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Two candidates vying to represent northeast Indiana in Congress shared their views on policies affecting construction at a Wednesday forum.
U.S. Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-3rd, and Democrat Kelly Thompson faced off at the American Institute of Architects Fort Wayne and the Building Contractors Association of Northeast Indiana’s annual Meet the Candidates Reception at The History Center.
The event gave the organizations’ members the opportunity to meet candidates for the upcoming election for federal, state, legislative and Allen County races and hear their views through brief forums. Stutzman and Thompson were followed by a forum for state candidates and questions for those participating in Allen County races.
Much of construction work is impacted by legislation on all levels, said Stefanie Custer, executive director of the association. The event educates members on issues and candidates’ views before they vote.
Dozens attended the event. This year’s turnout showed the importance of the election to candidates and voters, said Cindy Riebersal, moderator and chair of the association’s government affairs committee.
When asked how the candidates would help grow the skilled labor workforce, Thompson said she would focus on education accessibility and lowering costs for degrees and training programs.
“We need our people to get the education and the training that we need them to have in order to make sure that our country continues to work,” she said.
Stutzman said he would emphasize learning skills over liberal arts degrees toward youth interested in the trades. He would continue to support opportunities with large-scale infrastructure including data centers, but with proper human regulations.
Stutzman said jobs left the U.S. as a result of the North American Free Trade Agreement, and the Trump administration has worked to counteract those effects through tariffs. There is more manufacturing coming back to the nation because of this, he said.
“We need to focus on America,” he said. “ ‘Made in America’ should be the motto for all of us.”
Thompson disagreed and said manufacturing jobs continue to decline, but she hopes they will increase. Tariffs have harmed local businesses, she added.
To bring manufacturing back to the country, infrastructure for producing materials needs to be built, she said. This takes planning and dependable funding.
Thompson argued that the national safeguards protecting citizens from the negative effects of large-scale developments, including draining natural resources, are not being enforced.
Stutzman said America’s problem with energy production happened because of the denied expansion of the Keystone Pipeline and too few refineries.
The nation will have an abundance of oil and gas from Alaska and Venezuela, he said, but needs a way to refine it. For that to happen, resources need to stay in the Western Hemisphere.
“We need to take control of our own destiny,” he said.
Thompson said she would always be available and accessible to constituents.
“I think it’s important that we elect people to power who have actually felt our pain,” she said.
Election Day is Nov. 3.
Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-3rd, and Democrat Kelly Thompson speak Wednesday evening during the Meet the Candidates Reception at The History Center.
