Together at the Forum, Together at the Polls

It was a full house for the Democratic Primary Congressional District 4 (CD4) Meet the Candidates event on Saturday, April 18th. Candidates Paul McPherson, Drew Cox, John Whetstone, Joe Mackey, Darin Griesey, and Jayden McCash answered questions from an audience of about 75 engaged voters.

Attendee Nancy Stinson shared that she hoped to get a sense of how candidates would “behave in the halls of Congress,” and aimed to make her primary decision after the event.

Hendricks County Democrats Chair Linda Lasiter opened the event by highlighting the diversity of District 4, which includes rural, suburban, and urban communities. Each candidate was asked to speak for up to 10 minutes on one issue impacting quality of life across the district.

Candidate Highlights

Paul McPherson
He introduced himself as someone who grew up in a Midwestern farming family and is now a Purdue graduate, professor, and leader of the university’s new Maker Space. He focused on the importance of funding from Block Grants to build infrastructure for urban and rural communities. He wants to educate local officials about the block grant application process and how to qualify.

Drew Cox
A military veteran and Purdue graduate and professor from a farming background, Cox addressed ICE reform, Medicaid funding, and plans to hold town halls in all 16 counties. He emphasized “people over profits,” overturning Citizens United, and a major goal of energizing young voters.

John Whetstone
A small business owner from Crawfordsville, he spoke about his childhood, being raised by parents working multiple jobs and living in a trailer park, as his inspiration to work in politics with a goal of raising the minimum wage in Indiana to $17.25/hr. John noted the American Dream is at risk with medical debt and low wages. He detailed his plan to increase the minimum wage to have less of an impact on small businesses.

Joe Mackey
A retired machinist from Tippecanoe County, he detailed the medical debt he and his family had after two of his children passed away tragically at young ages. He said that the current healthcare infrastructure "marginalized" rural communities and women's rights. Joe also brought up protecting our district's access to clean water and said "it's time we have a plan to address consumption, reuse and modernization of this important resource."

Darin Griesey
A farmer from Monticello and musician read his stump speech to the crowd, listing a variety of initiatives and goals that were part of this "Day 1 Pledge" and "100 days promise". He covered everything from healthcare to cannabis to immigration. Darin emphasized the need to track the results of government policies and programs, and also proposed a bill that would require testing as part of gun ownership.

Jayden McCash
A truck driver and Teamsters Local 135 member from Plainfield, McCash emphasized anti-war and pro-union positions. Jayden says he decided to run for office because he was frustrated with the "status quo" and wants to put Hoosiers first. He pledged never to take money from PACs and supports ICE accountability, healthcare for all and forgiveness of medical debt.

Audience Q&A

The audience then had time for additional questions, which included asking the candidates what they would do to elect the winner of the Democratic Primary if they didn't come out on top. Every candidate offered their support to the eventual winner, and would work to flip the seat if they didn't move on to the general election themselves.
The topic of potential Constitutional amendments for livable wages, abortion access and maximum age for the president were also brought up. Most candidates agreed that it is very difficult to get the constitution amended, but possibly legislation was in order to address those needs, with some saying they would want to poll their constituents first before putting forth a clear plan on some of these issues.

Closing & Local Candidates

The event concluded with recognition of local candidates in attendance:

• Will Colteryahn – House District 040
• Jered Petrey – Hendricks County Council, District 3
• Ted Baggesen – Liberty Township Board
• Margaret Trauner – Guilford Township Board
• Nancy Stinson – Brownsburg Town Council Ward 5

CD4 Chair Matt Meagher ended his remarks by emphasizing the importance of local engagement, stating Hendricks county is the largest in the district and challenged those in attendance to contribute to the Democratic candidates' campaigns:
“You are the change. No one’s coming to save us—we have to save ourselves.”

Event summary prepared by Annette B for the Hendricks County Democratic Party.