Webster's Rigdon Seeks Seat In U.S. Congress
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
NORTH WEBSTER - Jay Rigdon plans to shake a fair number of hands as he begins a door-to-door campaign for the Third District Congressional seat.
Rigdon, 41, announced his candidacy Tuesday as he prepares to swing through all eight counties that make up the new district.
He declared his intention to walk the district, as former Congressman J. Edward Roush did 30 years ago, to give the voters an opportunity to meet him and judge for themselves whether they want him representing them in Washington.
Rigdon, a law partner with Rockhill Pinnick LLP in Warsaw, is a North Webster resident. He and his wife, Brenda, have three children: Jay, 14; Chelsea, 12; and Isaac, 6.
Rigdon went door-to-door in 1996 when he ran for the state senate seat currently held by Sen. Robert Meeks and is anxious to hit the sidewalks again.
"It's encouraging to meet people," he said. "It's important to them that you ask for their vote.
"I believe the best way to judge a candidate's commitment to potential constituents in Washington is to judge his commitment to his community here in Indiana.
"All too often, the representatives we send to Washington go there without establishing ties to their community and abandon their community once elected, never to return. Except for my years in college, I have always been and will always be a resident of northeast Indiana and I think my volunteer service has demonstrated my commitment to the community."
Rigdon's new community consists of more than 675,000 people in Kosciusko, DeKalb, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben and Whitley counties as well as townships in Elkhart and Allen counties, which make up the remapped Third District.
The top Republican contender for the congressional seat is Mark Souder, who has represented the Fourth District for four terms.
The local candidate finds Souder too extreme, too far to the "right" in his views, and claims his mainstream philosophy is more in tune with Hoosier voters.
Rigdon, born in Syracuse, grew up in Fort Wayne and returned 17 years ago to Kosciusko County, where he has served on several state and local boards, including the Indiana Domestic Violence Prevention and Treatment Council, Kosciusko United Way and the Warsaw Board of Aviation Commissioners.
Rigdon believes Mark Souder's performance will be a significant issue in this election.
Rigdon pledged to work to bring fiscal responsibility and support for the integrity of Social Security and Medicare back to the congressional seat representing Fort Wayne and northeast Indiana.
"The Democrats have learned the importance of being fiscally conservative," he said. "They now do better on a national scale than the Republicans right now."
The attorney said one of his main strengths is the ability to be straight with people when dealing with issues.
"I'm a Democrat, everyone knows that," he said. "Yet I work with Republicans on projects all the time."
Over the next couple of months as his campaign progresses, the Indiana University Law School graduate will let the voters take a look at him through television, radio and newspaper interviews, as well as face-to-face on front porches throughout the district. [[In-content Ad]]
NORTH WEBSTER - Jay Rigdon plans to shake a fair number of hands as he begins a door-to-door campaign for the Third District Congressional seat.
Rigdon, 41, announced his candidacy Tuesday as he prepares to swing through all eight counties that make up the new district.
He declared his intention to walk the district, as former Congressman J. Edward Roush did 30 years ago, to give the voters an opportunity to meet him and judge for themselves whether they want him representing them in Washington.
Rigdon, a law partner with Rockhill Pinnick LLP in Warsaw, is a North Webster resident. He and his wife, Brenda, have three children: Jay, 14; Chelsea, 12; and Isaac, 6.
Rigdon went door-to-door in 1996 when he ran for the state senate seat currently held by Sen. Robert Meeks and is anxious to hit the sidewalks again.
"It's encouraging to meet people," he said. "It's important to them that you ask for their vote.
"I believe the best way to judge a candidate's commitment to potential constituents in Washington is to judge his commitment to his community here in Indiana.
"All too often, the representatives we send to Washington go there without establishing ties to their community and abandon their community once elected, never to return. Except for my years in college, I have always been and will always be a resident of northeast Indiana and I think my volunteer service has demonstrated my commitment to the community."
Rigdon's new community consists of more than 675,000 people in Kosciusko, DeKalb, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben and Whitley counties as well as townships in Elkhart and Allen counties, which make up the remapped Third District.
The top Republican contender for the congressional seat is Mark Souder, who has represented the Fourth District for four terms.
The local candidate finds Souder too extreme, too far to the "right" in his views, and claims his mainstream philosophy is more in tune with Hoosier voters.
Rigdon, born in Syracuse, grew up in Fort Wayne and returned 17 years ago to Kosciusko County, where he has served on several state and local boards, including the Indiana Domestic Violence Prevention and Treatment Council, Kosciusko United Way and the Warsaw Board of Aviation Commissioners.
Rigdon believes Mark Souder's performance will be a significant issue in this election.
Rigdon pledged to work to bring fiscal responsibility and support for the integrity of Social Security and Medicare back to the congressional seat representing Fort Wayne and northeast Indiana.
"The Democrats have learned the importance of being fiscally conservative," he said. "They now do better on a national scale than the Republicans right now."
The attorney said one of his main strengths is the ability to be straight with people when dealing with issues.
"I'm a Democrat, everyone knows that," he said. "Yet I work with Republicans on projects all the time."
Over the next couple of months as his campaign progresses, the Indiana University Law School graduate will let the voters take a look at him through television, radio and newspaper interviews, as well as face-to-face on front porches throughout the district. [[In-content Ad]]