IU senior takes on 6-year incumbent in House race

Matt Pierce feels the Indiana General Assembly has lost its way. Since his election to the State Representative for District 61 seat in 2000, his main goal has been to help get the state on the right track, reversing some of the bad decisions he said they made.\n"One of the problems is the representative leaders in the General Assembly are not asserting themselves as an independent branch," Pierce said. "They've pretty much become a rubber stamp for Gov. Mitch Daniels."\nPierce said it is important for the legislature to ask hard questions, in response to the proposals of the governor.\nHe feels he is qualified to ask these questions. Aside from receiving bachelor's and law degrees from IU, he has since returned as a visiting lecturer in the telecommunications department. In terms of politics, he served in the statehouse for 10 years, in various capacities, before being elected to his current seat.\n"I think I reflect the values of the community I represent," Pierce said.\nJ.T. Forbes, director of state relations for IU, agrees.\n"He's not just blindly following University line; he's really a good guardian of the students' interest and the University," he said.\nGiven that much of this community is inhabited by students, one of his main platforms relates to the funding and control of IU. \n"(The legislature) has underfunded universities in general," Pierce said. "Higher education is hurting." \nHe explained that more than $900,000 of financial aid was denied to students at the last minute, after it had been promised.\n"The only reason they weren't hurt is that the University stepped up and found money that they really don't have," he said.\nPierce is also against the legislature micromanaging University affairs. \n"It's important that legislatures don't try to control the research centers of the University," Pierce said, explaining that in the past they have restricted how money should be allocated.\nOn a more district-wide issue, Pierce opposes changes in property taxes, as well as an increase in logging. \n"(The legislature) increased logging (by) 400 percent in state forests," Pierce said, casting his eyes toward the slopes of Lake Monroe. Pierce said the legislature has "stripped away the power to protect our local community."\nIf Democrats take control of the statehouse, Pierce feels many of these problems could be reversed. He is optimistic of this shift, as Republicans currently hold a slim majority, with 52 of the 100 seats.