Concern expressed over makeup of legislature

INDIANAPOLIS -- As next week's primary draws closer, some lawmakers and minority advocates are expressing renewed concern that the Indiana General Assembly does not accurately represent the state's varied demographics.\nRetired, college-educated white men dominate the 150-member Legislature. Most are in their 50s and have helped shape state laws for more than a decade.\nWomen, who outnumber men in the state, are a distinct minority.\nThere's just one Hispanic to represent that booming population. And Indiana's mostly blue-collar work force is under-represented in an institution mostly made up of retirees, attorneys and educators.\n"It's about what life experiences you bring to the table. I could not effectively represent rural Indiana because I don't have those experiences, just as someone from rural Indiana may not understand the needs of the inner-city or African-Americans," said Rep. Bill Crawford, a black Democrat from Indianapolis.\nBut the makeup of the Legislature is unlikely to change much after this year's elections. Lawmakers acknowledge that the new districts they drew last year were designed in part to protect incumbents.\nThere are some opportunities. Because of retirements, voters will elect at least 13 new lawmakers in November. That, some advocates hope, will mean more opportunities for women.\n"We definitely need to see more women in the Legislature -- we need a Legislature that's more representative of women's voices and concerns," Tracy Horn, legislative coordinator for the Indiana National Organization for Women, told The Indianapolis Star for a story published Sunday.\nThere are just 26 female lawmakers out of 150 -- or 17 percent. That's far lower than the 52 percent of voting-age Hoosiers who are women.\nRep. Mary Kay Budak, R-LaPorte, was the only woman in her freshmen legislative class of 1980, making her one of the longest-serving females in the General Assembly. Only Rep. Phyllis Pond, R-New Haven, has served longer -- for 24 years.\nBudak saw the number of women lawmakers dive in 1996, when five female legislators lost their seats.\n"We just haven't seen the numbers pick up since then," Budak said. "They need to, because women bring a different perspective."\nShe said the time commitment also keeps women away.\nAnd that's keeping average working folks away from politics too, laments Senate President Pro Tempore Robert Garton, R-Columbus. A lawmaker's most common occupation used to be attorney -- now it's retirement.\n"That's a concern because you want a cross-section of the public, and we're losing that," said Garton, who works as a dean for Ivy Tech State College.\nThe percentage of Hispanic lawmakers also is lopsided. Nearly four percent of Indiana's population is Hispanic -- and that number is growing. Yet Rep. John Aguilera, D-East Chicago, is the only Hispanic in the Legislature.\nThe General Assembly does a better job of mirroring the number of black Hoosiers. About eight percent of Indiana residents are black -- about the same percentage that serve in the General Assembly.\nStill, Crawford hopes there will be improvement.\n"Every segment of the population ought to have a seat at the table," Crawford said, "and that isn't always happening"