Libertarian wants to change current gerrymandering policies

Rebecca Sink-Burris of Bloomington is seeking election in the race for Secretary of State, running against Bloomington Mayor John Fernandez and current Deputy Secretary of State Todd Rokita. \nSink-Burris, who has been a Libertarian since the 70s, considers statewide gerrymandering of district lines to be a primary concern in her race. \nShe said many districts are essentially a one-party district now due to gerrymandering.\n"I think it is very relevant to students that we end the rigged districts that the state has that predetermine who will win the election. I think that's a very important reason that we have such very low voter turnout. People think that their vote won't count because it doesn't," Sink-Burris said.\nShe also focused her campaign on property tax reform.\n"The state property tax arbitrarily determined the worth of property and it was unconstitutional," she said. "It has taken years to fix this when it shouldn't have taken years."\nOther key focuses in her platform are education, balancing the budget and shrinking the government. \n"Rebecca Sink-Burris is bringing straight-forward honesty to Indiana politics, which is sorely needed right now," said Mark W. Rutherford, chairman of the Libertarian Party of Indiana. \nThe Libertarian party is the only third party in Indiana with ballot access. The party needs to secure two percent of the overall vote in the race for Secretary of State to remain on the ballot. If not, the party will have to petition for ballot rights in individual races.\n"We are not going to be able to count on the old parties to take the bold step of ending gerrymandering in Indiana. We need someone from outside the old system to do that," Sink-Burris said.\nSink-Burris, 49, lives just north of Bloomington on her family's farm.\nA graduate of IU, she taught elementary school for 16 years before managing the family farm. She has served on the Bloomington Montessori School Board and the Bloomington Fire Safety Commission. \nFor more information about Sink-Burris, see www.electrebecca.org.