Candidates seek Statehouse District 69 seat on Nov. 6th

Voters in Jackson, Jennings, Jefferson and southern Bartholomew County will be voting for Indiana House District 69. Republican incumbent Rep. Jim Lucas of Seymour is facing Democrat Steve Schoettmer of Elizabethtown.

Lucas, 54, is a Seymour business owner.  He has been married to his wife, Lynn, for 24 years and they have three children. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps, right after high school. He has held the House seat for six years and before that was on Seymour City Council for five and a half years. He is is a life member of National Rifle Association, the Gun Owners of American, the Indiana State Rifle and Pistol Association, the Second Amendment Foundation, the American Legion and is an elder at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Seymour.

Schoettmer, 63, retired from the U.S. Postal Service. He is single and his long-time girlfriend died last year after a long illness. He was an officer in the American Postal Workers Union for 35 years, where he served as president of the Columbus union local and a district agent for southern Indiana and state president and a national arbitration advocate.

We asked the candidates about the need for hate-crime legislation in Indiana.

Lucas said the current laws are sufficient.

Schoettmer says hate crimes are a larger issue than a single incident.

We asked the candidates about legalizing medical marijuana or even recreational use of the drug.

Lucas has been one of medical marijuana’s biggest advocates in the legislature.

Schoettmer says he and Lucas are on the same page.

We asked the candidates about the state’s role in local road funding.

Schoettmer says the state needs to do more to help, possibly by dipping into the surplus.

Lucas said the state has already taken responsible action to help the situation.

Early voting is going on now at the Bartholomew County Courthouse voter registration office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and from 8 .m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. The general election is Nov. 6th.