A Seymour woman has received enough signatures of registered voters to be on the ballot in the November election.
Katrina “Kat” Hardwick, 41, officially filed as an independent candidate on June 22 in Indianapolis seeking the District 69 state representative seat. She will face incumbent Jim Lucas, R-Seymour, and political newcomer Jeffery W. Prewitt, D-Seymour.
District 69 includes parts of Jackson, Jennings, Bartholomew and Jefferson counties.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
Another independent candidate from Seymour, Nancy Franke, said she is bowing out of the race even though she also received enough signatures to be on the ballot.
“I wish the candidates well,” Franke said Tuesday. “I know the newcomers to the ballot have all the best intentions of offering another choice for the voters, and I commend them for stepping up to the plate.”
Hardwick said she plans to have a campaign kickoff party in the next few weeks and will be conducting fundraising events to finance her bid to get elected.
She’s also speaking out on some of the issues she finds most important, including education.
As a single mother of a young son, Hardwick said her commitment to education is a top priority and one she will begin to work on immediately.
“My belief is that we cannot introduce new taxes to fill in these gaps,” she said. “We must prioritize our burdened education system by streamlining and diverting funds that are going toward beautification and other nonessential spending.”
That money should be used as funding for a bold, new educational system that pays teachers on par with the rest of the country, she said.
“No Hoosier teacher should have to drive past decorative signage or landscaping that was paid for by the government on their way to a job that does not pay them what they are worth,” she said.
She also believes the state needs to look at the benefits of the decriminalization and legalization of marijuana.
“Not only has marijuana proven to be a mild drug with effects on par with those of alcohol when used recreationally, but recent years have shown that it can also be used for innumerable medical purposes with very few side effects,” she said. “The time is now to bring Indiana into the 21st century and to be a leader on this issue.”
Improving access to mental health services and reforming the criminal justice system are other areas Hardwick said Indiana must prioritize.
“We cannot continue to incarcerate people who are mentally ill or who have only been accused of minor infractions just to add to the profitability of a revenue-based prison system,” she said. “The best way to accomplish this goal is to stop treating those who are mentally ill, poor or otherwise marginalized as hopeless. Their rehabilitation will benefit every person in our district.”
Hardwick said she also plans to fight for equal rights for all citizens.
“No Hoosier family should ever have to feel undervalued based on whom they love, how or if they pray or their race, creed or the color of their skin,” she said. “A district that works for the weakest among us works for us all.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”On the Web” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Anyone wanting information or to donate to Hardwick’s campaign can do so online at www.kathardwick.org or can send checks payable to Kat Hardwick for Indiana, P.O. Box 163, Seymour, IN 47274.
[sc:pullout-text-end]