Dave knows the 3rd Senate District like the back of his hand and is the perfect guy to represent Gary, Hobart, Merrillville, Lake Station & New Chicago and see that all our cities and towns get the state support they need.
Experience. Leadership. Knowledge. Service.
A committed family man, business man and Democrat who's willing to work with both sides of the aisle to get things done for Northwest Indiana.
YEAR ONE HAS ALREADY STARTED
I arrived in Indy the day the legislature first went into session for 2024, in fact my swearing in was the first piece of business for the year. With no time to prepare bills of my own, I was lucky to get some bills to try and pass myself that other Senators had written but weren't able to file because they were limited to 6 bills each.
I also was assigned to 6 committees:
- Homeland Security and Transportation
- Veterans Affairs and the Military
- Pensions and Labor
- Public Policy
- Commerce and Technology
- Utilities
The committees are great and I've jumped right in and am helping work through the bills and make them better.
Quick Summary of How Dave Voted in the 2024 Session!
- AGAINST the bill to end the Gary lawsuit against gun manufacturers.
- FOR the bill to prevent teaching of "antisemitism".
- FOR the bill to speed up water line replacement to eliminate lead pipes.
- FOR the bill to require Lake Michigan rescue equipment.
- AGAINST the bill to regulate the Tourism Board.
- FOR the bill licensing food trucks at the county level.
- FOR the bill to increase fines and charges for sexual assault or abuse involving photos, real or AI generated.
- AGAINST the bill adding chaplains in public schools as counselors.
- AGAINST the bill allowing children to leave schools to attend unregulated religious education classes offsite.
- AGAINST the bill that increased unregulated childcare.
- AGAINST the bill that gave property tax exemptions for existing child care facilities.
- AGAINST the bill that added rules to make it harder to vote or register to vote.
- AGAINST the bill that requires mandatory retention of 3rd graders who fail reading tests.
- AGAINST the bill that prevents medicaid from providing IUD's to new mothers.
- AGAINST the bill that extended work hours for children.
- FOR the bill that prevents "bad foreigners" from buying Indiana farmland near military bases.
- FOR the bill to give a bigger property tax assessment credit to veterans.
- FOR the bill to require businesses to display a poster telling veterans how they can receive benefits.
- FOR the bill that created a First Responder Medal of Honor.
- FOR the bill to reimburse communities for money spent training police officers if they leave.
- FOR the bill to require age verification for internet porn sites.
- AGAINST the bill that regulated where pet stores buy puppies statewide.
- FOR the bill that gave state retirees a 13th check in 2024 and a new system thereafter.
Once the 2024 session is complete it will be time to work to create some proposals that are targeted specifically towards the needs of the 3rd District with the focus being
JOBS! JOBS! JOBS!
The problems of communities of District 3 cannot be fixed simply by pouring state or federal money on the problems. The problems can only be fixed for the long term when most everyone is working. Problems in communities with high levels of poverty are almost impossible to 'fix'. Jobs are the answer. When everyone is working, families, neighborhoods and communities are all better. Houses get fixed up. Things look better. Kids do better in school when their parents work. Even churches do better. There's less drugs and crime. Jobs are the solution.
Dave has a plan to create jobs, lots of jobs. The plan can be called
BUILD BABY BUILD!
For the last 10 years or more Hobart and Merrillville have been building new businesses as fast as they can. It shows in the economic vitality of those communities. Creating new buildings creates jobs twice. Jobs are first created when the buildings are built and then again when the building is finished and the new business hires. For people who live in areas that aren't appropriate for new construction, we need to be sure that there's adequate transportation so anyone who lives in District 3 can get to good paying jobs. Northwest Indiana became what it was in it's heyday because people came to Gary from all over the country and all over world because there were lots and lots of jobs.
There is lots of land on which new businesses can be built. The 3rd District has access to highways, an airport, lots of railroads and shipping on Lake Michigan as well as easy access to Chicago. We have exactly what modern businesses want.