Building a Future for Eastern Indiana

A Just Economy

The document describes an economy in which working people have access to fair wages, safe housing, affordable child care, good schools and health care.

Protect Working People

• Protect workers' rights to organise and bargain collectively.
• Support fair wages, safe working conditions and reliable schedules.
• Expand apprenticeship and job-training programmes.
• Raise the minimum wage so full-time workers are not living in poverty.
• Address wage theft and worker misclassification.
• Support small and medium-sized local businesses.

Housing

• Build more high-quality affordable housing.
• Repair and refurbish existing homes.
• Hold slumlords accountable.
• Protect renters from unsafe housing and abusive evictions.
• Support first-time homebuyers.

Public Schools, College & Vocational Training

• Fully fund public schools.
• Raise teacher pay and support school staff.
• Expand vocational programmes and apprenticeships.
• Expand community-college and job-training opportunities.
• Provide additional financial support for higher education and vocational training.

Safe Communities & Public Safety

• Support law enforcement, firefighters, EMTs and first responders.
• Improve emergency response times.
• Invest in mental-health crisis response.
• Expand addiction treatment and recovery support.
• Support domestic-violence prevention and survivor services.
• Invest in housing, jobs, schools, youth programmes and healthcare.
• Support community-based violence prevention and youth mentoring.

Rural & Small-City Investment

The platform specifically identifies Wayne and Henry Counties and other small cities and rural communities as areas requiring investment.

• Invest in downtown revitalisation and local businesses.
• Support local manufacturers and family farms.
• Expand rural healthcare and mental-health access.
• Protect rural hospitals and emergency medical services.
• Repair roads, bridges, sidewalks, water systems and broadband.
• Support affordable housing and home-repair programmes.
• Expand vocational education and apprenticeships.
• Support farmers markets and local food systems.

Responsible AI & Technology

• Protect workers from job loss, surveillance and exploitation related to AI.
• Require transparency when AI is used in major public systems.
• Ensure productivity gains benefit workers and communities.
• Invest in worker training for new technologies.

Healthcare as a Human Right

The platform identifies healthcare, mental-health treatment, addiction recovery, maternal health, elder care and integrative care as major priorities.

Universal Healthcare

• Expand healthcare coverage.
• Expand access to rural and local healthcare providers.
• Invest in preventive care.
• Reduce administrative waste and healthcare costs.

Mental Health & Addiction

• Expand access to mental-health treatment.
• Increase crisis-response and suicide-prevention resources.
• Expand addiction treatment and recovery programmes.
• Support recovery housing and peer support.

Maternal Health

• Expand prenatal, birth and postpartum care.
• Support regulated midwifery and doula services.
• Improve insurance coverage for maternal services.
• Invest in community-based maternal healthcare.

Real Democracy

The document's democracy platform focuses on campaign finance, fair representation, constituent access and local control.

Money in Politics

• Increase transparency around campaign donations and political spending.
• Address corporate PAC and lobbyist influence.
• Strengthen ethics requirements.

Fair Districts

• End partisan gerrymandering.
• Create a politically neutral redistricting commission.
• Require transparent maps and public hearings.

Government Accountability

• Regular public online town halls.
• Public Zoom sessions during the legislative session.
• Clear explanations for major votes.
• More transparent constituent services.

Local Control

• Protect local control over schools, libraries and public safety.
• Oppose state preemption that prevents local problem-solving.
• Give local governments more flexibility.
• Require the state to listen to local communities.