For local voters, the race to be state representative in District 58 pits longtime experience in the legislature against fresh ideas and perspective in governing.
Woody Burton, a Republican who has been a state representative for 30 years, is running against political newcomer Cindy Reinert for the District 58 seat.
For Burton, re-election would mean continuing the work that he’s devoted his life to.
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“I really get a lot of enjoyment out of helping people,” he said. “There are people out there that call me with goofy-sounding stuff, but it’s very real to them.”
Reinert believes that the district, and Indiana as a whole, would benefit from a new approach in the statehouse. She would base her actions in the legislature on what the people of northern Johnson County tell her, not any other influence.
“It’s my job to vote for them. Not to vote for me or what I think,” she said. “The people in my community are the ones I represent.”
District 58 represents most of the northern half of the county, covering most of Greenwood, Whiteland and New Whiteland as well as the rural area east of those communities.
Since 1988, Burton has been that area’s state representative.
Throughout his career, he has focused on a wide variety of legislative priorities. He has been an advocate for the end of property taxes in Indiana, helped pass legislation requiring schools to create guidelines to deal with bullying and improved foreclosure prevention programs.
He has served on committees looking at education, the judiciary and rules and legislative process, and is the chairman of the committee on financial institutions.
“I do it because I enjoy working with people. If someone calls me with a problem and I can help them, I enjoy doing that,” he said.
One of Burton’s most recent priorities has been creating a better learning atmosphere for dyslexic students. He has been diagnosed with the disorder himself, and in 2015 authored a bill that requires teachers-in-training to be instructed on how to recognize dyslexia in students at earlier ages.
He points to that effort as a demonstration of his commitment to his constituents and his willingness to take their problems to the statehouse.
“A lady came to me and asked me to help children with dyslexia. I didn’t really understand it, but we worked together, and in the past two years, we’ve moved legislation to make people aware in the school system how to educate people with dyslexia,” Burton said. “That stuff to me is very rewarding.”
Though always interested in politics, and an activist in the ‘70s and ‘80s, Reinert had never considered running for office until recently.
Her retirement from practicing law, combined with the current political climate in the country, motivated her to become more active. Reinert volunteered for Dan Canon, a candidate in this year’s Democratic primary for the U.S. District 9 seat.
The experience led her to think that she needed to do more.
“The state of affairs, in the country and in Indiana, got me to the point where I thought I could do something about this,” she said.
Education is her primary concern. Reinert would like to see the way public schools are funded changed to better support teachers, and reexamine the voucher program so that it no longer hurts public schools.
“Public education is very important to me. I grew up in public education, my daughter did, my grandkids did,” she said. “It makes strong neighborhoods and strong communities.”
Protecting the environment is also a priority for her, strengthening regulation so that the water, land and air that people are surrounded by is not polluted.
With the opioid crisis ravaging Indiana, changing the way addiction is treated is also a vital concern for Reinert. Improving transitional and long-term treatment options, and taking a close look at medical marijuana, are all issues connected to the opioid epidemic worth examining.
“There are so many different tendrils to the issue, but the first thing is to get people well,” she said. “It affects so many things. If you get rid of that issue, or at least take it down a bunch of notches, you have more people working, people who are more part of the community.”
If elected, Reinert would be committed to ensuring her constituents are aware of the decisions being made in the legislature and crystallize how those actions will impact their everyday life.
“People don’t really hear about what’s going on in their own neighborhoods. They don’t understand how everything works and why things are happening in their neighborhood,” she said.
Moving forward if he’s re-elected, Burton would focus his attention on improving the department of child services. He would like to create a structure where the agency has more accountability when dealing with children, as well as providing incentives to recognize caseworkers who are doing a good job.
“There are a lot of problems in the area of adoption, foster parenting, getting children out of dangerous home environments and things like that,” he said. “There are a lot of mistakes being made there.”
Burton will also continue to raise awareness about dyslexia and ensure that Indiana students who suffer from the condition receive the proper assistance in the schools.
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State representative
Duties: Draft and vote on bills that come before the Indiana General Assembly; approve the state’s budget
District 58: Represents most of Greenwood, Whiteland and New Whiteland, extending into the rural area east of those communities
Term: 2 years
Salary: $25,945 per year, plus $173 for each day in session or at a committee hearing
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Party: Republican
Residence: Whiteland
Family: Wife Volly, three adult children, six grandchildren
Education: Graduated from Tech High School
Work: Realtor at Carpenter Realtors
Political experience: Member of the Indiana House of Representatives since 1988; member of the Johnson County Council from 1980-84
Memberships: Attends Greenwood Christian Church, National Association of Realtors, Indianapolis Board of Realtors, Greenwood Masonic Lodge, Greenwood Chamber of Commerce and involved in the Masonic Lodge, Murat and Franklin Shrine Clubs and Scottish Rite, 33rd degree
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Party: Democratic
Residence: Greenwood
Family: One daughter, two grandchildren
Education: Graduated from Perry Meridian High School; earned bachelor’s degrees in political science and sociology from IUPUI and a law degree from Indiana University
Work: Retired attorney
Political experience: None
Memberships: Past member of the board of directors at Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, lifelong member of Indiana NOW
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