NORTH WEBSTER – Democrats brought some “thunder” to one of their best-attended dinners in years Saturday at the Owl Nest in North Webster.

While the Veterans Day dinner theme was “Salute to Service,” the song “Thunder” by rock band Imagine Dragons became an anthem for the night after being played in a year-in-review video. Several times after the video played, party Chairman Brian Smith referenced the Democrats bringing the thunder to the 2018 elections, as did candidates for the upcoming election.

Several party members mentioned a sense of enthusiasm at the dinner.

The event featured four congressional candidates running in the two area Congressional districts currently held by Republicans.

Three challengers – Yantis Joshi, Patricia Hackett and Mel Hall – are seeking to unseat Rep. Jackie Walorski in the 2nd District while Courtney Tritch is running to defeat Rep. Jim Banks in the 3rd District.

In introducing Tritch, Smith said, “Like I said, the thunder is coming, and it’s going to be Courtney Tritch.”

Tritch said she grew up in Fort Wayne, but moved back about 10 years ago. A decade ago, she said the concept of Northeast Indiana didn’t exist. She was working for a regional development economic organization that now includes 11 counties, including Kosciusko.

“We’ve made so much progress in the region. I’ve had the opportunity to help lead regional initiatives like the Regional Cities initiatives, and we won $42 million in state funding to invest in our communities,” she said. “... Now we have the only mayors and commissioners caucus in the country where mayors and commissioners from 11 counties meet on a regular basis to figure out what can we agree on and what can we work together on. That’s huge. And I’ve had the honor of being a part of that.



[[In-content Ad]]

“And as I grew and developed economic development in this community, I realized there was something missing: That’s not happening at the federal level. We need to change that. We have to change that.”

She said when she saw Banks sought to repeal the Affordable Care Act without any plan to replace it – not caring if 20-30 million people lost their insurance or if Indiana lost HIP 2.0 and exasperated the opioid crisis happening in the community – “because the blue team came up with that and I’m on the red team so I have to hate that,” she said that’s not leadership or governing.

Tritch said the momentum that is happening in this country shows “that we can make progress.”

Joshi founded GTA Containers in South Bend in 1988, which now employs over 60 people. Born in Bombay, India, he said he came to the United States over 40 years ago and has grown his life, family and business in Northern Indiana.

“Hoosier workers need a champion in Washington. Their voices are lost in echoes of partnerships and coalitions. The lofty ideas of our Founders ... and the hopes of our community have been abandoned to history as Washington progresses and prospers in the hands of the very wealthy and well connected,” Joshi said.

He said Hoosiers need affordable and accessible health care. He said skills training must be made available to put workers back in high-paying jobs.

“Too many Americans are being left behind in an economy that (cares only for) technology and only of Wall Street,” Joshi said, noting that America was built on a promise that every person was endowed with the human rights of life, liberty and happiness in following the American dream.

He said he is self-funding his campaign and wouldn’t be beholden to anyone but the people of the 2nd District.

Hackett, a lawyer in South Bend for 25 years, began with a focus on hope.

“I believe, in a large part, that the hope of this nation is with women and men of goodwill. The film we watched was very difficult for me to watch. The misogyny, the brutality toward women is astounding. We have elected a president who boasts of his assault on women. And a married woman at that. So much for family values,” she said.

“It’s time for something new. It’s time for courage, and it means I need to be courageous enough to step up,” Hackett said.

She grew up in the 1960s and 1970s and was influenced by Bobby and John “Jack” Kennedy. Growing up in a large Catholic home, she learned the importance of social justice; purpose in government, that government isn’t a bad word, neither is cooperation; reaching across the aisle is good; and governing is good and purposeful.

“We have lost that,” she said. “In effect, this Administration, with the help of Jackie Walorski is destroying the soul of this nation. ... I believe this Administration, and I will state this to anyone, poses the greatest risk to this nation since the Civil War. And why? Because Donald Trump is a great salesman, and what he is selling is disunion and division. He is turning us one against the other,” Hackett said.

She said she’s a candidate because she believes the people of District 2 are a good people who love their country and are capable of unity.

“People have woken up, and people realize how important the power of our vote is and what is being sold to us is the state of disunion,” Hackett said.

She said Walorski “is silent in the face of Trump’s dangerous rhetoric. She fails to meet in public with her constituents and fails to hold herself accountable ever. She refused to debate Lynn Coleman last term. A very honorable, articulate, good man. That disrespect of Lynn, that disrespect of all of us in this room as voters is unacceptable in our democracy. And if I receive the nomination, I will insist on a debate and I look forward to debating Jackie Walorski.”

The last of the 2nd District candidates, Hall, a Methodist pastor-turned-CEO, also helped sponsor the well-received “Vietnam” documentary on PBS.

“This has not been my career goal, but at this time, I feel like I could either stand on the sidelines and continue to complain, or I could get involved and enter the arena,” he said of why he chose to run for political office.

Hall said the one thing missing among many in politics is that there’s no accountability.

“Every month our representatives should be in front of us telling us what they did. They don’t. I can’t find Jackie anywhere. I don’t know where she is, and for me, that disqualifies one from being a leader. You can not be a public servant and not stand up and not show up. You can’t do it, and we should not accept that,” he said.

Hall said he believes in accountability and opportunity for everyone.

The Democrats also handed out its Opal Miller Service Award, named in honor of Opal Miller who has been a Syracuse precinct committeewoman since 1961. Smith announced the award winner was Barb Erst, Syracuse.

Smith announced the creation of the Gale Owens Memorial Fund, in honor of the longest-serving Democrat in Kosciusko County. He died May 6, 2016.

The Volunteer of the Year award went to Vicki Morton, the party’s vice chair.