After losing her seat on the Greencastle Common Council last November, Veronica Pejril is far from done in politics.
The Greencastle Democrat took to social media recently to announce her intention to run for Indiana State Senate District 24. The seat is currently held by Republican John Crane, who has announced he will not seek re-election. The district encompases both Putnam and Hendricks counties.
As Indiana's first transgender elected official, Pejril served on the Greencastle Common Council from 2019-2023, representing the Third Ward. Last November, Republican challenger Tina Nicholson defeated Pejril, securing 54.06 percent and 173 votes, compared to 45.94 percent and 147 votes.
During the municipal campaign, Pejril said she had listened to the people of Greencastle: teachers, public safety officers, shop floor union leaders, retail workers and more and tried to represent their voices in City Hall while working on city policy.
Now, she says, her voice is needed in a different legislative area.
In announcing her intention, Pejril said her voice in the State Senate will be essential when it comes to restoring healthcare freedoms and civil liberties many Hoosiers have seen eroded in recent years.
"I lost my sister to overdose in 2017, and I also lost a brother-in-law to a home gun-safety accident in 1989. These events are part of what drove me to bring my voice in representation as a public servant in 2019. And they're what drive me today to bring my unique experiences to the table for Indiana. I will work tirelessly to improve outcomes for Hoosiers with substance use disorder and their families and to strengthen gun safety laws while protecting the constitutional rights of lawful gun owners. I'll also work to restore liberties for women and LGBTQ+ Hoosiers, who have seen their rights and freedoms eroded by the 80 percent supermajority in the Indiana State Senate," Pejril said.
Pejril said while women make up a majority of Indiana's population, it holds a small proportion of the General Assembly, and she is aware the trend is the same when it comes to the LGBT population.
"Seven percent of Americans are LGBT, but only 0.2 percent of us serve in elected office. It's time that our Statehouse looked more like the everyday Hoosiers it claims to represent. We shouldn't see bills being written about us, without us in the room where it happens. I promise to support common sense solutions that will better the lives of all the workaday citizens of State Senate District 24," said Pejril, who serves as President of the Putnam County Recover Coalition's Board of Directors, Treasurer for Indiana Youth Group, as well on the boards of Main Street Greencastle and the Fuller Center for Housing of Putnam County.
Pejril said those are two issues she will address, and is also focused on and wants to really talk about are "kitchen table issues."
