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Healthcare
4.00
Economics
4.00
Candidate Name
Ethan Sweetland-May
District
State Senate District 47
Values
Grade
Values
Party
Democrat
Experience
Challenger
Grade
Democracy
4.00
Accessibility
4
Governance
4
Cost
Choice
4
4
Freedom
Voting
4
4
Community
4.00
A
Overall Grade
Education
3.67
Affordability
Equity
Opportunity
4
4
4
Environment
Public Safety
Inclusion
4
4
4
Stability
Funding
Belonging
4
3
4
Notable Information
Candidate Name
Candidate for:
State Senate District 47
Democrat
Challenger
Notable Information
MADVoters Survey Responses
Healthcare: The Big Beautiful Bill is projected to cut $31 billion from Indiana’s Medicaid funding, including almost $13 billion in hospital funding, over the next decade. What will you do if elected to ensure healthcare affordability and access given these changes? (Source: Indiana Hospital Association)
Our goal should be simple- every Hoosier should be able to access quality healthcare close to home, regardless of income, age, or any disability status. The grim reality is that federal Medicaid cuts are already creating a crisis for Indiana that will worsen in the coming years, but we have important choices to make that can help our neighbors.
I will oppose any effort to balance Indiana's budget on the backs of patients, seniors, people with disabilities, or working families. I will support using available state revenues to preserve Medicaid eligibility and benefits, particularly for children, seniors, pregnant women, and people with disabilities. Beyond protecting coverage, we have to fix the underlying drivers of healthcare costs. I support expanding access to primary care and mental health services, increasing the healthcare workforce through targeted recruitment and retention programs, reducing prescription drug costs, and improving maternal healthcare access in underserved communities such as Harrison County in my State Senate district, which lost OBGYN services at our only county hospital in April of last year. Rural hospitals are at serious risk of closure if we do not increase reimbursement rates, while strengthening oversight to ensure all Hoosiers receive the services they need.
Economics: AI and data centers are having a huge impact on jobs and communities across the nation, particularly in Indiana. What is Congress’s role in addressing this developing technology? What action will you take to hear and represent the concerns of Hoosiers on this topic?
Economics: Dozens of AI data centers are planning to come to Indiana, drawn by the state’s “business-friendly” reputation. How should Indiana manage these large industrial site proposals and their potential impact on communities? (Source: Citizens Action Coalition)
We must evaluate AI data centers like we evaluate any major industrial project- by assessing whether the benefits justify the costs. We've watched state and local government offer massive tax abatements and subsidies without requiring that these tech giants protect local infrastructure or compensate communities for increased demands on utilities and water resources.
I support comprehensive impact assessments before approval of any data center projects, including analyses of energy demand, water consumption, utility rate impacts, environmental effects, and LONG-TERM job creation. We also need far greater transparency in incentive agreements, and performance-based incentives that can be clawed back if companies fail to meet their commitments. If a project receives taxpayer support, Hoosiers deserve measurable benefits in return, not just higher utility bills while the biggest corporations in the world receive decades of tax breaks in pursuit of the latest economic bubble.
Education: Describe your stance on the Department of Education and its role in education administration, funding, and protections for students with disabilities.
Education: Since 2012, Indiana has spent over $5.5 billion in taxpayer dollars on charter schools and the private school voucher program. If elected, would you support or oppose the use of taxpayer dollars to funding private schools and charter schools? Why or why not? (Source: ICPE)
Public dollars demand public oversight. I support reforming Indiana's voucher and charter school programs. Public schools educate the overwhelming majority of children in our state, accepting every student regardless of income, disability, religion, or academic performance, serving as the backbone of communities across our state- rural and urban alike. But we have diverted billions of taxpayer dollars into voucher and charter programs while many public schools face staffing shortages, aging facilities, and growing budget pressures. In SD47 alone, cuts from SB1 are projected to cost local schools nearly 10 million dollars over the next three years.
At minimum, we must end voucher eligibility for high-income households while also requiring full financial transparency and accountability for any school receiving taxpayer funding. Ensuring that public schools are fully funded before any expansion of voucher or charter programs is considered is a rock-bottom requirement. I would also prioritize increasing teacher pay, expanding career and technical education, strengthening special education and mental health services, and investing in school facilities so that regardless of ZIP code, every Hoosier child has access to an excellent and well-resourced public school.
Democracy: In your opinion, what is the biggest challenge or threat facing our democracy right now? If elected, what will you do to help overcome this challenge or threat?
I firmly believe that the biggest threat to our democracy is the corrupting concentration of political power in the hands of an ultrawealthy few, who can then spend millions influencing elections and public policy while ordinary Hoosiers struggle to be heard.
If elected, I will demand stronger transparency and ethics laws, greater disclosure of political spending, restrictions on the revolving door between government and lobbying, and reforms that make it easier for Hoosiers to participate in the political process like ranked choice voting and ballot initiatives. The best way to strengthen democracy is to prove that it can solve real problems. When people see government investing in good schools, affordable healthcare, reliable infrastructure, and economic opportunity instead of special favors for the powerful, we can begin the hard work of restoring trust in our democratic institutions, and that is the best antidote to
Community: Describe your stance on ICE and its role in immigration enforcement and detention.
Community: What role or responsibility do local and state governments have with regards to immigration enforcement?
Immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility, and state and local governments should not be expected to replace or duplicate the role of federal agencies. The primary responsibility of our state and local governments is to provide public safety, maintain infrastructure, educate our children, and deliver essential services efficiently and fairly.
We have a responsibility to cooperate with federal law enforcement when serious crimes are involved that directly impact public safety. With the current mass deportation pogrom, we are seeing anything but a prioritization of public safety. I oppose policies that require local governments to divert scarce law enforcement resources away from addressing violent crime to instead perform routine federal immigration enforcement that overwhelmingly boils down to expired paperwork. Local governments should be able to make decisions based on the needs of every member of our communities, while strictly upholding due process, constitutional rights, and trust between law enforcement and the public. The goal should be safe communities, effective government, and a mission to treat all of our neighbors the way we would want to be treated if the roles were reversed.