08/12/2025
Redistricting and the Future of Hoosier Progress
I see programs and supports for families as part of what makes this state strong. These are not optional luxuries. They are tools that help people move forward. When families have access to education, disability supports, addiction recovery, mental health care, childcare, and training, they make progress. And when they make progress, our whole community makes progress.
That is the Hoosier spirit. We lift each other up, we invest in people, and we build opportunity. You cannot have thriving communities if you expect people to do everything alone with no support. That is not sustainable for families, and it is not sustainable for Indiana.
The real challenge is not whether we should support people, but how we design programs that are strong, reliable, and financially sustainable. We need programs that stay within budget, but that also help families grow to the point where they can sustain themselves. That is how you break generational barriers. That is how you stop the cycle of people falling behind.
I speak from lived experience, not theory. I have relied on many of these systems at different points in my life, and I work every day with families who depend on them too. I know what it looks like when support is there, and I know the damage that happens when it is not. These programs are not abstract to me. They are the difference between families holding steady and families falling apart. That is why this matters so deeply to me, both personally and professionally.
These supports are part of a long term strategy. When you invest in people, they invest back into their communities. Their children have more stability. Schools do better. Workforce participation rises. Health improves. And the next generation inherits more opportunity and less strain. This is not ideology. This is good stewardship and sound community building.
We have seen this kind of leadership before. Franklin Roosevelt understood firsthand how quickly stability can disappear. After polio left him paralyzed, he had to rebuild his life from the ground up. He understood vulnerability in a way most leaders never have. His disability did not weaken him. It sharpened his empathy and strengthened his resolve. He knew what it meant to lose independence overnight and to depend on systems that were often fragile. That lived experience shaped the way he governed. It shaped his belief that a nation stays strong when its people stay strong. His programs reflected that understanding. They were not charity. They were patriotism and good governance, tools that helped families catch their breath, rebuild their lives, and create a stronger future for the next generation.
What he built was the exact opposite of what we see today when supports are cut, services are weakened, and families are left to carry impossible loads on their own. FDR showed what happens when leadership chooses to invest in people instead of pulling the ladder up behind them.
But none of this progress can continue if Indiana weakens its own voice through political pressure and unfair redistricting. Redistricting is not just a political process. It decides who gets heard and who gets pushed out of the conversation. If the state gives in to national political pressure or allows outside figures to influence how our districts are drawn, we will not move forward.
When districts are shaped to benefit a small handful of people, most Hoosiers lose power. When representation is weakened, so is funding, so is stability, and so is every support that helps families get ahead. We cannot build strong programs if the foundation beneath them is unstable.
The truth is simple. If Indiana does not protect the Hoosier voice, most Hoosiers will not move forward. Without fair representation, the money disappears, the foundation weakens, and the support systems that help families grow begin to shrink. We are already seeing programs cut and services stretched thin. Families are being left to carry burdens that used to be shared.
Every one of us relies on some kind of public support. Roads, schools, firefighters, disability services, public health, addiction recovery, childcare, elder care, special education, mental health programs, and community safety. Whether you admit it or not, whether you agree with it or not, it is a fact.
When we allow our representation to be manipulated, we weaken every tool that helps families build stable lives. We hold back progress that should belong to everyone. Fair districts protect the ability of everyday Hoosiers to build better futures. Without that fairness, we lose the chance to create sustainable communities for generations to come.
Rural SummitHoosLeftScott County IN DemocratsDemocratic Party of Jefferson County, IndianaClark County DemocratsJennifer David
