Congressional candidates fight for 4th, 9th Districts

Incumbent pushes agriculture, education issues in campaign\nAs the incumbent candidate for the 9th district from Seymour, Ind., Baron Hill (Dem.) has spent his last four years representing 20 Indiana counties in the U.S. Congress.\n"Hoosiers have a strong tradition of bringing a common-sense approach to government, and I've just tried to follow that example out here in Washington," Hill said in a news release. "When you're planning for your family or business, you don't fudge the numbers. You set your priorities and make the tough choices that are necessary. Congress and the federal government owe it to all of us to do the same." \nHill's Hoosier heritage also heavily influenced his advocacy for the Indiana farmer among congressional issues.\n"Ever since I was elected to Congress, I have worked hard to be an effective voice for Hoosier farmers in the House of Representatives," Hill said. "I meet with farmers on a regular basis and take their comments and suggestions back to Congress. As a member of the House Agriculture Committee, I have a special appreciation and respect for farmers and the struggles they've been through in recent years. I will continue to serve as a strong advocate for farmers and agriculture."\nPrevious to his congressional terms, Hill served Indiana in its General Assembly and later as the Executive Director of the Indiana State Student Assistance Commission, which aims at helping Hoosiers afford college.\nHe said his main election issues are smaller schools, helping the agriculture industry and fiscal responsibility. Hill said he believes his lifetime Hoosier background emphasizes his devotion toward fiscal responsibility in Congress.\nCandidate's goal to get Green Party issues out to public\nPsychology professor at Ivy-Tech and 9th Congressional District candidate Jeff Melton said he chose to run in the Green Party because people deserve a choice in politics.\n"If you have to choose between the lesser of two evils then you may decide to not vote at all, and that affects voter turn-out," Melton said. "Instead of voting for someone with whom you agree with three out of 10 issues, find someone that you agree with nine out of 10 issues."\nThis election, Melton said his goals are to get the issues he stands for out of the pulpit for people to discuss and think about. \n"I would like to promote greater awareness of what the issues are," Melton said. "Such as one that affects college students -- how it costs more and more to go to college and people come out with an outrageous amount of debt. The economy has gone down the drains and working people's incomes are not keeping pace. The average chief executive makes about 500 times an average worker makes at the company and those workers have families to feed as well. There is increasing inequality in our society."\nMelton also said he supports smaller classroom sizes, campaign finance reform and increasing health insurance.\nMelton said it is extremely important to recruit young college voters to support the Green Party because if more votes are cast for third parties, the Democrats and Republicans will get scared and stop taking Americans' votes for granted. \n"I don't necessarily expect to win this time," Melton said. "But we are going to make some noise in politics."\nPro-life advocate fights to win against long-held tradition\nMike Sodrel (Rep.) of New Albany, Ind. is challenging incumbent Baron Hill (Dem.) in the 9th district race for U.S. Representative. \n"Mike Sodrel is a committed Republican who will fight alongside President Bush to keep defenses strong and our economy growing," said Jim Kittle, the state chairman of the Indiana Republican Party in a news release.\nSodrel is a pro-life advocate and a life member of the National Rifle Association, who said he hopes to take control of the 9th district, which has been dominated by Democrats for over three decades.\nSodrel developed Sodrel Truck Lines, Inc., his own busing and delivery company that employs several hundred people, leading him to be named 1995 Southern Indiana Small Business Person of the Year. \nSodrel is a veteran of the Indiana Army National Guard and has participated in many community activities in his area, serving as president or director for organizations like Kentuckiana Junior Achievement, George Rogers Clark Regional Council for the Boy Scouts of America, and Jeffersonville Rotary Club. \nSodrel is endorsed by Senator Richard Lugar, who has recently appeared in a television commercial urging voters to support Sodrel. \nMore information about Sodrel is available at www.mikesodrel.com.