Submitted by Jocelyn Vare for State Senate
Editor’s note: The following was submitted from Jocelyn Vare’s State Senate campaign. The opinions within do not reflect the opinions of The Reporter, its publisher or its staff.
Vare
When Democrat Jocelyn Vare made the decision to run for Indiana State Senate District 31, she knew she would face Kyle Walker, an opponent with hundreds of thousands of dollars in his campaign war chest. Further, she knew the Senate seat he was gifted and his history as a Marion County Republican Party Chairman meant he had friends with very deep pockets.
She did not let her opponent’s excessive access to money concern her. Vare simply focused on the residents in District 31 and made a commitment to be accessible and transparent to them. The onslaught of misleading ads and mailers about Vare from her opponent and the Koch Brothers’ Americans for Prosperity are ripped from the pages of the GOP playbook. She is eager to address each misleading claim.
“I did not vote against funding the Fishers Police Department,” said Vare about an April 2021 Fishers City Council vote. “I supported the police department’s purchase of new gun racks. I simply disagreed with which budget line item should fund the purchase.”
The April 9, 2021, vote appropriated $25,000 from the citizen forfeiture fund, a fund created when law enforcement seizes assets from citizens, to the police department. Vare preferred that the purchase be funded through existing cash reserves.
“I support our police officers,” Vare said. “I stood alongside our Fishers Police Chief when he opposed permitless carry at the Statehouse. I am a designated Gun Sense Candidate. And I want to openly fund our police department and guarantee public trust. To represent me in any other light, as Kyle Walker has done, is a lie.”
Almost every day, the mailboxes of Hoosiers living in Indiana Senate District 31 have had been filled with Kyle Walker’s messages about Vare’s personal donations. Walker disparages Vare because she did not make a voluntary personal donation to a community fundraiser to benefit a city-funded Gold Star Families Monument.
“I offer my full support for our veterans and am grateful for their service to our country,” Vare said. “I supported bringing a Gold Star Families Memorial Monument to Fishers to unify our community. Lying about my support of veterans is dirty politics and is a disservice to veterans and citizens.”
As a city councilor, Vare supported the creation of the Fishers Armed Forces Commission on Jan. 18, 2022. This new city body leads meaningful community efforts to honor military service as a cornerstone of the community. In addition, Vare is listening to Hoosier veterans and supports their efforts to legalize cannabis.
Finally, Vare openly discloses that she contributed a personal donation of $225 to the Biden-Harris campaign. She is a Democrat and she supported Biden. Vare’s donation pales in comparison to her opponent’s $5,400 donations to Trump’s presidential campaign.
Walker’s advertisements also blame Vare for inflation and the national deficit. While flattered that he sees her influence so far reaching, she is realistic about her role as a public servant.
“As a city councilor, I have responded to inflation that is being felt by every Hoosier household by voting against charging a new tax,” Vare said. “I was the only council member who voted against a new Food & Beverage tax in Fishers.”
Known to be action-oriented about the affordable housing crisis, fiscally responsible and a champion for taxpayers’ dollars, Vare also voted against the City of Fishers providing tax breaks to corporate developers who plan to build condominiums that will hit the market starting at $1,000,000.
Through the misleading paid advertisements that are flooding her community, Vare remains centered on her original inspiration to run for office: to represent every voice and to earn every vote. With her opponent’s absence at public forums and unresponsiveness to media requests, Vare trusts voters to see beyond the negativity the GOP Supermajority has brought to Indiana State Senate District 31.
“I knew going in that my opponent had deep pockets,” Vare said. “I am armed with deep relationships in my community, evidence of my opponent working against neighbors’ best interests, and my commitment to public service.”
Vare is a business owner and domestic violence survivor who is dedicated to public service. She proves it through her active roles with community non-profits, public education advocacy organizations, and as an at-large member of Fishers City Council. Vare was the first Democrat elected to municipal office in Fishers and won her election with strong bipartisan support, including an endorsement from the Fiscal Conservatives of Hamilton County.
Vare maintains clear focus on ideals of transparency, balance, and representation. She achieves the ideals by listening to neighbors, residents, and constituents she serves. Vare embraces her reputation for shining a light on decisions others would prefer to leave behind closed doors. An unapologetic independent thinker, she always returns to and keeps the promises she made to those who elected her.
About Jocelyn Vare
Jocelyn Vare is an at-large member of the Fishers City Council and a candidate for Indiana Senate District 31 in 2022. State Senate District 31 was redrawn for the 2022 election and includes all of Fishers, Geist, parts of Noblesville, and the Northeast Side of Indianapolis.
Follow Vare on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For more information about Vare and a map of Indiana State Senate District 31, please visit the Jocelyn Vare for Indiana website.
I spotted the “half truth” about Jocelyn Vare voting to give herself a pay raise when I got the first of many misleading post cards. When I approached Kyle Walker after a get-together and asked about the postcard, he said he agreed with that statement and another. I pointed out that “her” pay raise included a 3% increase ACROSS THE BOARD for all city of Fishers employees, and that she certainly wasn’t the only councilperson to vote for it. He said that didn’t come from “his” campaign. Sad that candidates have to resort to half truths and exaggerations to win votes. What happened to running on one’s own personal values and record?