Jack Chance announces run for Statehouse Dist. 30 seat
Jack Chance is a regular guy. By his own admission, he is no politician. Until recently, he hadn’t taken up a cause that wasn’t directly related to his family or his career. But these are irregular times.
The senior housing complex manager and Tipton High School graduate is seeking election as a Democrat to the Indiana Statehouse Dist. 30 seat, representing parts of Kokomo, Howard County, and Grant County. He is driven by the difficulty he sees average Hoosiers struggling with to obtain good education, housing, and healthcare. And he hopes to make a difference through legislation.
“I see how incredibly broken housing is,” said Chance. “That broke my heart and led me to seek out what I could do. I saw that not only is it broken just on a day-to-day operational level, but the brokenness is supported by current laws.
“So, there’s no way to fix it without fixing what’s keeping the broken system broken.”
While attending seminary in Oklahoma City to become a minister, Chance established a homeless mission there. And as a manager of an affordable housing complex locally, he sees the difficulties facing Hoosiers. It will be one of his top priorities if elected as a state representative to address housing and homelessness.
But the fight against homelessness starts early in life. A proper education reduces the risk of falling into a situation that ends on the streets. Chance recognizes that Indiana’s educational system has fallen into disarray as more funding is siphoned away from public education each year.
The hopeful candidate defended the education he received in public school, and he will seek to protect and enhance the system.
“I know the benefit of a good public education,” said Chance. “I hear talk today that in public school you’re not taught what’s important.
“As someone who did go to an Indiana public school, I was taught how to vote, where to vote, what it means to vote. I was taught how to file a 1040 EZ to make my first year of taxes simple. I was taught how to invest.
“All of those things I learned in a public school. It challenged my thinking, my upbringing from a family that was extremely conservative, and though the school never really taught politics, it exposed me to a different way of thinking. Without my rooting there, I wouldn’t have what I do now.”
Chance is also dismayed by the condition of healthcare in Indiana and across the nation. Addressing affordability and access to healthcare will be among his top priorities if elected.
“My mother has been disabled since she was 35 years old,” said Chance. “She went from working two jobs regularly, 40 to 60 hours a week, sometimes more, and all of a sudden, she got sick.
“It was a simple illness that triggered one illness after another. She has been abandoned. She’s had to fight tooth-and-nail for basic, dignified treatment in medicine. Even here locally, she has to fight our pharmacists not to treat her just like a regular junkie because she’s disabled and on pain medication.
“That’s not okay. Legislation and affordable healthcare can address those things. We need to make healthcare affordable to remove some of the stigma that poor people face, and when you remove that, I believe a lot of the discrimination that’s directed towards folks that are in poverty will end.”
Given the importance of the issues he hopes to address, Chance believes that his voice -- the voice of a regular guy -- can make a difference for the residents of the 30th District.
“I’ve never really beat the drum on anything other than just doing my job and loving my family, but something has to be done,” said Chance. “I’m just an everyday guy, and I’m here to serve everyday people.”