From - Chicagotribune.com

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Democratic candidate has asked for a re-count in the election for an Indiana House seat representing the West Lafayette area. The campaign of Democrat John Polles on Tuesday filed a re-count request with the Indiana Recount Commission. Current election tallies show that Polles trails Republican Randy Truitt by 26 votes out of more than 28,000 cast in the District 26 race. Read Article

Access the Indiana House of Representatives House Democrats website Here.

Our Indiana Democrat House Representatives are commited to fight to better the lives of Hoosiers and to give you a voice in your state government and need to know your concerns, questions, opinions and comments. You can find your local representative Here or call toll free 1-800-382-9842.

The mailing address for all staff members and representatives:
Indiana House of Representatives
200 W. Washington St.
Indianapolis, IN 46204

To learn more about Indiana's State Legislature, the history of the State of Indiana, and additional resources of interest to those who wish to learn more about the structures and governing documents of their state and national governments Click Here.

Tue. Nov. 18 1 p.m.
This will be a one-day meeting that allows the Indiana Senate and Indiana House of Representative to organize for the 2009 legislative session. To watch a live feed of this session Click Here and then click on "Click here for live video feed"

Democrats will work for bipartisan success in 2009 session. The 2008 General Election resulted in a 52-48 Democratic majority in the Indiana House of Representatives.

In a meeting of the Indiana House Democratic Caucus meeting held on Nov. 5, it was determined that State Rep. B. Patrick Bauer (D-South Bend) will continue serving as Speaker of the House... Read More

From - nwitimes.com -

State Rep. Shelli VanDenburgh, D-Crown Point, beat out political newcomer Republican nominee Bill Johnson to retain her 19th House seat Tuesday.

"It's an amazing feeling," she said. "We've worked so hard since March."District 19 covers southern Lake County and portions of Newton and Porter counties. Read Article

From - Tribstar.com -

TERRE HAUTE - A former Greencastle mayor will head off to the Statehouse come January, and she said Tuesday night she's ready to go. "I really look forward to the next couple of years," Democrat Nancy Michael said as votes were being tallied for the Indiana House District 44. "I am honored to have the confidence of the district."

Michael defeated incumbent Republican Amos Thomas of Brazil and Libertarian Darrell Goldman of Bainbridge for the spot and noted her team has worked hard at getting out the vote.

"I never felt like an underdog," she said. "I felt like I brought some qualifications that were important." Michael said her primary issues are education, health care and the impact of property taxes on farms and businesses, noting she'll be out and about as soon as possible. Read Article

Representative Dvorak was first elected to the House in 2002 when his father left the seat to run for St. Joseph County Prosecutor. Representative Dvorak has worked to become the Chairman of the House Committee on Environmental Affairs. He graduated from Penn High School in 1992, and went on to attend the University of Notre Dame, graduating with a B.A. in Philosophy in 1996. Upon graduating from Notre Dame, Ryan served as a senior aide to Congressman Tim Roemer in South Bend and Washington, D.C. from 1996 to 2001. Currently, Ryan is pursuing a law degree at Indiana University.

Learn More About Ryan At: www.in.gov

And Also At His Website: http://www.ryandvorak.com/

Scott E. Reske is focused on creating jobs and economic development in Madison County, and should be noted for his leadership on property tax reform. Reske is an engineering and technology business owner with over 100 employees. He continues to serve his country as a Colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve with 25 years service time, including tours in Haiti and Iraq.

Learn More About Scott At: www.in.gov
Also At His Website: www.reskeforindiana.org

Representative Tincher is a veteran of competitive races in Indiana. This session, Representative Tincher took the lead on Immigration reform and was able to pass legislation through the House that would penalize businesses that hired illegal immigrants. As a former State Trooper and bricklayer, he is well-known in his district. Representative Tincher believes we must continue to find ways to lower property taxes for homeowners, create quality jobs for Hoosiers, expand access to affordable healthcare, fully-fund our schools, and pass meaningful immigration reform.

Learn More About Vern Tincher At: www.in.gov

John Barnes has been a teacher for nearly 30 years spending almost 25 years in the Warren Township School System. John believes the people of House District 89 deserve a representative who will fight for their interests at the State House. He believes more must be done to create quality jobs in the area, provide meaningful and lasting property tax relief for homeowners and Senior Citizens, and help keep our neighborhoods safe. John ran a spirited campaign last election and came very close to unseating incumbent State Representative Larry Buell who has since decided to not seek re-election.

Learn More About John At: Johnbarnes.us

Mary Ann Sullivan has been a community activist and advocate for public education for the past 20 years. She is a native of Indianapolis and proud mother of three children. She and her family live in the Fletcher Place neighborhood on the near southeast side. Sullivan is running because she believes that there must be more accountability in government and common sense solutions to the problems and challenges facing working families. She will fight to keep our neighborhoods safe and fully-fund our schools. She will work to create good jobs for Indianapolis and keep taxes low so families and Seniors can afford to keep their homes. Sullivan earned a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy and holds a Master's in Public Affairs.

Learn More About Mary Ann at Her Website and Review "The Mary Ann Plan" At: www.maryannforhouse.com

From - tmnews.com -

Blanton, a Democrat from Orleans, was the incumbent in the race, but had been appointed - versus elected - to serve in the post after longtime legislator Jerry Denbo resigned in 2007.
On Tuesday, Blanton defeated Orange County Republican Brook Tarr by a 57 to 43 percent margin to retain the seat. Blanton received 13,639 votes compared to 10,163 for Tarr.

Blanton said her campaigning has helped her to further appreciate that voters "want to see you and they want to talk to you and they want you to listen, and that's what I'm going to try to do." Read Article

Representative Dembowski was elected to the Indiana House in 2006 playing an integral part of our retaking the majority. She previously served in the Senate, completing a term for Bill Alexa. Rep. Nancy Dembowski has a proven record of delivering good jobs and lowering taxes for working families. As a member of the Starke County Economic Development Board, Rep. Dembowski helped bring 500 jobs to that county. As the mayor of Knox, she delivered another 1,100 jobs. Nancy has always stood up for conservative values: local control of our schools, holding the line on taxes, and protecting unborn life.

Learn More About Nancy Here

From - News and Tribune -

Democrat Dennie Oxley Sr. won the seat his son vacated to run for lieutenant governor on Tuesday night. The Taswell resident garnered 14,391 votes, or 58 percent, to Republican challenger Steve Davisson's 10,320, or 42 percent, for State Representative District 73.

The school teacher will take the post held by Dennie Oxley Jr., before he decided to join the unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign of Jill Long Thompson. District 73 covers a large area in Southern Indiana, including far northwestern Clark County. Read Article

From - The Star Press -

HARTFORD CITY - Blackford County farmer Joe Pearson had to wait until nearly 4 a.m. Wednesday before knowing he has upset incumbent Rep. Tim Harris, R-Marion, in their hotly contested House District 31 race.

Pearson, 66, won by about a 470-vote margin that keeps House Democrats in power with a slim 51-49* margin. He said the state going blue for Democratic President-elect Barack Obama also contributed to his victory. Read Article

* The Democrats as of today hold a 52-48 margin depending on the still undetermined outcome of the District 26 race between John Polles and Randy Truitt.

Cherrish Pryor was recently elected to serve her second term as a Councilwoman on the City-County Council. She has dedicated her time on the Council to focusing on crime prevention methods, promoting economic development, improving our neighborhoods, and keeping taxes low. Pryor previously worked in the Marion County Auditor's Office and was the Program Director for the 21st Century Scholarship Program that provides millions of dollars in college scholarships to Indiana students so they can further their education. She also has worked for the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce and the Indiana House of Representatives as a Legislative Assistant. She is a member of the Pike and Wayne Township Democratic Clubs, the founder of the Indianapolis Chapter of the Indiana Democratic African American Caucus, and the UNCF Gala Committee.

Learn More About Cherrish At: www.in.gov

Ed DeLaney is our democrat nominee after the the death of Congresswoman Carson and Representative Orentlicher's campaign for U.S. Congress. He and his wife, Ann have been active in Democratic politics for decades. Ed is an attorney in Indianapolis and helped draft the peace accord for Bosnia. He has pledged to fight to provide homeowners with meaningful and lasting property tax relief. Ed will place a priority on economic development and job creation, improving our schools, keeping our neighborhoods safe, and expanding access to quality and affordable healthcare.

A retired third generation coal miner, Representative Stilwell was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives in his in 1996. Since then he has been elected Majority Leader of the Indiana House. He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army in 1969 after serving in a combat infantry unit in Vietnam. Representative Stilwell believes that hard work, sound values, common sense and a respect and trust of working families is essential to a productive life and good government.

Learn More About Russ At: http://www.russstilwell.com/

From - jconline.com -

Tippecanoe County's election board by noon today should learn whether some of the 414 provisional ballots cast in Tuesday's general election will be counted.

But Clerk Linda Phillips said those results will not be completed until Nov. 14 - meaning it will be another week before the race for representative of Indiana House District 26 is settled.

Democratic candidate John Polles trails Republican Randy Truitt by 21 votes out of more than 28,000 votes cast.

Bauman said at the hearing that Martin, who registered to vote this fall, went to the Purdue Memorial Union on Tuesday to cast her ballot. He said she had her registration card - a copy of which was filed with the civil complaint - and photo identification as required by Indiana law. But Martin's name did not show up on the poll list. Bauman, who was working at the Union that day as a credential watcher for president-elect Barack Obama's campaign, said he spoke to Martin afterward.

"This isn't about people who didn't have ID. This is about people who had their ID, are registered here and, in some cases, even have their registration receipt from the courthouse but were not on the computer," Bauman said. Read Article

From - jconline.com -

John Polles' campaign filed a motion Thursday asking a Tippecanoe County judge to order the election board to immediately count all ballots in the unsettled Indiana House District 26 race.

Polles is trailing Randy Truitt by 21 votes with 414 Tippecanoe County provisional ballots still uncounted after Tuesday's election.

"We feel the outcome of the election of the House District 26 race is in doubt," said J.D. Lux, an Indiana Democratic Party attorney. "Any amount of time that passes is detrimental to the voters and it's detrimental to the candidates."

Lux said he has reason to believe that a large portion of the provisional ballots don't have to do with proper identification and could be counted now.

In court documents filed Thursday afternoon, the Polles campaign states the provisional ballots should be counted as soon as possible because the Indiana General Assembly is convening Nov. 18 for its annual "Organization Day" and voters in the West Lafayette-based District 26 should be represented there.

Also, court documents state Polles wants the ballots counted soon because Indiana law details strict deadlines for contesting election results or asking for a recount. (Nov 18)

Court documents show the motion was also filed on behalf of Nicole Martin, a person who filled out a provisional ballot because a local election official challenged her ability to cast a vote. A copy of Martin's voter registration card was filed with the motion in court.

Provisional voting is a way for voters to cast ballots on Election Day when they are challenged because the voter was unable to present photo ID that met state requirements or the voter's name does not appear on the poll list.

"I'm getting a little bit anxious that they're dragging their feet," Polles said. "Some of those ballots can be counted now." Read Article

From- jconline -

The political balance in the Indiana House of Representatives won't necessarily rest on the outcome of the District 26 race, a contest separated by 21 votes after Tuesday's election.

But eyes from across the state were trained on the race in the West Lafayette-based district and the 414 uncounted provisional ballots that could help decide who goes to Indianapolis.

Provisional votes are cast on Election Day when voters are challenged because they don't have proper ID or their names don't show up on the voter registration rolls.

"We don't know the answer until those votes are counted," Polles said. "There's people that need to have their voice heard and that needs to happen." Read Article

From - Tribstar.com

Online Reader's Forum: Tincher best choice for public education

Candidate Bob Heaton is apparently in favor of education policies that could undermine the quality of the public school systems in Vigo and Owen counties.Bob Heaton supports the use of public tax dollars for private school expenses.

As our state representative, Vern Tincher will not impose the cost of private schools on taxpayers. While we all respect the choice of parents to have their children attend private schools, Rep. Tincher believes that public tax dollars should pay for public education. Read Article

From - The Brazil Times -
Sunday, November 2, 2008
To the Editor:
Cunot Community/Senior Center had a surprise visitor in State Representative Vern Tincher Tuesday, Oct. 28, at our weekly Bingo game.

Mr. Tincher was one of our lucky winners.

A sincere thanks to Mr. Tincher for donating his winnings back to the Cunot Community Food Pantry. His generosity is greatly appreciated. Read More

From - Post Tribune -

"The most important thing we'll address at this or the next session will be voting on the permanent property tax cap," VanDenburgh said. "It's one of the issues the entire state is facing."
"I fully support the cap," she added. "Homeowners have been through a lot. They're not getting their tax bills on time and they don't know what they'll be." Read Article

Learn more about Shelli at http://www.voteforshelli.com/

From - The Herald Bulletin -

U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh will visit Anderson at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the Local 663 Union Hall, at the intersection of Madison Avenue and 29th Street. Bayh will speak for Democrat candidates Barack Obama, Jill Long Thompson, Lee Ann Mengelt, Terri Austin, Scott Reske and those running for county offices. Read Article