Shelli Yoder, the Democratic candidate for the 9th District in the U.S. Congress, visited Johnson County Wednesday. We were able to catch up with her after a breakfast event at Dye’s Walk County Club in the Center Grove area.
Yoder expressed her concern about the financial situation that many families in the district find themselves. As a concerned mother she sees a need for more opportunities for “hard working middle class families to pay the bills.” Her website says she will work with business, labor, and community groups to bring new 21st century jobs to our area. She will push to expand broadband technology to generate new telemedicine and on-line educational opportunities. In addition, she will fight to make sure the 9th District gets its fair share of federal dollars that create new jobs.
When it comes to Medicare, and heath care in general, she says “some things are not for sale.” And among them is caring for the “health of the citizens of the nation.” She realizes that oftentimes the needs of the citizens and the cost of providing those needs conflict. She says this is something that can be “hard to tease apart.”
She briefly mentioned New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s efforts to move people to making healthier food choices. While not endorsing his efforts, she did mention that she often finds herself buying the large coffee at McDonald’s, simply because all sizes cost the same. And, many times she finds herself buying more than she needs. This led to a conversation about the value of local governments being able to have some control over their sales tax rate. She discusses it in this video:
Concerning her Republican opponent, Todd Young, she described him as a “foot soldier” for the Republican party and is concerned that he may not be open to new ideas or willing to compromise when it is needed. In particular his signing the “no new tax” pledge was an area of concern for Yoder. Not that she is proposing new taxes, but his willingness to sign such a pledge with no knowledge of what the future may bring, indicates to her a lack of flexibility that she thinks is short supply today in Washington D.C.
