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Healthcare
3.00
Economics
4.00
Candidate Name
Sean Steele
District
State House District 65
Values
Grade
Values
Party
Independent
Experience
Challenger
Grade
Democracy
4.00
Accessibility
X
Governance
4
Cost
Choice
3
X
Freedom
Voting
4
4
Community
X
A
Overall Grade
Education
4.00
Affordability
Equity
Opportunity
4
4
X
Environment
Public Safety
Inclusion
X
X
X
Stability
Funding
Belonging
4
4
4
Notable Information
Candidate Name
Candidate for:
State House District 65
Independent
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)
We are down to one hospital in our county as Dunn Memorial closed. We have no OB access now as IU Health Bedford closed its OB department. Family members have had to be routed to Bloomington because there was no availability here only to be on a gurney in the hallway for the night. Further consolidation and dominance of the healthcare market by just a few entities has increasingly put the focus on profit in lieu of patient care and exacerbated the situation of no access. I’m an educator by occupation, so I am unfamiliar with the complexities of healthcare, but I’m trying to talk to doctors and providers and advocates. Some solutions I’m trying to educate myself on are closing the physician loophole and trying to eliminate insurer and Pharmacy Benefit Managers’ “middleman” costs, and expanding out-of-pocket protections. At every turn, transparency in pricing and billing should be a priority.
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)
This is a very pressing issue and will only become more so in the near future. Not only are the tax abatements given to these AI data centers essentially robbing school systems and local governments of hundreds of millions of dollars in property taxes, but the environmental consequences in energy and water consumption of these data centers are alarming at best, and catastrophic at worst. Furthermore, much of the cost to upgrade the grid that should be borne by some of the wealthiest corporations on the planet, are being shifted to the local consumers, and overall, these consumers are seeing utility rates skyrocket due to the increased demand from the centers. I watched the Hoosier Environmental Council YouTube video on the consumption of water and electricity and the environmental impact of these centers and it was truly alarming. While we can’t put the genie back into the bottle, and AI is here to stay and only going to grow, we need to slow down and at the minimum, try to find out more sustainable ways that these things can be built and maintained, ensure community input on their construction, and to make sure these wealthy corporations are paying their fair share.
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)
This will be my thirty-first year as a public school teacher. This issue is one of considerable importance to me and our rural community. I taught 22 years at Orleans Jr./Sr High and the last 9 in North Lawrence Community School System. NLCS stands to lose over $3 million due to SEA 1’s diversion of public school money to charters and private schools. First, it’s not school “choice.” There are no private or charter schools options for students in most of this district. It’s also a false equivalency. Public schools have to admit all students. Private and charter schools can exclude. Private and charter schools are not held to the same accountability, licensing or testing standards. It’s also not really school choice when the voucher amount does not pay for the entire cost of a student’s education. Most of what these vouchers are doing are subsidizing, wealthy families partially on the tuition that they already pay private schools with our tax dollars.
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?
Here, recently, I think the biggest challenge to our democracy at a State level was the unconstitutional push to redistrict mid-decade. The increasing push the Gerrymander the districts to ensure one-party rule is dangerous. Turning over our voter information, making it harder to register and vote are all things I also oppose. With Citizens United and unlimited dark money into our political system, corporate influence has gotten much worse. I’m an Independent candidate, so I had to jump through more onerous signature requirements to be on the ballot. I would work to even the playing field for Independents and work to try to increase transparency for all levels of state government because, “democracy dies in darkness.”
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?
Local and state governments have a role in enforcing immigration laws, however, the trend to overreach and abuse civil liberties in doing so is very concerning to me. SB 76 will allow masked agents to go into public schools without a warrant abduct students they suspect of being undocumented and local law enforcement have to assist. As we’ve seen in Minneapolis, immigration and customs officers have overreacted with lethal results. In conjunction with local and state officers, much of these ICE raids and enforcement are conducted. I think it’s important, in terms of federalism, that our State officers don’t just become an extension of CBP and ICE in light of some of the extreme overreach we’ve witnessed from those entities. Local and state LEO’s are part of our communities and have our trust. HEA 1343 is alarming new law from this year’s GA that shifts law enforcement activities to a National Guard force under the Governor’s command and at his discretion.