RACE WATCH: Fleming V. Owen

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 

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