Fact Check: Hale and Pelosi Release New Ad Smearing Victoria Spartz

Desperate Efforts to Hide Hale’s Corrupt Liberal Record

Noblesville, IN (September 30, 2020) – Today Nancy Pelosi launched a new ad smearing Victoria Spartz and attacking her family to distract from Christina Hale’s liberal and shady record:

“When someone does not have a record or just has a bad one, they misrepresent themselves and attack their opponent, and his or her family, with lies. Once again, Christina Hale and Nancy Pelosi are attacking Victoria Spartz and her family with blatant lies and distortions to distract voters from Hale’s record of being partisan, lying about passing over 60 bills, selling out to big utility monopolies and supporting higher taxes on the middle class while trying to dodge her own taxes,” said Spartz campaign manager Catherine Seat. “Victoria Spartz has never financially benefited from public service. The wetland attacks is a completely false, political hit piece. In fact, Victoria’s spent her own hard-earned money trying to make a difference for our community. That stands in stark contrast to the record of political opportunist, Christina Hale, serving special interests and doing their bidding.“

Fact Check:

Victoria Spartz did not support any law to destroy wetlands and benefit her family. Contrary to the smears in the Hale/Pelosi ads, the Spartz family doesn’t even own properties with any wetlands, and has not for nearly a decade.
The wetlands on the property Spartz’s family sold in 2010 were federally, not state regulated, and the legislation Spartz authored in 2019 would have had zero impact on those wetlands anyway. This legislation only effects county surveyors and not private landowners.
Victoria Spartz submitted legislation related to maintaining regulated county drains upon request of the Hamilton County surveyor and commissioners to clarify law existing for over 100 years, which was suddenly misinterpreted by the state agency in 2019 and caused a large fine to Hamilton County taxpayers. This legislation benefitted Hoosiers and prevented flooding while still requiring local officials to protect Indiana wetlands. The legislation had nothing to do with Victoria Spartz and her family, and no member of the Spartz family received, or could have received, any financial benefit. It only benefited her constituents, Hamilton County residents.

While Victoria Spartz was working to protect Hoosiers, Christina Hale has a long record of abusing taxpayers and looking out for herself.

In 2013, Christina Hale voted against the largest tax cut in state history. “The Indiana General Assembly approved a two-year, $30 billion budget early this morning that gives Gov. Mike Pence a partial victory in his quest for an income tax reduction and restores some money cut from education and transportation during the recession. … The spending proposal, which the Senate approved around 1 a.m., included a modest increase in school funding, new money for roads and highways and roughly $350 million in new tax cuts. … The budget marked a partial victory for Pence, who made a 10 percent cut in the personal income tax a signature piece of his gubernatorial campaign. (Tom Davies, “Indiana Legislature Passes $30 Billion Budget,” The Associated Press, 4/27/13; Indiana State House, 4/27/13, HB 1001, Roll Call Vote 664, Passed 70-30, Hale Voted Nay)
Christina Hale tried to dodge her own property taxes (Indiana Board Of Tax Review, Petition Nos. 49-800-07-3-5-00095 And 49-800-07-1-5-01873, Final Determination Issues 9/7/12, Pgs. 1-2)
Christina Hale took campaign cash from big utilities and then wrote legislation helping them build cell towers on private property without public input, and reduce competition meaning higher costs for consumers. In 2015, Hale Co-Authored And Voted Twice For An AT&T-Backed Bill To Make It Easier For Telecom Firms To Build Cell Towers And To Provide Them With More Leverage In Negotiating Interconnection Deals With Smaller Firms. Critics Feared Hale’s Bill Would Lead To Higher Costs For Hoosier Consumers. Consumer advocates express concerns that not only would Hale’s legislation make it easier for telecom utilities to place towers, but, “As originally proposed, the bill would have eliminated nearly all local regulation of wireless towers.” (Indiana Association Of Cities And Towns, Mid-Session Report, 2/27/15)
With More Leverage In Negotiating Interconnection Deals With Smaller Firms. Critics Feared Hale’s Bill Would Lead To Higher Costs For Hoosier Consumers. “Telecommunications companies are required to interconnect their networks with one another. It’s what makes, for instance, a cell phone call from a Verizon Wireless customer to a Sprint customer possible. But a bill moving through the General Assembly would eliminate that requirement at the state level—making Indiana the first state to do so. It’s a measure opponents say would give big companies more leverage in negotiating interconnection agreements with the smaller companies that pay for access. Mike Leppert, an attorney lobbying against House Bill 1318 on behalf of broadband provider Level 3 Communications, said if companies have to pay more for access it could make them less competitive, and they might pass the costs to customers.
During Hale’s Time in The State House, AT&T’s PAC Donated $3,000 to Her Campaigns, and the Company’s Lobbyists Paid for Hale’s Meals. (The Institute on Money in State Politics, Christina Hale Campaign Profile, accessed 8/12/20; (Indiana Lobby Registration Commission, Lobbyist Expenditure Database, Accessed 8/16/20)
Christina Hale, served as the senior Democrat on the House Utilities, Energy and Telecommunications Committee– the House committee tasked with regulation of telecommunications utilities like AT&T. (John Russell, “A Humbling Blow to Coal,” Indianapolis Business Journal, 2/15/16)

Christina Hale is a fundamentally dishonest typical career politician and political opportunist. In Washington, she’ll push the button for Pelosi’s left-wing agenda.

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