Dr. Westerhausen
Will Fight For You

2020 VISION for a HEALTHY INDIANA: Education, Healthcare & Environment

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2020 vision for a healthy Indiana

Education, Healthcare & Environment

Dear Mishawaka and Granger Neighbors,

I am excited and proud to announce my candidacy for the Indiana House of Representatives District #5, comprising most of Harris Township, Mishawaka as well as part of Penn Township (Mishawaka and Granger).

The current Statehouse Representative is part of the Republican party which is out of touch with the challenges Hoosiers face. They offer outdated strategies for prospering in a 21st century world. I feel passionately about three critical issues that are not being addressed by the state legislature: PUBLIC EDUCATION, HEALTHCARE and the ENVIRONMENT.

Public education is the bedrock of our democracy and should be supported with action and transparency, not lip service. Over the last 10 years, public school funding has not kept up with inflation while taxpayer money is increasingly siphoned off to unregulated voucher, charter, and virtual schools. Indiana is last in the country—51st behind Puerto Rico—in public school teacher salary increases over the last 10 years. It is time we elect a representative in District 5 who will truly advocate for public education and support public school teachers, so we better prepare our children for success in this century.

Indiana’s healthcare priorities are misplaced. We see it in the declining health of Hoosier children and women reflected in our state’s high rate of infant and maternal mortality, placing Indiana in the bottom 10 states in the nation. Instead of wasting taxpayer money on a lawsuit to repeal the Affordable Care Act, legislators should be protecting coverage for pre-existing conditions without increasing insurance premiums, reducing the cost of prescription drugs, and expanding benefits for addiction and mental healthcare treatment.

Our health is related to our environment. It is time that District 5 has a representative who understands the connection between access to quality medical care, clean air, clean water, and positive healthcare outcomes. For example, if we transition from coal to renewable sources for our energy needs over the next two decades, it will not only improve air quality by decreasing carbon emissions by billions of tons, but it will also save Indiana consumers billions of dollars. Legislation like this is good for business, good for the environment, and most importantly good for all Hoosiers.

I am a physician who has served this community for almost 30 years. My wife and I raised three children here. I am invested in this area and in Indiana as a whole. I want to serve in the Indiana State House of Representatives to provide much-needed, long-overdue positive change. It will not be easy, but I am up for the challenge. I am asking for your vote and your support so that we can raise Indiana up, out of the cellar, in important everyday issues for all Hoosiers. It’s time we invest in our future and adapt policies that lead the nation in public education, healthcare protection, and clean energy. With your help, we can begin that journey.

Thank you,

Donald R. Westerhausen, Jr., MD

2020 campaign buzz

Time for change

I feel passionately about three critical issues that are not being addressed by the state legislature:

PUBLIC EDUCATION, HEALTHCARE and the ENVIRONMENT.

Community Is everything...

Local Endorsements


Our state deserves the opportunity to have a wonderful person like Don be the next Representative for District 5.

Senator Joe Donnelly - February 28, 2020

Mel Hall
Partner SnowBridge Capital
Candidate United States Congress for Indiana 2nd District
Former president, CEO, and Chairman Press Ganey Associates

Striving to ensure all working people are treated fairly, with decent paychecks and benefits, safe jobs, dignity, and equal opportunities. Helping people acquire valuable skills and job-readiness for the 21st century economy. Operating the largest training network outside the U.S. military.
James Summers

Executive Director Project Impact South Bend; Former Chairman SCORE Michiana, a nonprofit association of local volunteers with the mission to grow successful small businesses in Michiana; Owner of The Summers Group, specializing in community revitalization through entrepreneurship.
"It is the mission of Teamsters Local 364 to provide the best possible service to all our members with integrity and equality; to advance the social, economic, and educational welfare of the membership; to promote professional working relationships and fair play between members and management alike; and to positively contribute to the communities we serve and live in."
The American Federation of Teachers is a union of professionals that champions fairness; democracy; economic opportunity; and high-quality public education, healthcare and public services for our students, their families and our communities. They are committed to advancing these principles through community engagement, organizing, collective bargaining and political activism, and especially through the work their members do.


Electing scientists who will use evidence and facts to fight climate change and fix our broken healthcare system.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen exists to promote and protect the rights, interests, and safety of its members through solidarity, aggressive representation, and education.
We represent over 55 affiliate unions in the Northern portion of Indiana. We are democratically elected bodies dedicated to represent the interests of working people at the state and local level. We mobilize our members and community partners to advocate for social and economic justice and we strive daily to vanquish oppression and make our communities better for all people—regardless of race, color, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, or ethnic or national origin.
The Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters represents more than 35,000 professional tradespeople in 40 locals in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and parts of West Virginia and Tennessee. A proud affiliate of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, which has a century-plus tradition of representing the best of the building trades, the council works in partnership with more than 30,000 contractors, helping them find the best possible talent for their projects.

The hallmark of our regional council is three-fold: training, professionalism and partnerships for economic development.
SMART TD strives for progressive and innovative contracts that ensure excellent wages and benefits and a healthy pension system for the railroad, bus, mass transit and airline employees who have devoted their lives to service those industries. It also continues to lead in efforts to combat drug and alcohol abuse among its members, in the promotion of mass transit and an efficient rail passenger service, and in protecting its members and the public from the unsafe shipment of hazardous materials.
The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers’ Local 359 exists to lead the way in the HVAC, Architectural, and Manufacturing industries through superior training programs vested in innovation and ingenuity. We continuously strive to elevate the skills and maintain utmost professionalism while advancing membership of our union through the pursuit of education, fair wages, and insurance benefits for a dignified career and retirement.
Laborers’ Local Union 645 is committed to protecting and improving the quality and security of our members’ working conditions and personal lives through pro-active representation, effective political action, and open communication, supported by education and training programs designed to empower Union members.
Region 2B, United Auto Workers

The UAW has been a leader in the struggle to secure economic and social justice for all people. The UAW has been actively involved in every civil rights legislative battle since the 1950s. The UAW also has played a vital role in passing such landmark legislation as Medicare and Medicaid, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Employee Retirement Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act. In Washington and state capitols, the UAW is fighting for better schools for kids, secure health care and pensions for retirees, clean air and water, tougher workplace health and safety standards, stronger worker’s compensation and unemployment insurance laws and fairer taxes.

The Iron Workers strive to bring justice to the lives of workers everywhere through bigger paychecks, better health and retirement benefits, more secure jobs and safe working conditions. I am proud to receive their endorsement and will continue to advocate for Hoosier working families.
Better Leaders.
We support progressive public servants in our local communities and candidates for the state legislature.
Better Government.
We strive to elect leaders committed to inclusive government and responsive representation to help Indiana meet future challenges and opportunities.
Better Indiana.
We believe we have a shared responsibility for the future of our state and support organizations that strive to improve the lives of all Hoosiers.
The Indiana Political Action Committee for Education (I-PACE) is the political action arm of the United Education Profession at the state level. The purpose of I-PACE and its L-PACs is to promote the cause of public education in the State of Indiana through political action. I-PACE assists candidates, political parties, and committees who are favorable to education issues as determined by ISTA Representative Assembly resolutions and legislative priorities.
We're enlightened by endorsement of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 153. Trained electricians are critical to all facets of our economy from our electrical grid to the wiring in our homes and offices and maintaining equipment in our factories. Our economy and neighborhoods are brighter with the IBEW. www.IBEW153.com


Notre Dame College Democrats Proudly Endorse Don Westerhausen.
District Council 91 is made up of twelve Local Unions covering the entire State of Indiana, the western half of Kentucky and the middle third of Tennessee, with some territory in southeastern Illinois. Our membership consists of Painters, Drywall Finishers, Vinyl Hangers, Glaziers as well as Hydroblasting, Bill Posters, manufacture glass products, and industrial workers who perform fireproofing and lead or asbestos abatement including mold and mildew remediation.


I am proud to have the support of Sherriff Bill Redman of the St. Joseph County, IN Police Department.
Local 172 Plumbers and Pipefitters Technicians are involved in just about every aspect of construction in the South Bend/Mishawaka and Northen Indiana area involving piping in commercial, industrial and residential projects. When contractors and owners hire craftspeople who are members of Local 172, one promise is made: You are hiring the most highly skilled and best trained plumber, pipefitter or refrigeration expert in the business.

That’s why they say with confidence—We Do it Right the First Time!
I would like thank the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 for their endorsement. In these uncertain times, Local 150 members are working hard to protect vital infrastructure. Workers across America are going to work each and every day to maintain public utilities, stock grocery shelves and care for the sick. It is time that Indiana State House District 5 has a Representative that supports working people. #SupportWorkers
Our campaign has been awarded the 2020 Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate distinction for advocating for gun violence prevention and making a commitment to govern with gun safety in mind.

Moms Demand Action is the nation’s largest grassroots volunteer network working to end gun violence in America. Moms Demand Action campaigns for new and stronger solutions to lax gun laws and loopholes that jeopardize the safety of our families.



Dale “Woody” Emmons 1st District, City of Mishawaka Common Council Members



Mike Compton 5th District, City of Mishawaka Common Council Member



Ron Banicki 6th District, City of Mishawaka Common Council Member



Gregg Hixenbaugh At-Large, City of Mishawaka Common Council Member



Matt Mammolenti At-Large, City of Mishawaka Common Council Member



Deborah Ladoga-Block, City of Mishawaka City Clerk



Lynn Coleman
Faith based community organizer for social justice, retired Assistant Chief of Police in South Bend, former Assistant to the Mayor of South Bend, former candidate Indiana 2nd Congressional District and also Mayor of South Bend.
I am pleased to have the endorsement and support of the St. Joseph Valley Building & Construction Trades Council which represents 22 affiliated locals representing over 10,000 highly skilled craftsmen and women in Northern Indiana and Southern Michigan.

As your State Representative, I will fight and protect working family rights in Indiana.

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