland. He co-authored three bills that became law during the 2020 session, including a bipartisan law that will reform Indiana Department of Natural Resources code.

If re-elected, Prescott said he will focus on pro-life and pro-gun legislation in addition to finding a way to help expand broadband internet access in rural parts of the state during the 2021 session, which will decide the states budget for two years.

“I believe broadband belongs in this budget,” Prescott said. He noted that next year’s budget session will have higher than usual stakes because the coronavirus pandemic will constrain the available funds.

Prescott remains optimistic that, because of the state’s past years of surplus revenue, Indiana will overcome the financial impact of the pandemic.

“We’ve been a state that has been financially responsible and because of that we will get through it,” he said.

Prescott said the state government has done a good job responding to the pandemic and supports reopening the state. While Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb’s stay-at-home order was still in effect, Prescott was one of four state representatives to send a letter to the governor dated April 20 requesting the stay-at-home order be lifted.

As their representative, Prescott said he wants to provide his constituents with the tools they need to make their own decision rather than rely on the government for answers in regard to the pandemic.

“I’m one of those guys … I don’t rely on the government for answers,” Prescott said.

As District 33’s representative, Prescott represents all of Jay and Randolph counties and part of Delaware County.

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Reading over the finalized version of House Bill 1002 in 2019, Brittany Kloer made a decision.

“I’m going to have to run for office.”

Now the Jay County High School agriculture teacher is weeks away from finding out if her Republican primary challenge against incumbent District 33 State Rep. J.D. Prescott (Union City) will be successful.

If Kloer wins, she said she will advocate for legislation that will help her fellow career technical education (CTE) teachers, as she did when she voiced her concerns over House Bill 1002.

The bill, which eventually became law, removed teaching license requirements for some CTE teachers, among other things. Kloer said the bill kept getting amended with provisions that harmed agriculture teachers.

Kloer, who has been an education advocate for four years and is studying CTE leadership at Purdue University, emailed Prescott with her concerns about the bill. He never responded, she said.

Education policy getting changed without input from the teachers it affect is a common occurrence during the legislative session, Kloer said.

If elected she said she would advocate for a lot of recent education policy to be repealed.

“It’s easy to talk about laws but most people don’t see the impact first hand,” said Kloer, who has taught at JCHS for 12 years.

Though campaigning during the pandemic has been difficult and a lot of scheduled campaign events have been cancelled, she said the support from her students from the past and present has boosted her confidence.

Outside of education policy, Kloer said she would advocate for the legalization of industrial hemp to be grown and utilized in textiles and other fabrics. It has been legalized in 46 states.

Kloer said Indiana imported more than $66 million in hemp last year and can save a lot of money by legalizing its growth. Industrial hemp is devoid of THC, the compound in marijuana that gets a user high.

Kloer said she would support legislation that helps law enforcement and utilizes surplus money for supporting the state’s police academy. She said she talked to Portland Police Chief Nathan Springer about legislation that could help law enforcement, particularly rural police officers and their departments.

The District 33 state representative represents all of Jay and Randolph counties and part of Delaware County.