A westside city-county councilor is trying to unseat longtime Sen. Mike Young, who recently has been on the outs with Senate Republican leadership.
“My opponent has been in office as a senator since 2000, and I admire his public service, but he’s quit working for us,” Democrat Jessica McCormick said. “I will step up and show up. I have a track record of doing that and I will continue to fight for my community.”
Young, R-Indianapolis, historically has been among the most powerful lawmakers in the state, but more recently stopped caucusing with Senate Republicans because they would not support a full ban on abortions without narrow exceptions. After his disagreements with leadership became public, he was replaced as chairman of the Corrections and Criminal Law committee and removed from several others.
“My job is not to vote the way the leadership wants,” Young told Mirror Indy. “My job is to vote the way my district wants. Just go down the list and see who better represents you, who’s able to get things done, who has a history of getting things done and then vote for the best person.”
Indiana Senate District 35 is made up of about 137,000 people living in a large portion of west Indianapolis and southeastern Hendricks County. It’s home to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indianapolis International Airport and Stout Field, the headquarters of the Indiana National Guard.
Young is an Indianapolis attorney who served in the Indiana House of Representatives from 1986 until 2000, when he successfully ran for the Senate District 35 seat.
McCormick is director of IU Indianapolis and Butler University’s dual degree engineering program. She has served on the City-County Council since 2019, representing District 16.
McCormick chairs the council Ethics Committee and serves on various standing committees and a special investigative committee established in September to look into the Mayor Joe Hogsett administration’s handling of allegations of sexual harassment and abuse of power.
Here’s where McCormick and Young stand on public safety, road safety, economic policy and education.
Public safety
According to the Major Cities Chiefs Association, most violent crimes except for rapes are down in Indianapolis in the first half of the year compared to 2023. But there’s no question that the number of homicides, which reached 100 by July, remains alarming.
Both candidates said they support longer prison sentences for habitual violent offenders and changing how the judicial system works, but they disagree on the approach.
Young wants to amend the state constitution to prevent habitual violent offenders from having the right to bail in certain situations.
During the 2023 legislative session, Young co-authored Senate Joint Resolution 1, which aims to allow judges to deny bail to people accused of a crime if there is proof or a “strong presumption” that they pose a substantial risk to another person or the community. The resolution passed in 2023, but needs to be approved a second time before heading to voters for the final say.
“The people who committed violent crimes in the past — if they commit another one — they should be in jail until they have a court hearing,” he told Mirror Indy.
While McCormick wants to punish habitual offenders, she also wants to take a more proactive approach by addressing the root causes of crime. She wants to fund enrichment programs for kids and teens after school and on weekends, summer and holiday breaks.
“If we’re focusing on positive experiences for our community, there’s less opportunity for negative experiences,” she said. “What positives are we putting into our community to keep the negatives away?”
Road safety
According to data from Indy Pedestrian Safety Crisis, portions of Senate District 35 experience the highest number of auto collisions involving pedestrians and bicyclists.
Young said road safety issues are mainly a local matter and out of a state senator’s jurisdiction, but he would work to address road safety matters when constituents want him to.
And, it should be noted, that while specific solutions may be left to local officials, they use a significant portion of the state budget to pay for road improvements.
State lawmakers also in recent years have filed legislation that directly affects Indianapolis initiatives, including pedestrian safety and public transportation.
Young’s record is mixed.
This year, citing the 52% of Senate District 35 voters who opposed a 2016 transit referendum, Young co-authored an unsuccessful bill that would have killed IndyGo’s planned Blue Line along Washington Street.
But in 2023, Young voted against a bill that would have prevented Indianapolis from banning right turns on red lights downtown.
McCormick, meanwhile, supported the creation of the Indianapolis Vision Zero Task Force, which will try to find ways to reduce those types of collisions. She also voted to expand the city’s Fatal Crash Review Team to begin examining serious bodily injuries. The data will help the city identify the most dangerous intersections that need improvements.
At the state level, McCormick supports introducing a bill to allow cameras at traffic signals to enforce traffic laws.
“Being able to place cameras at intersections, I think, would be important because we could catch multiple different offenses in that way,” she said. “And that allows police that are sitting at those intersections to do the real work in our communities.”
Economic policy
Indiana is ranked fifth for its economic outlook, but that has not resulted in prosperity for all Hoosiers. Some portions of Marion County in Senate District 35, including Speedway, West Indianapolis and the Near Westside in Wayne Township, have poverty rates above 20%.
Both candidates favor incentives to boost economic development but have separate priorities for helping individual westsiders.
McCormick said she wants the state to better understand how individuals fit into the economic system. She also wants businesses that benefit from state funds to give back to the communities by providing grants or other services.
“Senate District 35 has the track and it has the airport, right — two huge tourism locations. There’s money there, and I think we can work with our partners in industry and around the community on how they can all give back,” she said. “We support them, but what support can we get from them?”
Young said he would introduce a bill this year that would eliminate the property taxes senior citizens pay for their homes, garages and up to an acre of land in order to get more money into people’s pockets. He said the state would be able to absorb the loss in revenue after it pays off debt obligations for the pre-1996 retired teacher’s pension fund. Republicans want to pay off the pension fund as early as 2029.
“We don’t own our properties in the state of Indiana,” Young said, referring to paying taxes on homes. “We rent them from the government. I want to use that billion dollars and make sure your home is free for you and that you own your property for the very first time in your life.”
According to the nonprofit Tax Foundation, Indiana ranks 18th for the amount of state taxes it collects per capita, at $4,273. About 22.6% of that amount comes from property taxes.
Education
Indiana officials have been looking for ways to increase the college-going rate. In 2022, Indiana ranked 39th for adults who have at least an associate degree.
Both candidates support educational curricula that have pathways for students who want to enter the workforce immediately, either through trades or the military. But the candidates disagree on education funding.
Young said schools are adequately funded but regulations placed on schools and teachers limit how successful they can be in educating students. This year, lawmakers passed bills on cell phone usage, religious instruction and tracking habitually truant students.
“We give more dollars and more dollars and more dollars every year,” Young said. “The only thing is we have so many darn regulations that I don’t know how a school does one thing or another.”
McCormick said schools should get more funding in order to ensure that kids are able to learn.
“We need to focus on supporting kids,” McCormick said, “not just teaching them the material but making sure their bellies are full, that they receive a good night’s sleep and that they have support at home.”
To make that happen, McCormick said teachers need better pay. According to the National Education Association, Indiana teachers make $57,015 on average, which ranks 36th in the nation.
“Teachers are not paid what they need to be paid for the work that they do and the time they put in,” she said. “We need to invest in our educators. We know that they’re leaving en masse, essentially, from those teaching positions because there are more hurdles to jump over and they’re not getting paid anything additional.”
Election Day is Nov. 5. Early voting started Oct. 8.
Mirror Indy reporter Enrique Saenz covers west Indianapolis. Contact him at 317-983-4203 or enrique.saenz@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @heyEnriqueSaenz.
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