Sean Steele

Sean Steele graduated from Bedford North Lawrence High School. He earned a bachelor's degree from DePauw University in 1990 and a law degree from the Indiana University, Maurer School of Law in 1994. His career experience includes working as a teacher.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I lived most all of my life in Lawrence County, and have been married to my wife, Jamie (Lindley) for 27 years and I have two grown kids. I have taught in public schools in this district for 31 years now and have coached the majority of those years. I currently teach art at Bedford Middle School, and before I came to NLCS nine years ago, I was a social studies teacher at Orleans Jr./Sr. High School where I taught for twenty-two years.

I am running because I feel like our system is broken. Politicians are not listening to the voters or serving their constituents. They are serving political parties and big donors. My opponent ran unopposed in the last election and I think that any time a lawmaker is not accountable to voters, or challenged on their record, the outcome is not good. I want to get back to the notion that government exists to serve the people. I want to address affordability, access to affordable healthcare, and work to fully fund public education. I think our state needs to take a more cautious and restrictive approach in dealing with data centers-- one that takes into consideration the environmental impact, the cost to consumers and responsible land use. It's not about the political right or left, but about what's right and wrong. I want to be a public servant and will vow to serve with integrity.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

I will show up and want to serve the people of District 65 with integrity. Our current legislator has been in power for a decade. During that time, very little concern has been given to the will of the voters, holding town halls or responding to constituent concerns. I want to be a public servant and will be available to listen to the constituents and be responsive to their concerns.I want to fully fund public schools and give our children the best education we can while making sure we get the most gain from our tax dollars.We need to pay attention to rural voters' concerns. Too much attention in the legislature is paid to huge corporations and monied interests. As a result, rural land is being ceded to polluting AI data centers and our rural hospitals are closing when profit is put above patient care.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Public education, rural issues of land use, equitable property tax and the devastating effects of SB1 on counties, schools and municipalities. I think there has been a lot of government overreach lately and we need to get back to protecting citizen's due process rights and privacy.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

AFL-CIO, UAW (pending) and CWA.