Ex-Radio Station Owner Seeks Dist. 22 State House Seat
Posted
Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
Former local radio station owner Bill Dixon is seeking the State House District 22 seat in the May 6 Republican primary election.
Dixon, 42, Syracuse, said he is seeking the seat to provide change in District 22. The seat is currently held by Senator Bill Ruppel, who has served since 1992.Dixon built and ran radio station Wawasee 103 for 15 years. Recently, Dixon started wawaseetv.com, which broadcasts selected sporting events for Wawasee High School on the Internet.
Dixon said this is the first time he is seeking public office. He said he served as a campaign manager for a state senate campaign in Niles and Skokie, Ill., while in college in 1986.
"Ruppel is a nice guy, but his leadership has grown ineffective over time, and the current representation of the district is poor," Dixon said in a telephone interview Tuesday afternoon.
He said toll road money is continuing to flow south while Northern Indiana residents are paying for the road with user fees and are not seeing money from it.
"I am not afraid to call things the way they are and stand up for the district," Dixon said.
Dixon said he is not pleased with Ruppel's lack of attendance at the statehouse to cast votes.
"He has a duty and accepted the responsibility to cast votes when he was elected and should be there to represent the district," Dixon said.
"If you can't trust a legislature to tell you what he thinks, you can't trust your legislature to tell you which way he will vote."
Dixon said he has spoken to residents in Wabash and North Manchester about his candidacy.
The Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Warsaw Chamber of Commerce have at separate times named Dixon "Entrepreneur of the Year."
Dixon is an honorary military recruiter, a Cubmaster and Unit Commissioner with the Boy Scouts of America. He is a member of the Rotary Club.
Dixon is married to Lori, who is a seventh-grade social studies teacher at Wawasee Middle School. They have one son, Andy, who is a Cub Scout and likes to swim and read. They attend Calvary United Methodist Church, Syracuse.
