Goodin, Dems stumped in UC on Saturday

UNION CITY — Democrat candidates for office focused on education, health care, unions, jobs and reproductive rights during a visit to Randolph County.

And they frequently repeated the phrase that has become a mantra for the party during this election cycle: “When we fight, we win.”

Candidate for lieutenant governor Terry Goodin highlighted the list of speakers Saturday night as Randolph County Democratic Central Committee hosted the Woodrow Wilson-Fred Davis Dinner at the Union City Elks Lodge.

Goodin spoke for about 20 minutes, capping an evening that also included comments from candidates Kiley Adolph (U.S. House of Representatives), John Bartlett (Indiana House of Representatives) and representatives from the Valerie McCray campaign (U.S. Senate).

“For a smarter, strong, safer Indiana, we need to vote for the Democratic ticket,” said Goodin, who is running alongside governor candidate Jennifer McCormick against Republicans Mike Braun and Micah Beckwith. “We need to put Democrats in the White House, in the Statehouse, in the courthouse, in the halls of Congress and the U.S. Senate, all the way up and down the ticket, folks, so we can get our state and nation turned around and get it going in the right direction.”

The nearly 100 in attendance also heard urging from local party chair Tito Farias to get the word out about Democrat candidates and similar encouragement from former chair Fred Davis, one of the namesakes of the event.

Education was the through line for comments from all of the candidates Saturday, with Goodin indicating his agreement with his father’s assertion that free public education is the greatest invention of America. In reference to school vouchers, he said any educational institution that is receiving state funding should have to follow state rules.

Goodin was critical of Republican leadership in Indiana, which has had a GOP supermajority in the statehouse since 2010. He referred to the state’s status with education, housing, healthcare and property taxes all as crises.

He referenced Indiana economists Michael Hicks and Morton J. Marcus — both of their columns run regularly in The News-Gazette — indicating that running the state like a business has not worked.

Goodin was also critical of Republican property tax proposals — some include eliminating property taxes entirely — saying they would lead to senior citizens, farmers and those in the workforce paying higher taxes overall.

He advocated for attracting good-paying jobs and raising the state’s minimum wage.

“No Hoosier should ever work a full-time job and their family still live in poverty,” Goodin said. “Folks, as Democrats, we must continue the struggle, the struggle of helping folks who need a hand up. … When we’re walking down a pathway and we see someone that has fallen, we don’t pass them by. As Democrats, folks, we will stop, turn around and help them get back up.”

He also called for eradicating an atmosphere of bigotry and hate and brining back respect and hope.

During a brief question-and-answer session following his comments, Goodin said a McCormick administration would appoint more consumer friendly Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission members and would make education a budgetary priority.

Kiley Adolph

In her race against former District 3 U.S. Rep. Marlin Stutzman, a Republican, and Jarrad Lancaster, a Libertarian, Adolph emphasized the hard work, community and spirit of service of Hoosiers. She advocated for good jobs, affordable health care, support for farmers and unions, and public education.

Valerie McCray campaign

Representatives of the McCray campaign hit on issues similar to those covered by other candidates and were also critical of Republican Jim Banks, who currently represents Indiana’s 3rd Congressional District and is running for Senate. They referred to him as an obstructionist, extremist and an outlier in his own party.

John Bartlett

A Randolph County native who now lives in Blackford County, Bartlett lamented rural decline with loss of business and the “brain drain” of local college graduates moving away from their communities. In his rematch from 2022 with State Rep. J.D. Prescott (R-Union City), he advocated for taking on corporate monopolies, especially in the healthcare field, and eliminating vouchers for private schools.