MAURER: Meyer is an upgrade for local Republicans

As the lady says in her brochure, “Corrie brings vision and leadership—not just politics—to the campaign trail.”

Corrie Meyer is a Republican candidate in State Senate District 29 running in the primary against incumbent Mike Delph, who last defeated Democrat J.D. Ford. Ford worked tirelessly and gave Delph a scare, but his chance for victory was slim. The seat is thought to be gerrymandered “safe” for Republicans.

The 29th stretches from Speedway and extends north to Zionsville, picking up Republicans along the way. At 116th Street, the lines make an abrupt right turn through Carmel to Keystone Avenue. The gerrymander resembles Spielberg’s “ET” filtered through the imagination of Picasso.

Gerrymandering is so pernicious that it produces a significant number of races in which only one candidate is on the November ballot because the opposing party knows it is futile to field a candidate. Meyer will support fair and equitable redistricting.

Delph is an obstruction to economic development. He supported the ban on same-sex marriage to the bitter end of that debate. He was a strong supporter of RFRA, which cost our community untold millions. He has one of the worst voting records among GOP senators for the Indiana Chamber agenda.

Delph believes the unscientific blather that the Earth was created 5,000 years ago and supported legislation requiring that our children learn that theory in high school science. Last year, Delph voted for Senate Bill 404, yet another invasion of women’s rights.

Given her conservative principles, Meyer has taken relatively moderate stances on the flash issues of today. Although she is in the pro-life camp, she will not support a senseless amendment to our abortion laws that is unconstitutional on its face or imposes severe restrictions on the rights of women to make healthy choices. She pledges to work within the confines of the law. She supports the right to bear arms but will oppose the NRA on reasonable legislation that would curtail teenagers’ access to assault rifles and that would improve the safety of our schools and neighborhoods.

Meyer and her family are members of Northview Church in Carmel, and she sends one of her sons to Coram Deo Academy, a classical Christian school. However, she does not subscribe to the bigoted dogma that would allow discrimination against the LGBT community in the name of religion.

Meyer prefers to focus on business issues. Meyer is a certified urban planner and licensed landscaped architect who has spent her career solving problems and building consensus. IBJ tapped her in 2015 for its Forty Under 40 award. She has also received the “Graduate of the Last Decade” award from Ball State University. She has been endorsed by all the Republican mayors in the district. Her resume boasts that she successfully summitted Mount Kilimanjaro. It takes guts and determination to scramble to the top of that mountain. We need those qualities in our Legislature.

Janie and I will hold a fundraiser at our home this spring to support Meyer. We invite you to participate. Stand with me. District 29 has an opportunity for an upgrade, a chance to elect a bright Republican who will support the business community and who is not afraid to break with the far right to stand with Hoosiers to provide fair government.•

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Maurer is a shareholder in IBJ Corp., which owns Indianapolis Business Journal. To comment on this column, send e-mail to mmaurer@ibj.com.