Jeff Ellington, candidate for House district 45. Ellington ran for the same office in 2022. (Clayton Baumgarth - WFIU/WTIU)
As part of WTIU/WFIU News’ 2024 election coverage, reporter Clayton Baumgarth invited the three candidates running for Indiana’s 45th House District to discuss their policy positions.
The three candidates are Republicans Bruce Borders, the incumbent, Jeff Ellington, who is running for the office a second time, and Kellie Streeter, a newcomer from northern Knox county.
Indiana’s 45th District consists of Greene and Sullivan counties, and portions of Daviess, Knox and Vigo counties in southwest Indiana.
The conversation with Bruce Borders can be found here.
The conversation with Kellie Streeter can be found here.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
Clayton Baumgarth: Why are you running for House District 45?
Jeff Ellington: Government is out of control. We're getting overtaxed at the gas pump. They just put a sneaky gas tax in the budget last year with no public comment. And we had enough dollars there at the pump already paying for roads and bridges with a 20-year plan. And we still have 16 years left on that. Property taxes are out of control. There's too many loopholes. They reorganized that about 18 to 20 years ago. And it seems like the assessor can come into your community to your home your business and give you a reassessment and your taxes go up. I'm here to change that. Lower gas tax cap and lower property taxes and reorganize it. And the other candidates are not talking about that. Nor are they willing. They want more money for road projects that have to deal with Indianapolis. I want our dollars to stay here for the Wabash Valley and District 45 to make those improvements here to benefit the people of this district.
CB: What makes you the right candidate for House District 45.
JE: I think my aggressiveness at the state house, not backing down from special interest, PACs. You know what, Borders got a $25,000 check from the insurance industry. He sits on the Insurance Committee. I think that's a big red flag. Interest in insurance rates have been going up more than 22% just in one year. And you need someone up there that has no conflicts, to say no to those increases. And I'm just that guy. The pressure from other communities that control the Statehouse north of this district wants to raise your gas taxes once again to pay for infrastructure in Indianapolis. I do not want that. We need improvements here in Wabash Valley. And don't take our people's money to fund your other pet projects. I'm the only one that's going to stand up and do that out of the three of us. They just want to raise your gas tax, they want more control and they want bigger solar fields that kill coal. And I want Indiana jobs and Indiana assets to stay here. And for me it's about jobs, jobs, jobs for the Wabash Valley.
CB: You've touched on this a little bit already, but just to reiterate, what do you think is the largest issue facing constituents in District 45?
JE: Taxes. You go to the pump, gas prices raise. This Biden economy, and with the help of even some Republicans, have taken gas taxes out of control. There's no off ramp for them for raising taxes. So gas tax for me, we're going to go in, we're going to emphasize that needs to be cut back to the 2017 level, which was a 20 year fully funded row plan. Just before they did this tax increase, there was a $6 billion budget. If it's important, make better decisions, pull some of those surplus dollars and put back into roads and bridges. Don't penalize the users at the pump because of your mis-choices. And I'll make those right choices by listening to my constituents and the people of this district in the Wabash Valley. And one issue I think most people don't understand is, if you work there you do, Crane Naval Weapons is the largest employer in southwest Indiana. I started in this district 20 plus years ago. We worked together with some Congress and senators in Washington to save Crane from BRAC, the Base Realignment Committee. The two things they wanted, we had to have an interstate and we had to have a tech park. So I've worked tirelessly to finish and make the footprint for I-69 to protect Crane. I was the only one in Statehouse that fought to get a permanent funding to West Gate, the tech park, to make sure it's there. Because that's two of the reasons that the DOD said that if you don't have those they will cut that facility. So I've been there protecting these jobs for 20 years before I was even the statehouse. And that's a very important base for Indiana's jobs. And my campaign, everything I do is about jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, keep your kids here local. My daughter lives in Chicago, and I just try to do everything I can to make sure that there's better opportunity right here so your family's not split up, your farms not split up, keep our family close and protect them.
CB: How willing are you to reach across the aisle to work on issues facing your constituents?
JE: I've done that several times. One of my first bills in 2017, we doubled the penalties for fentanyl coming across the border from China. And I had a lot of Democrats come on as co-authors for that bill. In 2019, I think it was, we did a telemarketing robo-call bill, which that was my bill, it was a standalone bill that doubled the penalties for illegal robocalls and telemarketers. I had a lot of Democrats come on that. But I've also done some bills that protects farmers and protects businesses like forestry management practices. And I was able to get the past Speaker of the House from years ago to come on as a co-author. I've worked the aisle, me and my wife are a team. We work in the morning before session, we work at lunch. In the evening, we stay up and we work up there to get the things that the people of this district want accomplished. And I don't let any of my other activities or my other businesses interfere. I retired from the fire department 2016 to focus on this job. And I've won several awards for being the most conservative legislator in Indiana in ‘16 and ‘20. And I won an award for my telemarketing bill as legislator of the year. I think that was in 2018. So I'm very aggressive but I work and I negotiate for what’s best for Wabash Valley.
CB: You're running against Representative Borders for the second time now. This is a two parter; one, how do you feel about that? And two, what are you doing differently this time around?
JE: When I first became state rep in ‘16 which took care of most of Green County and Odon and Elnora, they were hesitant about having somebody new because every 10 years the map changes, and every 10 years the Wabash Valley gets the short end of the stick. They've had good legislators that got gerrymandered out of the district. And for me, what I continued to hear was ‘we've never had anybody like you, you're one of just a few that's here, that comes to our events, that answers your phones, that will meet with us at the Statehouse or meet with us down here at our business at our 4-H fairs.’ I'm connected and I'm involved because that's my focus when I’m state rep is to be there for you. That's the difference between myself and Borders. You can't hardly get a meeting with him, he won't answer a question, he runs and hides from teachers at statehouse, I've heard that from other teachers. I don't do that. I will answer tough questions to the best of my ability. Because if I'm your state rep, I'm your ears, and I'm your voice.
What we're doing differently, we're just staying focused on our message we had last election, we have the best record of listening and answering our phone and constituent services. We pass bills, and we do amendments, and that hasn't happened with Borders. We have no conflicts. Out of the three of us, there’s one who's all about solar, you know, that's killing Indiana coal. The other one, wanted to tax coal. I don't want to tax coal to kill it, that's an asset that's in our grounds, and if we don't use it and supply good, stable energy, it'll be shipped to China. And they'll manufacture over there with our coal and send it back to hurt our markets. So let's do what's right and use Indiana assets to create Indiana jobs. And that's what my record is, and I'll continue to do that. And you can't do that when the economy's terrible and gas taxes are high, property taxes are out of control. And I'm the only one who's gonna go up there and face the PACs and the big interest groups to cut your gas tax, reorganize and cut property taxes, and create jobs for the Wabash Valley.
CB: How involved have you been in politics since the previous election?
JE: I continue to be involved. I continue to reach out to my other legislator friends and the Governor's office, Lieutenant Governor's office, to tell our story down here, that Crane is the largest employer in southwest Indiana, and we need more support. I was able to get lights at 231 and 69. That wasn't even in their plan, in their budget going back to 2016. When they started laying I-69. It seems like other communities, that had smaller populations and not as much infrastructure, had lights while we didn't. And so those lights came in when I wasn’t even a state rep. I thought that was nice to see. I think it was one of the most dangerous intersections in Indiana with the products they are hauling out of Crane to have no lights in our intersection. Now did they do everything right? Well, you know, they could have done better. But you know, as your state rep, I will work to make more improvements to our roads for safety and to create jobs.
CB: Last question about the last election, there were some questions about where you lived full-time previously. And just to fully clear the air, are we in your home where you live full time?
JE: Yeah, we're in our home. Matter of fact, I've invited Bruce over several times to some events I had here. My friend Jim Banks, we had an event here for him last year, and everybody on the Republican list was invited and some other community leaders. Bruce was a no show. I just I don't know why. But that's just a distraction. It's just all been a fabricated, you know, just like Trump. Trump gets attacked, and I do what Trump does, I respond. And he just doesn't want to make the issue about the gas tax he just raised. He doesn't make the issue about the property taxes that he's let go out of control. It's just a distraction. And that was taken care of about two years ago with the election commission. He had no evidence, we came up with piles and piles of evidence and invited them into our home, and he still makes an issue out of it. That's just politics, but I've never seen anybody do that before.
CB: Going into some more specific legislative questions, next year's budget year, and whoever wins will be working with a new governor. What do you think are some of the top priority items to consider?
JE: Well, I think we should focus on jobs. We should focus on basic items that can help constituents in Wabash Valley and Indiana to make things more affordable. Reducing the gas tax, I think that's very key. I think we need to reorganize property taxes, property taxes have gone way up, they're out of sight. And I think we need to look at possibly the age of some of our property owners. Some people have paid their taxes almost 40-50 years, and the taxes now are more than what they had as a mortgage when they first bought their home. And I think we need to take a look at that and give them some more relief, especially when they're limited in their retirement accounts, even if you have any. I think that's important. So gas tax, property taxes, and then we need to invigorate the economy to grow Crane Naval Weapons and other industries in Wabash Valley. And I've got a record on doing that. And I'll continue that.
CB: A huge part of that budget goes towards education, and I'm curious what your thoughts are on how a lot of rural schools are talking about consolidation and referendums?
JE: Well see that deals with property taxes. So right before they raised the gas tax last year, which was a sneaky gas tax late at night, they had a $6 billion surplus just a few months before that. And I think we should have looked at that to help take the pressure off of local property taxes and referendums, and let the state, or make the state, take some of that surplus and put it back into our local budgets. Because it's just an area that needs to be reorganized. The projected budget surplus, at the end of this cycle at the end of ‘25, they say instead of being like $1 billion, which they normally keep, it's projected to be at 2.1 or $2.2 billion surplus. And I'm sure Bruce and Kellie's got plans to spend that already, they've already been at the Statehouse trying to raise taxes and put more pressure on property owners. But I'm going to be there to say, ‘take that surplus and put back in the property tax relief’, ‘take that surplus, and lower gas taxes.’ That's the first place we need to look, government is too big, it's out of control, and the special interests got more control than the people of these districts. And that's sad.
CB: Are there any large social justice issues that you plan to tackle or that are top of mind right now for you?
JE: I think there's some other candidates for governor talking about this a little bit; When the state closed down, some of the mental institutions going back 20 plus years ago, that really put a stress on hospitals. And I think we need to look at redesigning some of our health care to focus on mental health. Years ago, I sat on the board for Center for Behavioral Health and now it's called Centerstone, which is the largest mental health provider in southern Indiana, so I have a I have experience in that. And I think we need to take a look at that and see how we can kind of redesign some of that network to be closer to communities.
CB: Last session, a lot of bills were passed regarding higher education. How do you feel about the current state of higher education in Indiana?
JE: Well I think that especially with state institutions, those are state tax dollars that help support that. And I think the people of Indiana need to have more of a voice. I think some institutions, you know, there's protests, right now, you can see on the news every day, different colleges throughout the nation. And we got to make sure that the leadership of those universities really have some common sense and can be talked to quickly and make some better decisions. So I think having a voice for the local people is really important.
CB: And then finally, why should district voters choose you?
JE: Because I'm the only one in this race that will cut your gas taxes, reorganize property taxes, and cut your property taxes, and have the experience of bringing jobs and making good policy that brings jobs to Indiana and Wabash Valley. I've been very aggressive, I work the hallways, morning, evening and at night to make sure your voice is heard. I answer my phone seven days a week. I have no conflict. I'm not a lobbyist like the one girl running. I'm not an insurance salesman that sits on the insurance committee that takes donations from insurance PACs. I'm there for the people of this district and Wabash Valley. I've got a good track record of standing up to large organizations who pressure legislators. And I think that's very important, that you know who you're working for when you go to the statehouse. And you know when those doors are closed, that my arm cannot be twisted. I fund my campaign, mostly myself, because I don't want the look that I am bought by any one organization. I work for you. And that's a difference. 28-year firefighter you know, I'm used to running into buildings that's on fire. Same thing, when I'm at the statehouse, there might be a hot topic, I don't run away. I don’t just talk about an issue, I get involved, and I help, and I take action. And I think having someone in your community that's there working for you, seven days a week, and answers the phone is very important.
