Pam Buhman: Cheney is out of touch with 10th district

Duane Cheney: Education and labor issues top list of priorities

By VICKI URBANIK

Duane Cheney of Portage said when he was first elected six years ago, he brought a variety of experiences that served him well in the Indiana Statehouse -- from working in the small business sector, as a teacher, as an ironworker, and as a representative of the Indiana State Teachers Association.

His work as an ISTA union representative required him to make more than 100 trips to the Statehouse on education-related bills and to help support the elections of candidates from both parties. He said the experience paid off. “I’m honored that my colleagues look to me for guidance on education and labor issues,” said Cheney, a member of House committees on both topics.

Among his accomplishments, Cheney cited his efforts at securing the Porter County “bail out” bill in the wake of the Bethlehem Steel bankruptcy and the passage of his bill that increased protections for minors in the workplace. He also cited his involvement in legislation establishing the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority.

Cheney also cited among his accomplishments his efforts in the last session in which he was “forced to play defense” and help defeat legislation aimed at privatizing public schools and at weakening the state’s common wage law. On the latter topic, Cheney said Republican lawmakers wanted the common wage law to kick in on state projects costing at least $500,000, instead of the current $150,000.

Cheney said his priorities if re-elected to a fifth term would be to enact full-day kindergarten, raise the state minimum wage just as 22 other states have done, and increase worker compensation benefits. He said the state worker compensation fund is currently operating at a surplus and the state has one of the lowest benefit levels in the nation.

Rebuttal

Cheney scoffs at the criticism from his opponent, Pam Buhman, that he’s not listening to his constituency. He said the responses that a candidate gets in a push poll are often quite different than the opinions expressed when the details of the actual legislation are known.

For example, Cheney cited an illegal immigration bill that Buhman blasted him for voting against. Cheney said that bill, which was defeated 74-19 with a majority of Republicans also in opposition, would have required hospitals to let the child of an illegal immigrant die rather than provide treatment.

“My values would not allow me to do that,” he said.

The immigration issue at the state level is really a reflection of the Bush Administration’s failure to enforce federal laws on immigration, Cheney said. He stands in support of “meaningful and enforceable” penalties against employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants, citing this as one of his top legislative priorities.

On gun ownership, Cheney said he supports enforcing penalties in place but isn’t out to take anyone’s guns away. He voted against lifetime licensing for gun owners, saying that he listened to police agencies that stood in opposition to the bill. He’s also in opposition to armor-piercing bullets. As for the constitutional amendment on marriage, Cheney said he’s not in support of gay marriage, but that he does support civil unions, which he said actually deal with contracts between adults, regardless of whether they’re heterosexual or not; the marriage amendment as written, he said, is extreme in that it would bar non-gay adults from contracts dealing with medical records, property ownership and the like.

Buhman also blasted Cheney for working on what she termed frivolous issues, such as a bill regulating pet stores and one that would have required that movies start at the advertised time. Cheney said in response that not every piece of legislation is a top priority to everyone; of the two bills criticized by Buhman, Cheney said they were consumer protection measures. He said the pet store bill was backed by the pet store industry and was intended to ensure consumers that the pet they buy would be healthy; he didn’t even file his movie time bill due to technical questions, but said that one movie chain changed its policy because of the proposal.

Cheney turned the tables a bit and cited an ad by Buhman who pledged not to raid the teachers’ pension fund. Cheney said there is a difference between the pension fund and the pension stabilization fund, the latter of which was implemented to address times of inordinate numbers of teacher retirements. The stabilization fund’s surplus is the one that both political parties have tapped for regular state budgeting purposes, Cheney said.

Cheney also noted that he has been endorsed by ISTA and the Indiana Federation of Teachers, so the use of the stabilization fund is a non-issue.

Privatization

Cheney stands in strong opposition to the Daniels’ administration’s lease of the Indiana Toll Road, closure of Bureau of Motor Vehicle branches and the hotel in the Indiana Dunes State Park.

Cheney said his approach to government contrasts sharply with the governor’s. “He thinks business does everything better. I believe government exists to serve the public,” he said.

There are definitely inefficiencies in government, Cheney said. But he adds: “One only has to look at Halliburton and Enron and on and on and on to see that there are problems in the private sector as well,” he said.

The goal of business is to make money, which is not the goal of government, he noted. If the closure of the BMV branches was aimed at increasing the government’s efficiency, he said the most efficient plan, though not the one in the public’s best interest, would have been to force everyone to travel to a single Indianapolis office to get their licenses renewed.

He opposes the administration’s plan for a hotel in the state park and the Toll Road lease because of his opposition to the privatization of state assets, though he adds that the state park hotel raised environmental concerns as well.

Taxation

Cheney expressed support for the Hometown Matters proposal, which would allow counties and municipalities to leverage new and additional taxes as they see fit. Some local taxing units are financially strapped, so determining funding solutions to local problems “provides local control and local accountability.”

Cheney called for state measures that would help local government wean itself from property taxes. One way to do this is to look at efficiencies in government; Cheney said Indiana is the only state in the nation that provides social services through the township level of government. Another way to reduce reliance on property taxes is through proposals like Hometown Matters, he said.

But Cheney said the move away from property taxes will take much time and study. Some people, he said, want to “wave a magic wand” and have property taxes disappear, but that in order to do so immediately, the state would have to double its sales and income taxes, which is unrealistic.

Cheney also said curbing property taxes will require a more concerted effort at solving issues involving crime and poverty, through higher wages and good jobs. Those efforts, he said, will cut the need for expanded social service programs.

Cheney also supports reviewing the “unintended consequences” of the state’s 2 percent Circuit Breaker law, because the cap is spread across all levels of local government without addressing those that might be overspending and those financially struggling.

Education

One of the problems in education is that many politicians propose “quick fixes” that have either been tried before and failed or that have unintended consequences, Cheney said.

For example, he said the state’s ISTEP tests were put in place with the promises of remediation for struggling students. “That never happened.”

He said his experience at both the classroom and the administrative level gives him the ability to evaluate education proposals to determine if they’re politically motivated or legislatively sound. He cited the proposal known as the “65 percent solution” aimed at increasing education spending. “It sounds good on the surface,” Cheney said, but added that different schools have different needs, and that poorer, urban schools may need more funding for remediation, reading specialists and guidance counselors. None of those areas were part of the plan.

He stands opposed to school vouchers, saying that some public schools are very good and some are not and that some private schools are very good and some are not. “Vouchers are not the answer,” he said, saying that a voucher system will “leave some folks stranded in the worst schools.”

Privatizing education, Cheney said, “will come down to not necessarily who has the best schools but what schools have the best advertising departments.”

•The Duneland community is divided into State House districts, 3, 4 and 10. The 10th district includes portions of Chesterton, Porter, Burns Harbor and Liberty Township west of Meridian Road, south of Beam Street, south of U.S. 12, and north of U.S. 6; and portions of Portage, Union and Center townships.

Pam Buhman: Cheney is out of touch with 10th district

By VICKI URBANIK

Pam Buhman said she’s running for 10th District State Representative because she strongly believes that the incumbent, Duane Cheney, is not adequately representing his constituency.

She said on various issues, polling data show how the public feels, but that Cheney has voted the other way. For example, she said polls show that the majority of people in the 10th district are against tax-funded services for illegal immigrants, but that Cheney voted against a bill aimed at just that. Similarly, she said most people support a Constitutional amendment defining marriage as being between a man a woman and support the right to bear arms. On each issue, she said, Cheney has voted the other way.

“He gets an ‘F’ from the NRA,” Buhman said.

A lifelong Portage resident, Buhman owns two businesses: Medical Transcription Assistance Inc. and Old Meets New Candy Company, the latter of which she owns in partnership. She currently serves on the Portage Park Board and has long been active in the Porter County Republican Party, including work as the party’s central committee secretary and co-chair of the Portage Township Republicans.

She said she would hold monthly town-hall style meetings to explain pending legislation to the public. “With my representation, practical things will get done. Ethical things will get done,” she said. “I won’t waste time on frivolous bills.”

Of Cheney, she said: “He has a consistent record as being a pawn to his party ... rather than representing his constituents.”

Buhman considers herself an independent -- “I never vote a straight ticket” -- but that she aligned herself with the Republican Party because of its stands on social issues, such as opposition to abortion and to embryonic stem cell research.

But Buhman also said that if elected, she would represent all voters and wouldn’t tow the party line. “No matter what party you’re with, you’re really a representative to the people, not the party,” she said.

Buhman also said legislators in this area need to be focusing on issues that really matter to the people, citing as one example a locally elected utility regulatory committee, which she said could stem the skyrocketing sewer fees like those in South Haven. And on this and other issues, she faults Cheney for his service in the Legislature.

“He thinks it’s more important that movies start on time,” Buhman said of Cheney’s short-lived plan last year to introduce a bill on movie start times. “He’s more interested in regulating pet stores so they smell better.”

She said Cheney has had eight years to represent the voters, but instead has “wasted time, money and energy.”

Tax Issues

Buhman expressed support for the Hometown Matters proposal, which would allow municipalities and counties to leverage new and different taxes as they see fit. She said she would support the plan if local officials, after assessing their needs, feel that more tax options are needed. She cited the possibility for an innkeepers tax in the city of Portage, which she noted is experiencing rapid economic growth, including new hotels. While she does not support burdening local residents with more taxes, she did say that an innkeepers tax would not be paid for by the residents but by travelers passing through this area.

“I think every city needs to look at that and decide how best it would serve their area,” she said of Hometown Matters.

Buhman said she is not sure if the state’s two percent Circuit Breaker tax legislation needs to be repealed. But, citing the concerns from some officials that the cap could hurt taxing units, she said the legislation might need to be revamped.

At the state level, Buhman said the state needs to look at repealing property taxes, saying that property taxes are unfair, in particular to seniors and to young people. Buhman said she does not yet have all the answers as to what kind of tax should be instituted instead; the many different plans now circulating would require careful scrutiny, she said.

She expressed some support for an increased sales tax, citing a conversation she had with an Alabama resident who said her state doesn’t have property taxes and that its 10 percent sales tax has not affected her spending decisions. Buhman said that it’s much more fair to tax someone who opts to spend a considerable amount on a large-screen TV instead of a system in which people who have been living in their homes for 30 years fear they can no longer afford to pay their property taxes.

Buhman noted that property taxes are considered much more stable than other taxes. However, she also said that as more and more businesses move into Indiana, the buying power of residents will increase, so that sales taxes could fill the void from lowered property taxes.

Toll Road Lease

Buhman said she feels the Toll Road lease should be viewed in the following light: “What benefits have we seen because of it? What negatives have we seen because of it?”

On the positive side, the Toll Road lease resulted in a $25 million payment to Porter County, of which $4.1 million went to Portage, “with really no strings attached.” Portage, she said, is now using $1.5 million of that money to repave roads that desperately need to be repaved. She also said the $44 million in improvements to U.S. 6 would not have happened. “It was all due to Major Moves money,” she said.

On the negative side, Buhman said she’s heard people complain that tolls have gone up. But, she said, Gov. Mitch Daniels had announced that tolls would go up anyway. Further, she said 65 percent of the people who use the Toll Road are not local residents.

The state can do much more if it embraces innovative ideas like that in the Toll Road lease deal, she said. “We have to look at the good. We can’t look back,” she said.

BMV Closing

Buhman said she was “totally against” the Daniels’ administration’s decision to close local license branches, noting that the closure of the Chesterton branch affected Portage’s branch due to increased numbers.

She expressed support for a Republican plan to improve BMV services in such ways as allowing people to renew their license plates at places like banks and insurance offices; similar to the way that banks charge a fee for use of ATMs, the plan calls for these businesses to charge a fee for the convenience of allowing people to do their BMV business onsite.

When asked why the state shouldn’t instead re-open the closed branches, Buhman noted that re-opening branches would cost the state money. But the plan to have people renew their licenses at banks and other sites would not cost the state money; plus, she said, it would help the businesses that qualify to provide the service. “That’s a solution to the problem,” she said.

Dunes Hotel

Buhman was not aware of the Daniels’ administration’s efforts this year for a privately owned hotel on a beachfront parking lot at the Indiana Dunes State Park.

However, Buhman said she and her husband have had the goal of visiting every state park in Indiana, and that often, they have stayed at the park inns. She said each one has been an enjoyable experience.

She said she cannot see how a state park inn here would negatively affect neighboring hotels, since the state park inns have a limited number of rooms and tend to be at capacity at all times. A hotel could also help the state park financially, she said. “If it makes the Dunes State Park a more viable area ... and brings even more people into our parks, how can that be a bad thing?”

Education

Buhman does not agree with the plans she’s seen so far for a voucher system. She cited one proposal that would give a $3,000 tax credit for qualifying low-income students for home schooling, private schooling or relocation to another public school. She said such a proposal is so sketchy and is prejudiced against kids who come from middle-class families that could also benefit from a tax credit.

“I haven’t seen a good plan, one that’s workable,” she said of vouchers. She also cited polls showing that most people don’t support vouchers, though she added that she believes that opposition is rooted more in fear than anything else.

On other educational matters, Buhman strongly supports a tax credit to help offset the costs of school textbooks. She also supports moving the ISTEP tests to the spring; she cited a family member’s experience in which the student performed poorly on one portion of the ISTEP, then excelled in that subject as the school year went on. But because of the poor ISTEP results from nine months earlier, the student was recommended for remediation by the end of the year. “How fair is that?” Buhman said.

She called for a revamped ISTEP test so that the results come back faster. She also said the ISTEP should never be used as the sole test to measure teacher competency, saying that there are so many factors that can affect teaching that it’s unfair to judge teachers’ performance by one test.

Buhman also supports requiring students to be involved in community service. Such a plan, she said, would help make kids as rounded as possible.

•The Duneland community is divided into State House districts, 3, 4 and 10. The 10th district includes portions of Chesterton, Porter, Burns Harbor and Liberty Township west of Meridian Road, south of Beam Street, south of U.S. 12, and north of U.S. 6; and portions of Portage, Union and Center townships.

Posted 11/2/2006