(Devan Ridgway, WTIU/WFIU News)
As part of WTIU/WFIU News’ 2022 primary election coverage, reporter Mitch Legan invited the Republican candidates for House District 45 to discuss their policy positions.
The GOP faceoff will be one of the most closely watched primaries May 3 because it pits two current Indiana representatives against each other. Incumbent Rep. Bruce Borders is defending his seat against Rep. Jeff Ellington, who announced after redistricting that he’d run in HD 45.
Ellington has served Indiana’s 62nd District since late 2015, but Greene County, which makes up a majority of 62, will be incorporated into HD 45. The new legislative maps will go into effect after the November elections.
Rep. Bruce Borders’ interview is available here.
READ MORE: Full election coverage, live results and updates
This transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
MITCH LEGAN: How’d you get into politics?
JEFF ELLINGTON: It started back as a (Monroe) County councilman. Why I got involved running for public office back in the early ’90s was because of a unresponsive city administration here in Bloomington that didn’t listen to concerns about something as simple as a small stop sign in our community. So we worked on getting that stop sign replaced because we had a lot of accidents. Back then I was a fire department employee, ran and drove fire trucks and also ran on rescue situations with wrecks. So I knew that safety was a big focus of our community. That’s one of the things that got me involved in politics, (something) as little as a little stop sign.
ML: Why did you decide to run for House District 45?
BB: Well, when I first ran for state representative (was) back in 2015, in a caucus. And then I got elected for three terms, ’16, ’18 and ’20. My main focus was to take (back) regulations and laws that were changed 30-plus years ago that had a negative impact upon our local farming communities, small business owners, and the way property taxes were restructured for tax caps, etc.
My focus was to make sure that I can make positive changes for Indiana and my district that are longer lasting, that are harder to unwind – from freeing up farmers to make sure they can farm their properties without intervention (to) making sure that businesses have some controls on environmental and safety regulations. But not the overburdensome (regulations) that we’ve seen before and we continue to see today.
So that’s my main focus, is to make sure that we have a good economy. In the end, it makes a better revenue flow for schools and parks and infrastructure, such as roads and bridges. And that’s where I’ve also focused. That’s my incentive, just to make sure that when I pass away, that next generation, my kids and yours, have good public policy that will let them move forward and not be a burden on their shoulders. As we know government is, especially right now coming from the Biden administration.
ML: How do you respond to people who say that you’re jumping from House District 62 to a safer Republican district in House District 45?
JE: Goes back to my opponent, who cannot run on his record. He has to hire private investigators to follow me and my wife, (investigating) where I might or might not live. But the fact is that the district I’m running for now, 45, is almost 60 percent of my current district (House District 62). I live in my current district (in Bloomfield). I did not move out of my district. I’m here to fight for my citizens that put trust in me to do the right thing, to make the right policies and to be there to answer the phone seven days a week.
People call me, I come visit the schools. I go to manufacturers. I try to make (those) connections between what we have a lack of, as far as workers, and what we could train our kids in school to be prepared for. Some want to go to college, some may not.
I’m in the community and that’s the difference. I go to universities and talk with the presidents. I go to Farm Bureaus and support kids by purchasing their animals because that’s important to them. I go to nonprofits and make sure I volunteer and give my time and money. I just don’t do this during an election year. I do it on election, off election. And I’m not gonna leave the majority of my district to someone who is absent, who doesn’t come. That’s the bottom line.
ML: I think in our previous conversations you had said that you bought the old mill back in 2018. You said you’ve been working on it. Do you have any end date as to when it all might be finished?
JE: Yeah, so we live in about a 2,000-square-foot section of on the second floor. And we have 5,500 square foot on that floor we’re turning into an event center where nonprofits can come free of charge to do their fundraisers or their events. Even the school has interest, which is right across the street, to come over to use that for some classes or some sort of activity for their programs. It’s going to open up, we’re hoping, by the end of summer.
Now downstairs in the basement, I’ve got 7,500 square foot that I put about six of my antique cars in.* And that’s my passion, is to have ample room for my cars. And I still got more. I got a lot of cars, it’s no doubt. New, they’re rolling chassis that need a lot of work. I haven’t bought a new vehicle since 2008 and I don’t plan on it. So I like to redo and save things, just like we love saving buildings and structures.
And this (mill) is going to be an investment. It’s not profit-motivated. It's community-motivated, to make sure we can have some opportunities for the middle of my district, for job opportunities. (Maybe we can) move some engineers or some manufacturers that deal with Crane infrastructure (to District 45). You know, we have a big boom there. It’s the largest employer in southwest Indiana. And that’s where my main focus is, to make sure we can grow that footprint and extend that into other parts of Vigo, Knox, Sullivan and Daviess County.
ML: That’s got to be exciting for people there. So you’ll probably move into a different location? Once that’s all finished refurbishing, I assume?
JE: No, well, my wife said, “Once we’re here, we are not moving.” She loves the view. The kitchen overlooks the river valley there and the cornfields. And it’s just a magnificent view with a building that was built in 1922. And it has some community history. We got a graveyard in the back that has the founder of Bloomfield, (Peter Cornelius) Van Slyke, that donated all the land for Bloomfield to become a town many years ago.
We’re going to make like a little history room out of one portion. So we’ve been seeking for several years, artifacts and items that were manufactured there such as wool blankets, rugs. You know, that was (what) they performed there during World War II. And it’s just a neat, neat, unique building. And we believe in developing and not letting things sit to rot.
ML: What makes you the right candidate for House District 45?
JE: I’ve worked on some major legislation and got three major bills passed. One deals with fire districts. The (Indiana) Fire Association took this bill across the nation, it’s model legislation. It protects fire districts from being annexed, from stealing their revenue. I compare it to a school district trying to bully up for a smaller school district and take their revenue. So this protects fire districts. We have a problem with volunteer firefighters throughout Indiana, there’s a lack of them. And we’re trying to figure out how to incentivize more volunteer firefighters.
My first bill was a fentanyl bill that dealt with drugs that are manufactured in China and come across our borders. Each year the legislature would have to go up (to the Statehouse) and rewrite a bill because the compounds that our bill addressed, China drug labs would change it (to) some different formula. So we would have to figure out a way – and we did – to make sure that these types of compounds, no matter what the percentages, are illegal in the State of Indiana. And that legislation went across the nation.
I also was able to formulate a telemarketing robocall bill we passed in 2019. (It) doubled the penalties for illegal robocalls to owners’ phone lines that were on the “Do Not Call” list. Four weeks ago, the Attorney General Todd Rokita went and got a business in Evansville that made 790,000 calls to Indiana residents that were on the “Do Not Call” list. And he used part of my bill to go after that.
Those were pretty hard bills. People agree with them. We still got problems to work out, but on those three bills – I passed other pieces of legislation – what I do is I go out to my communities, I answer my phone.
I actually helped Sullivan County a few years ago when they had a tax issue. They went to the representative, my opponent, and he said, “No, I’m not going to give you any help on that issue.” Sen. (Eric) Bassler reached out to me and said, you know, “I need some support in the House for this amendment. Will you do this?” And I did. So I’ve already helped one of the new areas of (the 45th) District before I was even the representative. And I think that’s the difference, I answer my (constituents’) calls, I listen and I move forward with legislation using their words.
ML: What is the biggest issue facing District 45 right now?
JE: It’s several factors. We’ve got drugs. I voted against a bill early on that would’ve let almost 1,100 felons out of prison instantly with no input from the prosecutor or any of the victims. It would have left it up to the state. I didn’t think that was right and that’s why I voted no. So that’s the key thing, is make sure we keep criminals, those who have already plea bargained, in jail to do their times. Let them be rehabilitated there.
I think roads and bridges have been a factor. In 2017, we passed a restructuring of the fuel fees, which now you’re receiving Community Crossing grants throughout Indiana. And we was able to have some input for those lost flyover counties, flyover towns, that wasn’t in the revenue flow before as much as they should have been. So we put some population parameters on there, so if you’re below a certain population, you now can qualify and compete with the road dollars, just like big cities and towns. And I think that’s key to having good job opportunities, having good roads, which really leads to more revenue for the schools or parks and all the programs that we need help with.
ML: In our previous discussions, you’ve talked about the importance of your experience dealing with Crane (in Greene County). Can you point to maybe something you’ve done in the legislature that’s been particularly beneficial to Crane and that important community that you got right there?
JE: Yes. I’ve been trying to get a bill passed. They have some set aside funding from revenue, from state taxes, etc., in a given footprint. They were allowed to have up to $5 million per tech park in a revenue flow. They have three partners in that tech park: Greene, Martin and Daviess (counties), and they capped out at their $15 million a few years ago. They needed help to reauthorize that legislation so I went to bat for them to try to reauthorize that. (We) did not get everything we wanted but we were able to get an additional $100,000 – which is $300,000 (total) – per tech park. And that is extended with no timeframe, so that just doesn’t stop. I’m still working and I will continue to work, if I’m elected to be your representative in the Statehouse, to try to get that tax incentive back up to where I believe it should be. During the times we have right now, WestGate and Crane Naval Weapons is one of the most important facilities in this nation. And it’s the largest employer in southwest Indiana. I’ll continue to make sure that other legislators across the state, day and night, they hear from me that we need this funding. Because it’s a good economic developer, it’s a good tool to use for workforce development, to keep people from going to the unemployment lines. It’s a good tool to cross-train and retrain our workers who have lost jobs in the coal fields from the Biden and the anti-fossil fuel administration. And I’m here to make sure that we are treated fairly.
ML: Can you give me an example of a time that you’ve maybe reached across the aisle and worked on an issue that was particularly important to your Democratic counterparts?
JE: Well, I think one of them was the 2017 road funding bill we did. We had to have some Democrats and Republicans both that really wanted to see infrastructure investment. Because our roads were – you know, “The Crossroads of America” – we get used, our roads, more than probably any other state (with drivers) going back and forth from east to west coast, north to south. So we have a lot of wear and tear. So we’ve reached over the aisle for that. I also reached over the aisle for the fire district bill, the fentanyl bill, the robocall bill and many others.
One bill I did was a forest reproduction bill that protected farmers so they can go out and do forestry best management practices on their farm. I reached over the aisle and the past Speaker of the House, Democrat Pat Bauer, came on as a co-author on one of my bills and we worked together for that. Now, it didn’t make it into the Senate. But we made it out of the House. And we hope to still. That’s a big issue right now nationwide, is make sure we have good forestry management practices to cut down on wildfires.
ML: Kind of in the same vein, do you think it could be a little more difficult for you to get things done here – if you were to be elected representative (of District 45) – because you’ve challenged a sitting representative? Do you think that that can make it more difficult for you to get stuff done in the future within your caucus?
JE: No. I’ve got the best conservative Republican vote in the Indiana House by CPAC. I scored a 93. My opponent scored 77. But no, I’ve been very effective. I have a lot of friends; I have no enemies. I don’t make any enemies out of anybody. I always try to talk positive about someone and not to burn any bridges.
ML: You’ve been over in Bloomfield for a while, but you had spent quite a bit (of time) here in Monroe County. Can I get your thoughts on annexation, what we’ve seen with the city of Bloomington?
JE: Well, I always like to have property owners and citizens, especially voters, to have a voice in whatever process. Whether it’s annexation, whether it’s manufacturing, location, whether it’s schools – the more voice your citizens have, the better the situation is. And that’s all about annexation, make sure your voice is heard. You know, it’s been skewed in favor of cities and towns for 30-plus years. So that’s just one of those little loopholes that I think needs to be changed to give people more of a voice.
If you want to annex someone, sell your city. Sell your town. Do a good job. There’s cities and towns that need to expand and neighbors want to be in the city or town because they have good policies, they have good services. And it's up to you to sell that. It’s up to me to sell you that I’m the best representative. So, sell your plan.
ML: So going back to this past session, you voted in favor of 1134 – House Bill 1134 – that Critical Race Theory bill. What issues do you see with the current education system here in Indiana?
JE: Well, I think both sides really have to come together and to listen to each other without pointing fingers, without loud expressions or screaming. I see a lot of voices coming to the Statehouse on both sides. I think education is the key to a good community. A good, educated kid will do well in life and make good and better decisions. There’s a lot of state tax dollars that go towards schools. There’s a lot of local property tax dollars that go towards schools and infrastructure. And it’s the biggest part of our budget. So we got to make sure that we listened to the biggest part of our budget. But we also got to keep in mind that the parent does and should have a choice on their kids.
ML: Another bill that you voted in favor this session was (House Bill) 1041, that trans athletes in sports bill. I had spoken with the IHSAA here, they’ve approved one transgender waiver in the decade-plus that they’ve had a transgender athletes policy. I guess, why is this such an important issue for the GOP here in Indiana right now?
JE: I don’t hear it just as a sounding phrase for the GOP. I go through my district. Let’s take Linton, for example – Democratic mayor, Democratic town council. I hear the same things there: “Please do not let a male compete with my daughter. It’s not fair. They have bigger lungs, longer muscles.” I’m just not hearing that from Republicans. We just want to make sure, and I think my citizens just want to make sure that it’s not an issue here. It seems simple.
ML: So House Speaker of Houston said he’d vote to override that veto from Gov. (Eric) Holcomb. Would it be safe to assume that you’d vote to override that veto as well?
JE: Oh, yes, I’ve got that on my radio ads. I’ve got that on print. I think it’s an issue that needs to be corrected. And I’ll do that.
ML: With the changes to the Supreme Court that we’ve seen, there has been more discussion about the future of Roe v. Wade. If there was something to happen where we leave it back up to the states to make their decisions on abortion access, would you be in favor of more abortion restrictions here in Indiana?
JE: I think I’d be in favor of making sure that if there’s a change at the federal level and it puts that burden, that responsibility on the state, we’ve already signed a letter to the governor if that happens that we will go back in session. And we will look at that in all aspects.
ML: Ok, my final national question: is Joe Biden the rightfully elected president?
JE: Here’s the issue: you have a lot of states that took what state lawmakers had as laws and circumvented it. I think yes, in those states, they did not abide by their own laws – secretary of states made decisions, the governors made decisions. But it’s up to the legislature in each state to make those laws for elections, which we do here in Indiana. And we abide by them.
So given that, yes, Trump lost votes because of those political decisions. Trump is my president in heart. Legally, with the process, we have Biden.
And believe me, as I walk my district, my constituents – my future constituents – are scared to death with the leadership we have in Washington. With the way not only America is going, but (also) the world. Open up those pipelines, open up those permits in areas that we can do those permits environmentally sound. And yes, there’s an issue.
ML: I’ll throw it over to you with my last one. I asked this earlier, why should House District 45 voters vote for you? What makes you the right candidate for this upcoming election?
JE: I represent 60 percent of you already. I’ve been there since 2016. I go to your fundraisers; I go to your Farm Bureau meetings. I go to your 4-H fairgrounds. I make investments with my time and what little dollar I have for your efforts. This is not an on election, off election thing I do. I do it every day, every week. I answer my phone seven days a week. I’m very responsive.
I’m very effective as a legislator. Look at the Community Crossing grants that’s going through your communities. Look at the blacktop that’s going down right now – there’s more on the way. My opponent didn’t vote for any of that. He thought our roads were fine. I don’t. That makes a good base for all of our district. And it’s a new District 45. That number doesn’t belong to any one legislator. It belongs to the people of Indiana in this district. And I thank you for your vote.
*Ellington recently rehabbed a red 1964 Willys Jeep and is working on a 1957 Thunderbird convertible.
