One-on-one with Vi Simpson

Vi Simpson is the Democratic incumbent for District 40 and vice chair of the budget committee.\n1. What are your top 3 goals?\n• The state must take a leadership role in emphasizing the importance of higher education for all our citizens by making the financial commitment to keep tuition down and the cost of education affordable for all students.\n• We must continue our efforts to equalize the state dollars invested in public education and eliminate our dependence on property taxes for the local share of school funding. School safety, teacher recruitment and accountability are additional issues that loom in the path on our road to education excellence.\n• The state must partner with local governments and the private sector by providing them with the tools they need to grow jobs and businesses in the new economy. Senate District 40 has been blessed with location, innovative people and the new School of Informatics, and we are ready to reap the benefits of the technology revolution. \n2. What would you plan to do to help improve education in Indiana?\nOur future can be found in the mind of every child. Together we must do all we can to improve educational opportunities for the children of Indiana. The state must seek partnerships with local schools by empowering teachers and parents and by freeing them from regulations.\n3. How do you feel about the approval of RU-486?\nI believe that the laws of Indiana should allow for each women to make her own health decisions based on her own deliberations with her doctor, her family and her moral compass. RU-486 should be dealt with just as any medical device or drug approved by the Federal Drug Administration is treated under Indiana law, and access to legal drugs or procedures should be available to all women, regardless of income.\n4. What is your position on the I-69 project?\nI believe the construction of I-69 should be limited to existing highways and rights-of-way as much as possible. I have supported consideration of a route that utilizes State Road 37 from Indianapolis to Bedford and State Road 50 to Crane Naval Depot, connecting with existing highways to Evansville. Most importantly, the citizens deserve a true projection of costs and benefits before state funds are expended.\n5. What is your position of state tax cuts?\nIn the last four years, the Governor and the General Assembly have approved funding for $1.5 billion in targeted tax cuts. During the next session, some accommodations must be made to the property tax system to protect homeowners and small businesses from the 'sticker shock' of reassessment.