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New Comer Dr. Fleming Vs. Councilman Matt Owen
LOCAL RACE TO WATCH
In 2016, Republicans dominated the local scene
on the Trump wave. Early numbers are showing that steep advantage has all but
disappeared, at least at the Federal level. But could that equate into a major
upset of the Jamey Noel backed Governor Holcomb supported Prince of the Clark
County Republican Party Matt Owen?
Let's do a quick rundown. Matt is a multi-term At-Large
City Councilman who came on the scene when he was just 18 to run for Mayor. He
backed off of that idea and ended up on the council. Every time he has ran (and
won), he was the top vote getter in the Jeffersonville elections. But will that
strong name recognition carry over to other communities where he is not as well
known?
Dr. Rita Fleming is a longtime resident of Jeffersonville
who has served on the Plan Commission for years. Outside of that, her name is
common with families of which she delivered babies for. A bleed blue democrat
and daughter of a union worker, she is a very strong union supporter herself.
With virtually no name recognition to the masses, can she work hard enough in
the district to overcome the Owen advantage?
Both of these candidates offer a wide range of options for
the local voter:
·
While Matt is younger
than most, that has not appeared to hinder him on the Council. Matt has always
seemed pragmatic and commonsense. His EMT experience gives him a unique
perspective to deal with the opioid issues that are facing our state. He is
usually soft spoken but if you watch him you can tell he is taking it all in.
When he does speak it is with purpose and he knows what he's talking about. I
have a hard time finding anything he's done that could be considered negative
while in office. The only blip on the radar (I would not consider this a
negative) was some social media comments he made against the Republican Party
after this year's convention. As I understand it (please correct me if I'm
wrong), there were those who were pushing to change some stances on inclusivity
of the LGBT community to which some within the party showed their bigotry. Matt
did not take kindly to it and called them on it publicly as he believed the
changes should have been made.
·
Rita on the other hand
is nearing the end of her professional career as a doctor of obstetrics
& gynecology. She has a large family with multiple grandchildren and spends
her free time renovating buildings in Jeffersonville. Her main talking points
have always seemed to be healthcare and personal accountability. While she
doesn't have much a public voting record, her time on the Plan Commission has
seemed to be pro-growth with the exception of a couple items. Most notably her
making the motion to deny a by-right project that resulted in a lawsuit of
which the plaintiff won. After more digging, I found it is in the appeals
court.
So there you have it. Fleming V. Owen. Young V.
Old. Who will better represent us in the House from District 71. Steve Stemler
leaving has opened up some very large shoes to fill. He was respected on both
sides of the aisle. A democrat at heart but carried strong conservative fiscal
values. Owen is a lot like Stemler in the fiscal arena and probably closer to
center than far right on social issues than most older republicans. Rita is
left on just about everything the best I can tell. I have heard her speak only
a few times and she has virtually no online presence so it's really hard to
tell where she is on everything. With Matt, because of his time on the council
and social media presence, you know where he stands.
To pick a winner, I'm going with Matt Owen in a tight race if he doesn't take his advantage for granted.
November Results Prediction: 51-49% Owen over
Fleming
What are your thoughts?
Do you have the scoop?
Put them in the comments below!