Indiana General Assembly: House District 93.
Candidate Ryan Guillory (D) v. Incumbent David Frizzell:
David Frizzell has served in the House since 1992. He is currently the majority whip for the Republicans. In 2011-2012, he served on the Education, Insurance, Public Health, and Utilities and Energy committees. He has a Bachelor of Arts from Loyola College. Congressman Frizzell does not have a campaign website but his House site can be accessed here.
His opponent for the House seat is Ryan Guillory, an attorney in Indianapolis. He earned a B.S. in Neuroscience and a B.A. in History from Tulane, a Master's in U.S. History, also from Tulane, and his J.D. from Indiana University. His website is ryanguillory.com which, helpfully, he updates frequently. His top three priorities are mass transit, repealing Senate Enrolled Act I (which would protect first responders and improve public safety), and education. His policy on education is: returning control of schools to local government (much like candidate for Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz), supporting teachers, and expanding pre-K opportunities and funding statewide full-day kindergarten.
Indiana General Assembly: House District 58.
Woody Burton (R) is the incumbent. There is no challenger. He has two websites: his personal site is here, his House site is here. His personal site does an excellent job of providing generalized information and some of his policy positions. Mr. Burton follows the dictum of “show your work.” Additionally, more than many politicians' sites, he has an ongoing invitation for input and civic engagement. He encourages people to contact him at his office or through surveys he mails to constituents or through frequent town-hall meetings. His website welcomes citizens to contact him if they are having issues with any branch of state government. He is to be commended for the message of his site. He explicitly states that his goal is to be “accessible and responsive to all Johnson County voters.”
The one drawback to his public websites and statements is that he is prone to the same non-specific platitudes that plague politics. “Prioritizing economic development and education while preserving fiscal integrity” means little if there is no discussion about how one does that or which measurements of fiscal integrity or, even, which definition of fiscal integrity; or, fiscal integrity in which timeframe. Burton's websites do not address these things but he does a better job than many politicians at linking to policy papers and pdf's that, again, show his work. And I can't say enough about the tone of invitation to constituents, regardless of party, that his site exhibits.
In the House, he has most recently served on the Financial Institutions Committee (Chairman), the Elections and Apportionment Committee, and the Insurance, Judiciary, and the Rules and Legislative Procedures committees. He has served in the General Assembly since 1988.
He is a real estate broker in Greenwood and has many professional certifications as a realtor, residential specialist, and auctioneer.
That being said, there really should be a Democratic candidate for this House seat. While I genuinely have respect for Mr. Burton and appreciate the welcoming attitude found on his public sites, I also believe that District 58 deserves a choice. Despite the openness that Woody Burton displays, it is disappointing that there is no representative of the Democratic Party up for election this year. If only I knew of a Democrat living in the district who was passionate about government and believed wholeheartedly that solid legislative policy can be used to create a better way of life for Hoosiers. If I knew of a Democrat living in House District 58 who was interested, I might be tempted to write her name in on my ballot on November 6th.
