Voters in Indiana House District 28 will choose between two candidates this November to represent them in the Indiana House of Representatives. The district includes portions of Hendricks, Boone and Montgomery counties. It includes the city of Danville and southern Brownsburg.
There are 100 members of the Indiana House of Representatives. Their job is to work alongside the governor and the Indiana State Senate to create laws and set the state budget. Their seats go up for election every two years, and in Indiana there is no limit on the number of terms a representative can serve.
WFYI opened an ongoing voter survey in May, and the most common voting issues were data center policy, affordability, and feeling disempowered.
WFYI contacted each campaign and sent a survey based on voter questions — it asked candidates for their top priorities and their positions on civic health, data centers and affordability. For candidates who did not respond, information was gathered from websites and social media for a "Top priorities" note. Candidates are listed in alphabetical order.
Jeffrey Thompson
Candidate did not fill out WFYI's survey.
Incumbent
Party: Republican
Website: thompsonforindiana.com
Age: Not verified
Occupation: Indiana State Representative, District 28; Director of North Salem State Bank
Residence: Lizton
Top donors (via Transparency USA):
- House Republican Campaign Committee
- Indiana Multi Family Housing PAC
- Hoosiers for Quality Education PAC
- Indiana BANKPAC - State Fund
- Build Indiana
Top priorities: On the Indiana General Assembly website, Thompson is said to support "balanced budgets with adequate reserves" and K-12 student funding. In the Indiana House of Representatives, he currently serves as the Chair of the Ways and Means Committee.
Karen Whitney
Personal information provided by candidate.
Party: Democrat
Website: whitneyforindiana.com
Age: 66
Occupation: Independent Consultant
Residence: Brownsburg
Top donors (via Transparency USA):
- Karen M. Whitney (self)
Whitney accepted WFYI's invitation to take a survey. WFYI fact checked statements about publicly available data.
If elected, what are your top policy priorities?
Fight corruption. Fund our schools. Reform taxes.
Many voters told us they don't think today's politicians listen to their constituents. Why do you think that is, and how would you address the concern?
I think the biggest reason politicians do not listen to constituents because they feel they do not have to listen in order to be reelected. I would address this concern through enacting anti-corruption legislation that would end career politicians with term limits. I would also sponsor legislation that would establish citizen commissions that would design our districts and stop, allowing career politicians to select their voters versus the other way around. Third, I would insist that all committee meetings and sessions in the legislature, be streamed, and that any citizen can watch the work of their elected officials.
What is your position on data center development in Indiana?
There should be an immediate pause on data center developments. We should enact legislation that would require every elected official to publicly disclose any personal or Campaign financial ties to any and all investors or financial interest in data centers. Each data center should be reviewed rigorously to consider its overall impact on the environment and it's a true net benefit to the community from a community development standpoint. At minimum, we should ensure that each data center proposal requires the owner to fully remediate the space upon vacating the space.
Many voters told us they struggle to afford food, housing and healthcare. If elected, how would you help them address those needs?
Reduce the cost of housing by cutting red tape for new construction, reevaluating and incentivizing zoning reforms, and explore the use of housing credits to help low income and or first time homeowners. Reduce healthcare cost, and increase accessibility to healthcare by doing a deep dive study in terms of the potential opportunities of strategically expanding state support. Incentivize the economy in order to offer well paying jobs through supporting the development of business innovation and small business growth development and offering financial support to families for quality childcare. Restore the funding cuts to our public schools and colleges and universities so they may become more vibrant partners in the growth and development of our children and future workers.
