A Westfield resident will run for a House District 24 seat next year.
Josh Lowry, a Democrat, recently announced a bid for state representative in District 24, which encompasses portions of Westfield, Carmel, Sheridan and eastern Boone County. The seat is currently held by Republican Donna Schaibley, who has served in the role since 2014.
“I am running for state representative for the same reason that my wife and I became foster parents. I want to provide the children of our community a better life,” Lowry said. “These years of fostering and adopting have shown me the impact we can have on the community when you decide to take action instead of just hoping things will get better. Unfortunately, we are running out of room to adopt more in our house, but I know I can keep impacting lives for the better as District 24’s state representative.”
Lowry, a native of Martinsville, is a trial attorney who spent five years as deputy attorney general practicing constitutional law and defended state agencies such as the Indiana Department of Child Services and the Indiana State Police. Lowry moved to Westfield in 2009 after meeting his wife Alexis at Indiana University.
Alexis Lowry is a Democratic candidate who is seeking the District 4 seat on the Westfield City Council and will face Republican challenger Patrick Tamm during the Nov. 7 general election.
Lowry previously ran for Indiana State Senate in 2022, but was defeated by incumbent Republican Jim Buck, who represents District 21.
“Although I came up short, as we knocked on thousands of doors, we came across so many Hoosiers that shared the same vision for Indiana – supporting our public schools and amazing teachers, increasing access to affordable healthcare and growing career opportunities here in Indiana so our kids can grow up and afford to stay,” Lowry said. ““And it was all based around one simple principle – Hoosier Hospitality. That is more than just treating others with respect. It means helping those in need.
“It means showing compassion and kindness to others, even when we disagree. Most importantly, it means that when someone is different from us, we still greet them with open arms and let them know that one Hoosier always has another Hoosier’s back,” Lowry said.
Lowry said he is seeking the District 24 seat in part because he and his wife are foster parents and wants to have a positive impact on the community as the couple does through fostering. He said many people choose to live in the Hamilton County area because of its highly ranked school districts.
“Right now, a lot of the laws being passed are trying to divert funds from the public schools to private schools,” Lowry said. “Private schools are great, but we have to make sure that we keep public schools great so that everybody has the same opportunities.”
He also pointed out that the state of Indiana is $11,000 below the national average for salaries, adding that there needs to be “more legislative priorities that help grow good paying jobs so not that people who are already here can find good jobs, but we want our kids to find good jobs and stay here.”
Lowry said he is in favor of putting Hoosiers first, noting that he believes many politicians at the Statehouse are trying to score political wins rather than helping others around them. If elected, Lowry said he would work across the aisle with other lawmakers regardless of their political party.
He pointed to the work of State Rep. Victoria Garcia-Wilburn, D-Fishers, in passing mental health legislation for first responders by working with her fellow colleagues.
“There’s absolutely the appetite for people to work across the aisle on 90% of the issues,” Lowry said. “Most issues are not partisan … and there’s a lot of stuff that really we can work together to find ways to do it.”
Lowry said if elected, he would represent everyone within District 24 regardless of their political affiliation.
“It’s more than just the politics. If we want to stop being so divisive as a community, then we have to stop being divisive as a community and that starts with one conversation to the next,” Lowry said.
For more on Lowry’s campaign, visit lowryforindiana.com or email [email protected].
