by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill, outspoken advocate of curtailing illegal drug use, will be the featured speaker at the Hamilton County Republican Fall Dinner later this month.

Hill, formerly a county prosecutor, has opposed aspects of the needle exchange program in Indiana. He says continuing to give drug addicts clean syringes is not the way to cure addiction.

In nine Hoosier counties the state administration has approved the exchange in an effort to halt the spread of the HIV virus. Hill has said mandatory treatment should accompany any repeated disbursing of needles.

Hill, who is from Elkhart, is the state’s first black Republican attorney general. He led his party’s ticket in its 2016 statewide victory.

The annual GOP fall dinner will be held Oct. 26 at the Ritz Charles banquet center in Carmel. Tickets at $50 per person are available from Republican Party headquarters. Usually, several hundred attend the affair where local Republicans, party donors and candidates mingle for dinner and listen to a major speaker.

In other political news, Hamilton County’s new state senator, Victoria Spartz, will be sworn into office at the Statehouse on Oct. 12. She was elected by a party caucus last month to fill the Senate seat formerly held by Luke Kenley who retired effective Sept. 30 after 25 years in office.

Meanwhile, Sue Maki, Carmel, announced her candidacy for a seat on the County Council this week. She will challenge incumbent Fred Glynn in a district that includes most of Clay Township and the southern half of Delaware Township.

A major issue in the primary race next spring is certain to be the proposed County Public Safety Training Center. Funding for the $3 million project was turned down last year by four of the seven council members including Glynn. Maki favors the training center.