Dan Forestal
Dan Forestal (Democratic Party) is a former member of the Indiana House of Representatives, representing District 100 from November 7, 2012, to June 15, 2020.
In 2018, Forestal ran for re-election to the Indiana House of Representatives to represent District 100. He won in the general election on November 6 of that year.
Forestal died on July 14, 2021.[1]
Biography
Forestal graduated from Roncalli Highschool and went on to receive his associate degree in fire science from Ivy Tech Community College, a degree in public safety administration from IUPUI, and a degree in public administration from Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs. His career experience includes being a private with the Indianapolis Fire Department, a bailiff in the Marion County Superior Court 11, a guard in the Marion County Jail II, and running a small business that bought and rehabilitated abandoned homes. He has been a member of Firefighters Local 416, the International Association of Firefighters, and the Indianapolis Fire Department's Emerald Society. He has been selected for leadership academies by the Bowhay Institute for Legislative Leadership Development, the NCSL Emerging Leaders Program, and the Council of State Government's Henry Toll Fellowship.[2]
Committee assignments
2019-2020
Forestal was assigned to the following committees:
- House Financial Institutions Committee
- Roads and Transportation Committee, Ranking minority member
- House Public Policy Committee
- Elections and Apportionment Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Indiana committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Commerce, Small Business and Economic Development |
| • Roads and Transportation |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Forestal served on the following committees:
| Indiana committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Commerce, Small Business and Economic Development |
| • Roads and Transportation |
| • Utilities, Energy and Telecommunications |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Forestal served on the following committees:
| Indiana committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Employment, Labor and Pensions |
| • Roads and Transportation |
| • Veterans Affairs and Public Safety |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2020
Dan Forestal did not file to run for re-election.
2018
General election
General election for Indiana House of Representatives District 100
Incumbent Dan Forestal won election in the general election for Indiana House of Representatives District 100 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Dan Forestal (D) | 100.0 | 14,070 |
| Total votes: 14,070 | |||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 100
Incumbent Dan Forestal advanced from the Democratic primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 100 on May 8, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Dan Forestal | 100.0 | 3,570 |
| Total votes: 3,570 | |||
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2016
Elections for the Indiana House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on May 3, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was February 5, 2016.
Incumbent Dan Forestal defeated Larry Shouse in the Indiana House of Representatives District 100 general election.[3][4]
| Indiana House of Representatives, District 100 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Dan Forestal Incumbent |
67.18% | 14,110 | |
| Republican | Larry Shouse | 32.82% | 6,894 | |
| Total Votes | 21,004 | |||
| Source: Indiana Election Divsion | ||||
Incumbent Dan Forestal ran unopposed in the Indiana House of Representatives District 100 Democratic primary.[5][6]
| Indiana House of Representatives, District 100 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Dan Forestal Incumbent (unopposed) | |
Larry Shouse ran unopposed in the Indiana House of Representatives District 100 Republican primary.[5][6]
| Indiana House of Representatives, District 100 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Larry Shouse (unopposed) | |
2014
Elections for the Indiana House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 6, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was February 7, 2014. Incumbent Dan Forestal was unopposed in the Democratic primary and was unchallenged in the general election.[7][8]
2012
Forestal won election in the 2012 election for Indiana House of Representatives District 100. Forestal defeated Zach Mulholland in the May 8 Democratic primary[9] and defeated Scott Keller (R) and James Nease (L) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[10][11]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Dan Forestal |
58.1% | 11,051 | |
| Republican | Scott Keller | 37.2% | 7,073 | |
| Libertarian | James Nease | 4.6% | 882 | |
| Total Votes | 19,006 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Dan Forestal |
63.1% | 1,756 |
| Zach Mulholland | 36.9% | 1,026 |
| Total Votes | 2,782 | |
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Endorsements
2012
Forestal was endorsed by former Congressman Andy Jacobs, Jr. on March 22, 2012.[12] He also received an endorsement from the Indiana AFL-CIO on April 17, 2012.[12]
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Indiana scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2020
In 2020, the Indiana State Legislature was in session from January 6 to March 11.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to consumer interests.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to labor issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to social issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on whether they supported or opposed IMA's position on a bill.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to public education.
2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Indiana General Assembly was in session from January 3 through April 24.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Indiana General Assembly was in session from January 2 through March 16.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Indiana General Assembly was in session from January 3 through April 22.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Indiana General Assembly was in session from January 5 through March 10.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Indiana General Assembly was in session from January 6 through April 29.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the Indiana General Assembly was in session from January 6 through March 14.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the Indiana General Assembly was in session from January 7 through April 29.
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Noteworthy events
Arrests leading to resignation
In August 2019, Forestal was stopped by police and arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and impersonating a law enforcement officer.[13] He was arrested and released on bail the next day.[13]
On June 11, 2020, Forestal was arrested a second time. The preliminary charges included battery of a public safety official, resisting law enforcement, and disorderly conduct. Hancock County Prosecutor Brent Eaton asked for Forestal's bond to be revoked. A hearing was scheduled for June 23, 2020.[14][15]
Four days after the second arrest, Forestal stepped down from his seat on the Indiana House of Representatives and released the following statement:
| “ | Today I resigned from my position as State Representative effective immediately,” said Forestal. “The past eight years of service to the State of Indiana and the people of House District 100 have been the greatest honor of my lifetime. The time is long overdue for me to focus on my mental health and get myself well. I want to thank my family and friends for their love and support during this difficult time. We need to work together to shatter the stigma around mental health issues in the State of Indiana and address them with the same treatment and philosophy as physical health issues. Hoosiers should not have to live in fear of having their struggles with mental health be exposed and have attached to them the negative stigma that comes with suffering from mental health issues. [16] | ” |
| —Dan Forestal, official statement[17] | ||
See also
- Indiana State Legislature
- Indiana House of Representatives
- Indiana House Committees
- Indiana state legislative districts
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Official campaign website
- Profile from Open States
- Facebook page
- Twitter account
- Campaign contributions: 2012
Footnotes
- ↑ The Neighbor, "Former Indiana state representative dies at 38," July 16, 2021
- ↑ Indiana House Democratic Caucus, "State Rep. Dan Forestal," accessed November 21, 2019
- ↑ Indiana Secretary of State, "November 8, 2016 General Election candidates," February 5, 2016
- ↑ Indiana Election Division, "General election 2016 results," accessed December 16, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Indiana Secretary of State, "May 3, 2016 Primary Election candidates," February 5, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Indiana Secretary of State, "May 3, 2016 Primary Election Results," accessed August 18, 2016
- ↑ Indiana Secretary of State, "Official primary election candidate list," accessed February 10, 2014
- ↑ Indiana Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed June 12, 2014
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedap - ↑ Indiana Secretary of State, "List of May 8, 2012, primary candidates," accessed March 6, 2014
- ↑ Indiana Secretary of State, “Election Results – Indiana General Election, November 6, 2012,” accessed January 24, 2013
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Dan Forestral, "Press Releases," accessed May 1, 2012
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Indy Star, "Rep. Dan Forestal arrested on drunken driving, impersonating a public servant," August 13, 2019
- ↑ Indianapolis Star, "State Rep. Dan Forestal resigns after arrest; prosecutor seeks to revoke bond in prior case," June 15, 2020
- ↑ RTV6, "Indiana Rep. Dan Forestal resigns after battery arrest to 'focus on mental health'," June 15, 2020
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ WIBC’’. “State Rep. Dan Forestal Resigns,” June 15, 2020
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Day (D) |
Indiana House of Representatives District 100 2012 - 2020 |
Succeeded by Robert Blake Johnson (D) |
