Voters in Indiana House District 57 will choose between two candidates this November to represent them in the Indiana House of Representatives. The district includes portions of Hendricks, Morgan and Johnson counties. It includes the city of Mooresville and a portion of southern Plainfield.
Incumbent Rep. Craig Haggard (R) will not be seeking reelection.
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.
Wes Bennett
Candidate did not fill out WFYI's survey.
Party: Republican
Website: wesbennettfordistrict57.com
Age: Not verified
Occupation: Former Plainfield Clerk Treasurer
Residence: Plainfield
Top donors (via Transparency USA):
- House Republican Campaign Committee
- Indiana Business for Responsive Government
- David Lahey
- James Huston
- Scott Walker
Top priorities: On his website, Bennett says supports the 2nd Amendment, first responders, conservative values and the pro-life movement. He says his priorities include property tax reform, support for agricultural and economic growth, and support for families and local communities.
Suzanne Fortenberry
Personal information provided by candidate.
Party: Democrat
Website: facebook.com/Fortenberry4Indiana
Age: 52
Occupation: Courier at FedEx Express; Co-Owner of Equality Engraving
Residence: Greenwood
Top donors (via Transparency USA):
- Friends of Suzanne Fortenberry Account
- Leslie E Sering
- Judy E Wilson
- Matthew Erickson
- Luke Miller
Fortenberry accepted WFYI's invitation to take a survey. WFYI fact checked statements about publicly available data.
If elected, what are your top policy priorities?
Bring common Sense back to government . Affordability issues, have big corporations pay their fair share in taxes. Address the teacher shortage by paying a living wage. Making sure we have safe, affordable healthcare in every County. Making sure working class Hoosiers have a voice in the state house.
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?
Currently, politicians only answer to their donors. That's why I don't accept donations from anyone that I wouldn't have given money to before I decided to run for office. We need to limit campaign contributions from corporations to reduce the amount of sway they have over lawmakers.
What is your position on data center development in Indiana?
The short answer is "We need more information." I am against starting any data centers until we have done more research. The truth is, we don't know what the environmental impact is.* There is a misinformation campaign going on and we need to get to the bottom of it before it's too late. We don't need data centers in any populated areas of the state. We don't need data centers near our schools or taking up our valuable resources. Our electricity prices are going through the roof because our current politicians are taking kickbacks and letting the electric companies build on speculation. It increases the energy cost to us.
*Editor's note: Cornell University mapped the environmental impact of data centers by state. Here is more reporting on how the national environmental footprint of AI has been "notoriously difficult to measure."
Many voters told us they struggle to afford food, housing and healthcare. If elected, how would you help them address those needs?
There's no easy fix. And anyone who tells you differently is lying to you. We need to take a serious look at our minimum wage. Indiana's current living wage is around $21 an hour. We're not going to get anywhere close to that, but we need to move the needle. When I started working back in the 1990s minimum wage was just under $6 And a starter home was around $100,000. While we've added just over a dollar to our minimum wage, housing has doubled in price (if not more). We need to add more trade school options for our high school population to reduce the need for a collegiate education. We need a program to help seniors stay in their homes. A program to help with making their homes more accessible as they age and to help with repairs. When these homes go in disrepair, it takes them off the market for future homeowners. And it hurts neighbors home values. I am open to any reasonable suggestion on helping Hoosiers afford everyday life. We need to fix our roads. By delaying repair it's costing car owners money by destroying the cars that are using the roadways. We pay taxes for these roads and when Indiana has a massive surplus we need to spend it or quit over taxing Hoosiers. There's too much need in Indiana To be hoarding our tax dollars for a rainy day. We're in the middle of a hurricane on affordability issues and the current administration is bragging about money in the bank.
