By John P. Schmitz
For more than 30 years, I have built up and enhanced the Indianapolis community by contributing my business skills. I have had the opportunity to build a lot of buildings, create many jobs, and establish enduring relationships.
When the Great Recession dried up opportunities in construction, I went back to school and earned a Master’s Degree in Psychology from the University of the Rockies. When we saw that children and families were suffering in Mars Hill, my wife, Lisa, and I founded the Mars Hill Arts Center. When our neighbors were victimized by crime, we worked together to start a neighborhood watch program. When we heard that Wayne Township was suffering from a teacher shortage, I signed up to be a substitute teacher. I listen, learn, and lead by experience. When elected, I would continue to apply my experience to focus on addressing issues of violent crime, education, and quality of life in our neighborhoods.
Violent crime and drug abuse have devastating consequences for families, especially children who are the silent victims of abuse in all forms. I will work hard at the statehouse to overhaul the Department of Child Services and strengthen protections for victims of domestic abuse. Also, I will fight white-collar crime and public corruption by authoring or sponsoring legislation to strengthen the auditing power of the State Board of Accounts, so that our officials are held accountable in how they spend our tax dollars.
As a substitute school teacher, grandparent, and bricklayer, I see the critical importance of project-based education to help our kids learn and grow. High-stakes testing places significant stress on understaffed educators, ignores project-based skillsets, wastes taxpayer dollars through administrative costs, and undermines the integrity of the student-teacher relationship. I will fight for policy that emphasizes educating our youth and future leaders with fundamental reading, writing, arithmetic, and project-based programs while eliminating high-stakes standardized testing. The goal will be to maximize our children and grandchildren’s readiness for lifelong learning in the careers or dreams of their choice.
It is critically important to work together to improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods by regularly meeting together, listening to one another, working together, and promoting transparency through neighborhood meetings and organizations. Additionally, I will work to remove barriers to community improvement in our local permitting processes so that home owners, small businesses, and non-profits can thrive and fulfill their missions. I welcome phone calls, text messages, emails, community meetings, and individual face-to-face meetings.
What I value most about my community is the opportunity to communicate and make memories with my neighbors, friends, colleagues, or newcomers I meet on the street. I appreciate living in a place where we are free to speak and act to improve our communities. Even if I don’t always agree with some of our officials and the decisions they make, I appreciate that officeholders like Mayor Hogsett and I have been able to have pleasant conversations and share in the things we love about Indianapolis. Unfortunately, by contrast, I have not experienced this same apparent love of community, kinship, or communication from our current State Representative.
I love our community and want only the best for my neighbors and friends. I continue to persevere and choose to listen, learn, lead, and act to bring about positive change. I hope and plan to be able to better serve my community by running to represent District 97 in the Statehouse.
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