In a Reporter exclusive, Crouch focuses on quality of life as Indiana’s next chapter
By STU CLAMPITT
news@readthereporter.com
Indiana Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch has recently announced that she has launched a campaign for the state’s top office. While touring Indiana to talk to voters this week, Crouch was kind enough to spend a few minutes with The Reporter to talk about the upcoming race and why she believes she is the best person for the job.
When asked why she announced now, rather than earlier as many of us in media expected, Crouch joked that her gubernatorial bid was the worst kept secret in Indiana.
“I’m running for governor because I have a plan for Indiana’s future that will propel our state forward,” Crouch said. “I’ve traveled the state. I’ve been here in Hamilton County many times. I’ve talked to Hoosiers and listened to them and understand what they need and what they want. I have a clear vision for Indiana and will be able to act on what we need to have happen to be successful.”
Crouch credits her experience in several levels of government from local to state as one of her more outstanding qualifications.
“We have done a good job and I have been part of the turnaround of the state of Indiana over the last 17 years as a state rep, auditor and Lt. governor,” Crouch told The Reporter. “Today we have balanced budgets, we have low taxes, and we have healthy surpluses. The next chapter in Indiana’s history is going to be about quality of life.”
Crouch said she believes increasing Hoosier quality of life is how we attract talent and grow our population.
“Quality of life is as important to businesses as low taxes and economic incentives because that’s how they grow their workforce,” Crouch said. “People can live anywhere. They want to live where they have good quality of life.”
When asked what specific quality of life improvements she believes Indiana needs to work on, Crouch talked about what she calls “four building blocks for the future.”
“We have to continue to grow our economy for all Hoosiers,” Crouch said. “We have to invest strategically in education. We’ve got to strengthen our families and our communities. And then we need to transform government. We focus on doing that, and that will result in a better quality of life for Hoosiers.”
Crouch said quality of life is about more than destinations and entertainment.
“It’s also about the quality of the life that we live,” Crouch said. “Two of the areas we need to be focusing on and doing more is in mental health – mental illness and addiction – and also in our public health. One out of five Hoosiers struggles with mental health or addiction. It affects our workforce. It affects our budgets. It affects the lives of Hoosiers. Being able to put more focus and invest more resources in improving the mental health of our citizens, particularly after everything people have gone through during COVID, is going to be extremely important.”
Crouch has seen the effects of both addiction and mental illness in her own family.
Her mother suffered from depression. Her sister, Nancy, committed suicide. She also told The Reporter her family buried her alcoholic brother, Larry, in November.
“Those Hoosiers who inherit genes that predispose them to these conditions deserve an opportunity to succeed,” Crouch said. “We need to get them that opportunity. It’s also about public health. The health that we enjoy as Hoosiers. We know that Indiana is ranked as 48th in the nation for what we spend on public health. We also know that the untreated cost of mental illness in this state is $4.2 billion. So, it makes sense not just from a quality-of-life standpoint, but it makes sense from an economic standpoint to be investing more in healthier Hoosiers.”
She told The Reporter she is the best candidate for governor because her leadership skills, her experience, and the relationships she has built with elected officials at all levels of government.
“I have state and local experience in the executive and legislative branches,” Crouch said. “I have the relationship that I built over the years – particularly the last eight years – when I’ve been traveling the state in all 92 counties many times over. It’s because of that leadership and experience that I won’t need on-the-job-training. I’ll be able to hit the ground running because I’ve been serving Hoosiers in multiple capacities for the last 27 years. I understand better than anyone how government works, but I also understand how government can work better for Hoosiers.”
Crouch said she spends so much time traveling across the state because she doesn’t want any part of Indiana to feel as ignored as she thinks Evansville was when she started in politics.
“When I was in local government down in Vanderburgh County, we always felt very disconnected from the state,” Crouch said. “That’s not something you feel necessarily in central Indiana because you are right there where the capital is. But for those of us who are in the hinterlands, we felt that disconnect. For our state to be successful, it means we all have to be working together. That’s why I travel like I do.”
Learn more and get involved in the campaign at CrouchforIndiana.com.