Republican gubernatorial candidate Curtis Hill says he’d get rid of Indiana’s Office of Equity, Inclusion and Opportunity if elected — calling it “pandering” and a “drain” on resources in a Monday news release.
Hill also said he wanted to “eliminate all” such “state-funded programs,” although this particular office is funded by CenterPoint Energy’s charitable arm. His campaign didn’t respond to a request for other examples.
“Unnecessary government offices that exist only to pander to identity politics agendas and that do not lead to tangible positive outcomes are a drain on Hoosiers and need to be ended,” said Hill, who would be Indiana’s first Black governor.
“As governor, I will run a lean but effective administration,” the former attorney general added.
Current Gov. Eric Holcomb, also a Republican, announced the office’s formation in August 2020. Just weeks earlier, a Minneapolis police officer had killed a Black man named George Floyd, sparking weeks of protests in hundreds of communities around the country — including Indiana.
In his address at the time, Holcomb said he wanted to be a “barrier-buster” and to ensure equality in state government and its services “so that every Hoosier can take full advantage of their gifts and of their potential.”
The office is run by Karrah Herring and includes an equity data portal.
On Monday, Hill promised to “personally spearhead a series of bridge forums” with expert community members, emphasizing an “unfettered and open civil discourse with a solutions-oriented focus.”
He recently told the Capital Chronicle that he believed in the need for “healthy conversations about race” although he said it had become a weaponized issue.