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Candidates for local, state office meet at Bloomington youth voter forum

(From left) Monroe County Commissioner candidates Jody Madeira, Peter Iversen, Julie Thomas' stand-in and Steve Volan.
(From left) Monroe County Commissioner candidates Jody Madeira, Peter Iversen, Julie Thomas' stand-in and Steve Volan.

Candidates for local and state office are encouraging young adults to vote this May.

Democrats vying for office met for a forum targeted toward youth voters Wednesday night at The Comedy Attic in Downtown Bloomington.

The event was organized by the Monroe County Democratic Party. It was hosted by local high school Democrats and IU College Democrats.

Read more: Iversen, Thomas face off at debate for county commissioner seat

Attending the event were District 46 Indiana House candidate Kurtis Cummings and State Senator Shelli Yoder, who’s running for reelection. Representatives for District 60 Indiana House candidate Michelle Higgs and Attorney General candidate Destiny Wells were also present.

Monroe County commissioner candidates Peter Iversen, Jody Madeira and Steve Volan — as well as a representative for Julie Thomas, who’s running for reelection — took the stage after.

The night concluded with comments from county council candidates Matt Caldie, Trent Deckard, David Henry and Cheryl Munson. Deckard and Munson are both running for reelection.

Read more: Thomson hears residents’ concerns, priorities at first traveling town hall

Candidates spoke about a variety of topics. On the state level, they included abortion and the environment. Locally, they spoke about the need for a new county jail, the convention center expansion, affordable housing, and getting young residents civically engaged.

The event was moderated by Jonas Schrodt, who ran for the Bloomington City Council last year and featured intermittent standups by local comedians.

Lucas González is a multimedia journalist for Indiana Public Media. He covers Bloomington city government. Lucas is originally from northwest Ohio and is a Midwesterner at heart. Lucas is an alumnus of Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. Before joining Indiana Public Media, Lucas worked at WRTV, The Times of Northwest Indiana, The Salisbury Daily Times, and The Springfield News-Sun.