Vandivier seeks House District 42 seat

As a neonatal nurse practitioner, wife and mom, Brandi Vandivier believes she best understands the issues facing hard working families in Indiana House District 42, and is asking voters for an opportunity to work on their behalf this general election.

Vandivier, a Democrat from Rockville, is seeking to unseat Republican incumbent Tim Yocum in the November general election. 

"Both my husband and I grew up in Rockville. My husband is a public school teacher at North Central Parke, so we have deep roots in this community, making it important for us to raise our family here. I decided to run for a couple of reasons," Vandivier told The Parke County Post. 

For Vandivier, both public schools and healthcare are at the top of the list. 

"I feel like our public schools do not get the support they need from the state level. The catapult to that was I participated in the Red for Ed Day they did at the Statehouse, and that was such an inspiring day where teachers and staff and public school supporters all got together for a common goal of supporting public schools and raising awareness. I would have thought that would have sent a message to the Statehouse, but that was not the case and they continue to defund our schools year after year. Senate Bill 1, the schools took a huge hit and will continue to do so. Public schools is one of the big reasons I wanted to run. My kids go to public schools, and I just think they are the foundation of our communities and we should support them," Vandivier said.

Vandivier said local districts are seeing the fallout of decisions made by those in the Indiana Statehouse. 

"We have had a super majority for over a decade and we are in this position because we have had policies that have not supported the public schools nor the funding. When you look at Montezuma, which had to close, you see these small, rural schools that when the funding gets to them, you have a 2 percent increase, which does not keep up with the cost of what things are. If we don't turn things around, we will see more school closings," she admitted. 

As a neonatal nurse practitioner, Vandivier said her job in the hospital allows her to see the daily impact of healthcare. 

"I see daily what it is like for families who have babies that are admitted to the hospital. It is stressful for them. Do they have enough time off from work? Do they have enough money in savings? Is their job going to give them time off if their babies are there long term? There are so many things that are affected by affordability and access to health care that we need to take a good, long hard look at," Vandivier said. 

She said the biggest healthcare issues she hears from voters are the cost of prescription drugs and the cost of insurance.

"That is huge. It is such a complex system that just fixing one thing is not going to fix it. There are some things that need fixed at the federal level to fix them at the state level because of the way businesses fund their insurance. Most businesses in Indiana are that way, and follow federal law. The biggest thing that would help is transparency and publishing your prices. The hospitals are supposed to do it, and most do, but you still can't say I am going to pay this amount of money for an MRI. There is so much that goes into it and it is really confusing for a lot of people because it is so cumbersome," Vandivier said. 

She said she has also seen and heard stories of people using the emergency room as their primary care provider.

"We do see that quite a bit, and that goes to the affordability of healthcare of even getting to the doctor. That involves in a couple of things because the ER is expensive, but they cannot deny you care. You know you will be seen, but that is really for emergencies. It does create an expense when you go to the ER. If someone can't get there and uses the ambulance service, that ties up the ambulance service for someone who really needs them and it can impact a community," Vandivier said. 

Vandivier said voters across District 42 are also frequently mentioning data centers. 

"This is definitely the hot topic for this election year. I think data centers is the single most topic I have heard the most about. Every place I've been, I have gotten the question at least once. At the root, we need to decide who is our priority and it should be our community and our people. They should have a say in whether they want them or not. I do not believe they should be able to come in and take people's personal property if they do not want to sell it. I think we really need to hone in on some of the tactics that are used and they are more honest about their tactics. There is a large lack of trust. I think people should be able to decide. We all use data centers, and they have been around for a long time, but the scale as to which they are building them now is massive. We have a finite amount of resources, and if we are not proactive in protecting those, then we will be reactive in trying to figure out how to address water shortages and increased electrical bills," Vandivier said. 

Vandivier is no stranger to politics, having served on the North Central Parke School Board from 2016 to 2024. 

"During that time, Turkey Run and Rockville consolidated. We had Covid that we went through, and it was two challenging events that we went through. There were times we did not see eye to eye. It taught me to work with others. I had to listen to others who had opinions and take that all into consideration and listen to what people that. I think that will be important at the Statehouse. Not everyone will agree with me, and I am good with that, but we need to have these conversations." she said.  

With that said, Vandivier does not consider herself a politician. 

"If you would have told me 15 years ago, I would be doing this, I would have told you that you were crazy. It was not on my radar. I am happy to do the work. I work hard and will do the research on the issues and try to do things that I thought were in my control to help, but I never thought it would be at this level. I got to a point where at the bedside or the teachers, you were doing all you could locally but we were not getting anywhere at the state level," Vandivier admitted. 

And, she is hopeful that voters will see her for the person and not as a member of a political party when they cast their vote. 

"I would like people to vote for Brandi. I am a nurse practitioner, a mom and a wife. I am living the consequences of the policies, as well. I hope to earn your vote. I don't want to tell someone what to do. I hope that by being out and about, talking with voters and being on social media, voters will research the candidates, understand what each of us stands for, and vote according to what is important to them. I believe strongly in public schools. I believe strongly that people should have healthcare and access to it, and I believe strongly that life should be affordable. Right now, the direction we are headed do not support those pillars, and I would like to see that change. I hope to earn people's votes," Vandivier said.