Fernandez, Rokita ads misleading

On Nov. 5, now just 11 days away, Indiana voters will head to the polls. This year, at least three Indiana congressional races will be very competitive. At the state level, however, Hoosiers are forced with races of relative insignificance. \nThe most important statewide race at stake is Secretary of State. Not a very inspiring reason to vote, huh?\nAs I mentioned, many congressional races in Indiana are extremely close, and when control of Congress is likely to come down to a few seats, every race is important. These tight races (in South Bend, Indianapolis and right here in Bloomington) have consumed much of the media attention, leaving candidates for the statewide offices gasping for relevance on the ballot.\nThe two candidates for Secretary of State are prime examples of this craving for attention. In the weeks running up to the election, both Democrat (and Bloomington mayor) John Fernandez and Republican Todd Rokita have bought ad time on the major Indianapolis networks. \nAs a voter, you are likely wondering what the Secretary of State does (or, bluntly, "Why should I care about who wins?"). The Indiana Secretary of State is primarily an administrator. Unlike the Governor, the Secretary of State is not a policy maker. The Secretary keeps the state's records, oversees elections and is involved in investigating possible violations to the state's securities laws.\nThe ads run by Fernandez and Rokita, though, would have voters believe that the Secretary of State is as powerful as the Governor. Fernandez's ad starts off by inferring his opponent, Rokita, ignored the Indianapolis Power and Light (IPALCO) scandal.\nWith the help of the Indianapolis Star and The Associated Press, I figured out that, more or less, the scandal involved the sale of IPALCO to another company (AES), and in return, IPALCO shareholders got AES shares, which have since tanked. Now all those people who had there savings in IPALCO stock are left without money for retirement. The scandal seems like something that should be investigated, but Fernandez's claim that Rokita dropped the ball is questionable.\nAs I said above, the powers of Secretary of State are limited. To that effect, the Indianapolis Star reported on Oct. 18 that, "State law does not say it's Rokita's job (as deputy Secretary of State) to investigate the conduct of AES and IPALCO executives before AES' stock price plunged." \nFernandez, in his ad, continues by saying, "I'll put the guilty in jail." The Secretary of State, however, is not a prosecutor, and it's not likely that Fernandez will ever lead any criminal behind bars, as his ad implies.\nRokita, for his part, runs an ad claiming that Bloomington has lost 4,000 jobs thanks to Fernandez. He is right. Bloomington did lose many manufacturing jobs, but the fault for this lies with the North American Free Trade Agreement rather than with Fernandez. Furthermore, Rokita's ad ignores the jobs that were created during Fernandez's tenure as it ignores the fact that the Secretary of State has little affect on any policy to create jobs.\nWhile both candidates for Secretary of State grapple with their identity crisis, it is likely that Hoosier voters are left confused. Secretary of State is an important office, and voters should make an informed choice about which candidate to support. The ads being run for the two candidates, however, do more to confuse the voters than to inform them.