Voters in Indiana House District 29 will choose between two candidates this November to represent them in the Indiana House of Representatives. The district covers a portion of Hamilton County and includes the city of Noblesville.
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.
Alaina Shonkwiler
Candidate did not fill out WFYI's survey.
Incumbent
Party: Republican
Website: alainafornoblesville.com
Age: 43
Occupation: Indiana State Representative, District 29; Business Development Manager, Garmong Construction
Residence: Noblesville
Top donors (via Transparency USA):
- BOMA Indiana PAC
- Business Advocacy Committee
- Oorah PAC
- Willis R Conner
- American Electric Power Committee for Responsible Government
Top priorities: On her website, Shonkwiler says she prioritizes education funding; healthcare reform; investment in public safety; and economic development. In the Indiana House of Representatives, she currently serves on the Government and Regulatory Reform; Public Policy; and Utilities, Energy and Telecommunications committees.
Devon Wellington
Personal information provided by candidate.
Party: Democrat
Website: votedevon.com
Age: 38
Occupation: Self-employed Education Policy Advisor
Residence: Noblesville
Top donors (via Transparency USA):
- ActBlue Indiana
- Strategy/media
- Moffett Craig
- Michael Breining
- Nocona Canady-Flatt
Wellington accepted WFYI's invitation to take a survey. WFYI fact checked statements about publicly available data.
If elected, what are your top policy priorities?
My top policy priorities are protecting public education and making sure families can get the care they need without it wrecking their savings. I want families in District 29 to be able to stay in their homes. And I want the teachers, nurses, and workers who make this district run to be able to buy a home in the community where they work. Noblesville and Fishers are communities where neighbors check in on each other. Our schools are the heartbeat of the community, and a huge reason why so many have chosen to put down roots here. No family should be left out here in District 29.
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?
Most people feel like their representatives don't listen to them because right now representatives don't have to. Indiana's House is 70 Republicans to 30 Democrats. When any party holds a supermajority, there's no real incentive to answer to the people back home. Should there have to be incentive? No. But especially in today's fractured political climate where being a rubber stamp for this administration becomes a party requirement in exchange for party support, having a more balanced legislature helps all constituents across the state.
I want to help break the supermajority because a legislature that has to negotiate is a legislature that has to listen. I firmly believe that breaking the supermajority will help good republicans serve their districts better too, because they'll finally get to negotiate and lead instead of being forced to fall in line with their party.
Once elected, I'm committed to holding regular office hours and to explaining my votes to the people who live and work in District 29, instead of just casting them and moving on. One of my goals in holding this office is to be the kind of representative that earns and maintains people's trust, even if we don't always agree.
Disagreement is something we can work through. Rebuilding trust in public officials is very much a priority for me.
What is your position on data center development in Indiana?
This is one of the very top issues that gets over partisan walls. Towns get told a data center is going to bring jobs and tax money, but most run with a skeleton crew once they're built, so the jobs promise rarely delivers. And they use a staggering amount of power and water to run. Right now, families end up covering costs that should belong to the data center, because Indiana doesn't have strong enough guardrails to protect us.
There was a bill this past session, House Bill 1210, that would've required data centers to share a meaningful cut of their tax savings with local government. It passed, but in final negotiations that share got cut down to a fraction, from a $5 million minimum on a large facility to a $350,000 maximum. Nothing passed that actually protects ratepayers from covering the infrastructure costs, and nothing passed that gives communities real teeth to push back before a project gets approved.
I support pressing pause on new approvals until Indiana has meaningful guardrails in place. Data centers must pay for their own infrastructure. We need real environmental review. And communities that don't want one in their backyard shouldn't get overruled by a city council chasing a promise that usually doesn't pan out. We all understand that data centers have been around and aren't going anywhere, but we can all agree that how they come into our state needs to be intentional and centered on community needs.
Many voters told us they struggle to afford food, housing and healthcare. If elected, how would you help them address those needs?
These issues are top of mind when I talk to voters in District 29.
On housing: in parts of Fishers, a third of rentals are corporate owned; some Noblesville neighborhoods have seen the same for more than half the homes. I will push to limit out-of-state investors from converting single-family homes to rentals, protect seniors from tax spikes, and open a practical path to ownership for first-time buyers.
On healthcare: I will push to enforce pricing transparency with real penalties, hold insurers accountable for improper denials, enforce stronger penalties for pharmacy benefits managers who act as middlemen without providing actual care, and expand telehealth access. Hospitals around the state are closing* which piles more pressure on the healthcare systems that remain; those costs land on Hamilton County families.
On food: More than 33,000 Hamilton County residents, including 7,000 children, face hunger, and pantry demand has risen 30% in one year. I will push to streamline enrollment across food assistance and Medicaid, connect food access to primary care, and expand SNAP incentives at local farmers markets. Additionally, I support Indiana actually using the antitrust tools already in place and joining with other states going after price-fixing in the food supply chain. I also support banning grocers and grocery delivery services who are using shopping data to charge people a different price than a neighbor for the same cart of groceries.
*Editor's note: According to the Indiana Hospital Association, 9 Indiana hospitals have closed since 2015. A report released at the beginning of 2026 showed nearly half of Indiana's hospitals are operating at a loss, which you can read about here.
