>> A centrist group's primary election strategy, READI 2.0 awards announced, plus older and disabled Hoosier max on a waiting list and more.

From the television studios that WFYI, it's Indiana Week in Review, for the week ending April 12 From the television studios that WFYI, it's Indiana Week in Review, for the week ending April 12, 2024.

>> Indiana Week in Review is made possible by the supporters of Indiana Public Broadcasting stations.

>> This week, billboards from a political centrist group are urging Hoosier Democrats to vote in this year's Republican primary.

The message from ReCenter Indiana is going up on roadsides in Northwest, central and southwest Indiana.

>> ReCenter Indiana forms two years ago is made up of moderate Republicans Democrats and Independents, here's board member Linda Heitzman.

>> Our mission is to try to realign and re-center politics in Indiana and get away from the extremes.

Because we really believe that most people, politically, are in the middle.

>> The billboards urging people who normally take a Democrat ballot in the primary to take a Republican or focused on the Democratic race, saying the next Governor will likely be decided in the primary.

>> At least I know that my vote will have some impact on the election.

>> ReCenter Indiana will also launch a social media campaign - around the issue.

>> Can Democrats voting in the GAP primary have an impact on the race?

Is the first question for Indiana Week in Review panel, Democrat Ann DeLaney, Republican Mike O'Brien, Oseye Boyd, editor in chief of mirror in the end Niki Kelly, editor in chief of India Capital Chronicle.

I'm Indiana Public Broadcasting state bureau chief Brandon Smith.

Mike, can this be influential in the state primary?

>> If there's a mass of people that do this, the close parallel is when this was tried in 2008 for different purposes and different motivations for Rush Limbaugh and operation chaos in the primary between Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton, where they were supposed to switch states late in the primary because it went so deep almost right to the convention.

And it had mixed results, really if you are a political guy running campaigns like I was back then, or County chairman, it screwed up the voter list.

Because you couldn't target people anymore because you had Republicans pulling Democrat ballot and it was a mess anyway, that was my headache.

And reaction to it.

This is a solution that comes from the broader problem and that his people have left the parties.

In America today, Indiana today, one thing I've always said is we need to be a lot more partisan as a country.

And that sounds insane in the hotly partisan, toxically partisan environment we find ourselves in, so many people have left their party affiliation because they are repulsed by both parties.

And fair enough, in modern times.

But you get the moderate candidate by moderating the party and participating in it, not by gaming the system to try to take voters from over here and put them over here they don't belong.

>> You think a lot of Democrats are doing this?

>> No I don't think so.

And I think the idea of re-centering and particularly cutting out the extremes of the Republican Party is a good idea, but having said that I reject two of the premises they have advanced here.

First that I Democrat cannot be elected as the leader of Indiana, so who is the candidate?

>> I think you can make a good argument for chambers?

>> What based on his cash?

If you want a political groupie and just watching what's on camera, there's not one tanker stamp of a difference between all the ones on TV and I think it repulses people in fact, because they want a demagogue the issue of immigration, they don't want to solve it they want to demagogue it you want to make up facts and show who loves Donald Trump the most, Donald Trump when you're talking about the chaos and partisanship, he is responsible for the fact that there is chaos in this country because Roe V Wade was overturned by his hand.

>> I will call Waters before that happens.

>> It was calm but nothing like it is now, and the responsibility for that is right at his feet and they want to embrace him yet, it's incredible.

>> I want to ask about this, which is you don't-- when you register to vote in Indiana you do not register with a party, unlike a lot of other states.

So people see the primary ballot process as the way you register because it is public record, so is that going to be a problem that a lot of-- if this group wants to have this success and have a bunch of Democrats vote in the Republican primary, is a problem they are going to encounter more than anything else the Democrats who go " I don't want to be on record as voting in the Republican primary?."

>> There are certainly going to be people like that in a small subset also who may be might be thinking of running for something in the future, and they don't want to put that in jeopardy with the two primary rule and whether they will be able to run as a Democrat in the future.

So those are certainly considerations.

But I would think those are a small amount of the Democrats who would do that, I think most people-- I mean, I know a lot of people and frankly not just Democrats, who have occasionally crossed over to have a say in the other primary because they feel like that's the only time their voices going to be heard.

I don't think that is particularly a new thing, although to make it like the center of a campaign for just the governors races pretty fascinating.

>> And their reasons to vote in other primaries too, to your point which is increasingly there aren't a lot of competitive races in primaries.

You look at this year and the Republican primaries across the state, obviously with Governor, but also with, you know, congressional races on the fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth, you have open competitive primaries at the State House level not so many this year.

There's a few in both parties-- a few, not like the concerted effort we saw in 2022.

So if you are a Democrat, say in Marion County, there are not a lot of competitive races on your primary ballot.

Is that reason enough to go "Why not pull a Republican one."?

>> I don't know if it's reason enough but it could be someone's reason to actually have their voice heard and get some representation for themselves and their district.

I do think this campaign is very interesting.

When I first read it I had to read it again.

I was like, oh, I thought it was going to say something totally different.

It's kind of radical in this idea of voting Republican to move things further to the left versus the right.

But I don't think it's going to happen immediately.

I do think it is something that you're going to have to do this campaign over and over for people to actually understand and get it.

It's not a one-time thing.

It's like moving to the right has not been a one-time, it's been a gradual move to the extremes.

>> Alright time now for viewer feedback, each week we post a nonscientific online poll question in this week's question is should Democrats vote in the Republican primary to influence Indiana's race for Governor?

A, yes, B, no.

Last week we asked whether the general assembly is likely to make the abortion ban lesser more restrictive, 64% say more restrictive 14% say less restrictive and the rest say no change.

He would like to take part in the poll, go to WFYI.org/IWIR and look for the pole.

The second phase of Governor Eric Holcomb's READI program a regional economic developer program is look to get 70,000 development and funds, after the 5 million covering the entire state.

The regions will receive between 10 and $45 million for capital and infrastructure programs, Holcomb says this period they could've had as much is 75 million but the competitors were all great options and they want to spread it around.

>> I think we arrived it was not just fair but what was effective in spurring local economic growth that's going to get to population growth and attracting-- addressing talent scarcity.

>> Many of Holcomb's would be successors in the governors race have criticized his economic developer and approach, they've said it's a top-down strategy that ignores local input.

Holcomb waves aside those criticisms as ignorant.

>> They should get busy doing the work, and they would see just how much local input drives the day.

This is a true partnership.

>> The money will be dispersed and spent over the next several years.

>> Ann DeLaney, will this be Eric Holcomb's most lasting legacy?

>> I don't think so.

I think really the thing that he should be remembered for is recognizing that we have a public health crisis in the state and actually starting to address it.

I think that's the more lasting legacy.

This is nice for the communities, It's the communities idea, but whether there is a swimming pool or a park in a particular community isn't going to bring a fortune 500 company end, it's not.

It makes the quality of life a little bit better for those communities and that's not a bad thing-- >> But increasingly that's what companies are looking at because of any also starting to normalize, right?

Everyone is lowering taxes everywhere-- >> The tax incentives are there but the difference is education and if we had more college graduates we would have businesses coming but instead we have fewer and kids failing third grade for reading, those are the kind of things that companies that are forward inking look at.

>> It's also important for programs like this to keep kids here that you have college degrees by making more attractive.

>> Thing it makes it more attractive for the people living there and that's not a bad thing, I'm not criticizing that what I'm saying if you are talking about a legacy, I think addressing public health, which is a crisis in this state, was a very important thing.

>> I think a lot of people would also put that number one, I think that's true.

But in terms of we are getting to that time when we are going to start talking about Eric Holcomb's legacy, is this a lease high up on the list?

>> Sure, and for structure and hard assets are our of course going to be remembered you will remember the guy who built I-69 in these committees now multiple times around the state.

Certainly, health is on the list but it gets lost in the-- the COVID stuff.

>> At the time it passed it was shocking, nationally.

The Governor would have other governors call him in Democrats state and say how did you do that?

It's too hot here, I can't get something like that to my legislature.

That is certainly on the list but the legacy it will be where he dedicated most of his time and resources on economic develop and, huge success or-- stories there, breaking ground on all the.

>> We've seen economic develop meant be almost a wedge issue on Republican primary candidates for Governor with Brad Chambers of course being the candidate going hey, no, we are doing a really good job look at all the investment we are generating.

And the others going, mostly related to the LEAP project, and mostly being the approach you're taking is wrong, wrong, wrong.

To those messages work when you have announcements like this?

Speaker Mike I-- >> I'm not sure they work.

If you do the research, go to the areas and see what people are talking about when it comes to LEAP especially, I think it's been talking points trying to attack the current Governor to show what he's done or not done that we think is right or wrong.

And you can have different ideas, everyone had-- that's the whole point, right?

You are not going to be Eric Holcomb, you will have different ideas when you come to office, that's the point.

But that doesn't mean he's wrong it's just your way of doing things.

Now, will it be better?

We have to wait and see who's the new Governor, but I don't think they are going to find something that's really necessarily better than Eric Holcomb.

>> They will be at the ribbon- cutting.

>> Like build Indiana, they are all there.

>> I when asked about the future of READI, we've seen two doses of $500 million investment, this will was state dollars, the others were federal money, I think the budgets going to be a lot tighter in 2025 but the lawmakers continue to put major dollars into this program?

>> I don't know if they are going to be able to get it through in the next budget, I think, you know, when they are talking about cutting taxes to set aside 1/3 round of massive amounts of money to basically improve quality of place and get people to want to stay and live here, and we've got a Medicaid problem, talking about cutting taxes, we have to figure out how to fund roads for the long-term.

I think READI is probably going to drop down on the priority list.

>> And to be fair I suppose, even if you took a cycle of the money from READI 1.0 hasn't been spent, the next money will be spent over the next four or five years plus.

Is another $250 million from the Lilly foundation that's going to be spent again on more targeted-- light reduction in hearts and culture initiatives, sort of growing out of READI so there's a lot of spending left to do that I think lawmakers could actually also go let's spend all that first and then we can work on other things.

>> Then you won't remember it and we move on.

>> Hoosier's with disabilities or who want to age in place may have a harder time accessing services under an important Medicaid waiver.

Indiana Public Broadcasting's Abigail Ruhman reports the services will add a wait list for the aging and disabled waiver in an effort to help the Medicaid shortfall.

>> FSSA said the waiver reach the maximum capacity of slots and in July the agency will 5000 additional slots that can be split between the aging and disabled waiver in the aging and-- in place waiver, and the number of people on the waitlist already surpasses the number of slots available in July.

$$TRANSMIT's Big Mac every week they go without services, every day they go without-- they go without services, could be life- threatening.

>> Dotson says the white list could be life-threatening, and it could be shortened if there were efforts from the government.

>> Is this the suffering of the Medicaid program >> Some of these people that need the services the only other option is going to a nursing home which we know costs the state more than the services that they would need to stay at home.

>> And that the state is trying to move away from.

>> It's like this vicious cycle we are in, where you don't want to spend the money over here in this funding stream, but if you block those services then you are going to spend it over here on this funding stream, so yeah, the lawmakers have a huge task ahead of them in the budget to try to still serve Hoosier's who need these services, but you know, acknowledge the fact that state budget is not, you know, we don't got a tree in the back printing money.

>> We know this conversation is coming, it's overly started it's been going on for over a year now, lawmakers have seen the cost of the Medicaid program expands significant.

But the impact so far that we've seen has been on families with medically complex children and folks who are qualified for the aging and disabled waiver.

Some of the most vulnerable people in the state of Indiana, is that going to be the real problem when we get to session and have the total funding conversation about Medicaid?

>> Yes.

To Nikki's point, it's a cycle.

One hand doing something, the other hand doesn't know what you are doing.

They need to get comprehensive actual look at Medicaid to see what can we do to cut the cost of Medicaid.

Sometimes so much is done on the backs of poor people, on the backs of people who are the most vulnerable, we need to cut Medicaid yes but how do we do that without increasing the harm done to these families who have no one else to depend on and this is how they survive?

How are you going to tell mom who has to take care of her disabled child that you don't have-- you have to be on a wait list for two years for these services?

It's borderline cruel to a certain extent.

So how do we fix this though instead of arguing about-- instead of arguing about what's right or wrong, which way to go, how we are going to fix it?

And I think we haven't really got to the level of fiction, the conversation is always pointing to well we need to cut spending.

We need to do, but there's an no tree printing money like you said, so that's quality of life for people waiting on Medicaid.

>> Oftentimes these sorts of funding conversations we are going to going to in the next budget seem to happen in a vacuum.

You sometimes-- it's easy to forget about the individual impacts, the face that's attached to the dollars you are trying to cut.

Because of this sort of-- the trickling effect this has had because of the short miss on the forecast creating this reaction of maybe we need to make changes right now just to get things under control is shining a spotlight on exactly who these sorts of cuts harm the most.

Does that change the way the conversation will happen next January?

>> Because Kim Dodson is out being advocates for this, and it's not the lesson we will have a story on the table because we are not raining and-- we are not cutting spending we are reducing explosive increases.

Trying to lower those, so we go from the whole Medicaid budget including federal money this year is 19 1/2 billion dollars and next is 20.7, if you miss, that billion dollar mix-- dollar missing, that's part of the entire budget, came in the entire publishing she reps Ensign serves.

Now we've got a line of school Superintendent of the door who need half the budget, $0.50 every dollar we bring in and that's really the challenge, that's why a God like Rod Brady, Michelin, people weren't involved before now trying to get controller.

>> You think Hoosier marks are where-- Hoosier are more aware of the budget, after spending more and more and more?

>> The liability-- >> You think they are ready for how tough this budget is going to be?

Speaker Mark they have to be because your talk about rationing.

Rationing care that is life enabling and we are supposed to be-- Republicans are supposed to be the right to life people.

These people, many of them may die as a result of not being able to get the access to the care they need.

That is something that needs to be addressed and it needs to be addressed, it seems to me, in a compassionate way by the legislature.

There may be ways to cut Medicaid that save money, or at least stop the growth, but they can't be on the backs of kids who can't breathe and people in the last throes of life.

It's inhumane.

>> The Indianapolis business Journal reported this week that a compromise earlier this year between Republican lawmakers in the city of Indianapolis will maintain most of downtown in these no turn on red signs while removing those closest to the State House.

Republican Senator Aaron Freeman long a proponent of the turn on red signs passive this to remove all signs those city had downtown last year and that bill never moved in the IBJ story says that's because of the deal between Hodson and the legislature, there will be a moratorium on new signs and while some of them may remain, three of them on the intersection to the State House parking lot used for merely by lawmakers in session will be removed.

>> Oseye is this a good deal for Republican lawmakers?

>> We take what we can come,, it's an interesting deal, the idea of wanting state legislators do not want Indianapolis to Governor-- govern itself.

If he wants to change she has to come back to city Council where he can have a voice and say in Indianapolis policy, that is very interesting that no turn on red are allowed to be, where the signs are allowed to be now, if Indianapolis is saying our politicians are saying, that our constituents say this is unsafe for pedestrians and bicyclists, if the data shows it is unsafe then what is the issue?

Now I think it's just confusing the people, now people don't know what to do, do we stop on red, do we go on red?

That's going to be what happens after this.

They are probably going to be more accidents now based on the confusion.

>> Is this a good-- I mean, you can look at a lot of stuff that happened in the session for Indianapolis, you had this conversation which you know, we learn now is the compromise deal where, you know, the ones that the lawmakers are irked most by will go away.

You look at the blue line bus route, they are going to get-- the city of Indianapolis is going to get most of what he wanted - and that.

You look at the downtown economic enhancement district tax, they expanded the size of the district, but fewer people are going to be taxed and the people are most angry about it, the apartment are left out of the.

Are if you are in the city of Indianapolis are you pretty happy with how this session went?

>> Oh yeah, full disclosure as a rep is a native of the city State House, there was a lot on the table, like get this no turn on red thing out of here so we can go build a hotel and soccer stadium and figure out how to pay for all the roads.

>> I have some no turn on red signs that driving crazy on Lebanon so I was hoping Senator Freeman could come up and see them, because... >> Sounds like you need to be an advocate.

>> It should be a really good compliment he has this year.

>> Is this a good deal for Indianapolis?

>> I think it is it's petty on the part of Freeman's part obviously, but at least it a cop which is most of what the city is trying to do and that's protect pedestrians in crosswalks.

>> Say that six times fast.

Finally, Indiana elevated once-in-a-lifetime event this week, a total solar eclipse, hundreds of thousands of people flooded the state one of only several in the path of totality.

Ann DeLaney, what did you think?

>> I thought it was absolutely amazing, absolutely amazing it was a great economic development boom for the entire corridor, and I just wondered if someone were alive say 100 A.D., what they thought.

>> I had the exact same thought, a few hundred years ago, but what they think what was going on?

>> What's going on?

The end of the world?

>> There was so much hype leading into this and I think it exceeded the height.

>> I thought it was way overhyped, seeing everybody at IMS, the 50,000 people, my neighborhood, our neighborhood was hopping.

We only-- no one went to work that day, the bars were out, went to the grocery store and passed the liquor store in the parking lot was full at 11 AM.

Every had a good time.

@ >> I think nowadays, we tend to like, nothing can meet our expectations and I think this was surprising in that it exceeded him at least my expectations, it was stunning.

>> Just seeing nature actually do natures thing, and we have no control over this, smart phones and everyone thinks we know everything, technology, this was something technology had nothing to do with.

>> And a communal experience to.

We live in Lawrence, right next to the state-- a big community park, my wife and I were out in the front yard and and didn't the moment of totality the cheer we could hear over the houses it was just so cool.

Really cool.

That was Indiana we can review for this week, our panel is Democrat Ann DeLaney, Republican Mike O'Brien, Oseye Boyd, of mirror Indy, and Niki Kelly of Indian Capital Chronicle.

You can find Indiana Week in Review's podcast and episodes at WFYI.org/IWIR or on the PBS App.

I'm Brandon Smith of Indiana Public Broadcasting, join us next time because a lot can happen in an Indiana week.

>> The opinions expressed are solely those of the panelists.

Indiana Week in Review is a WFYI production in association with Indiana's public bro