Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.
Scott Pelath
Scott Pelath is a former Democratic member of the Indiana House of Representatives, having represented District 9. He was first elected to the chamber in 1998. Pelath served as House minority leader from 2012 to 2017. Pelath did not seek re-election in 2018.
Biography
Pelath's professional experience includes working as Human Resources Director at Swanson Center, Aide to United States Representative Tim Roemer and Sales Representative with Correlated Products, Incorporated.[1]
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Pelath served on the following committees:
| Indiana committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Pelath served on the following committees:
| Indiana committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Natural Resources |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Pelath served on these committees:
| Indiana committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Public Policy |
| • Rules and Legislative Procedures |
| • Ways and Means |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Pelath served on these committees:
| Indiana committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Public Policy |
| • Ways and Means, Vice chair |
Issues
Legislative walkout
Pelath and 36 other Democratic representatives participated in a legislative walkout on February 22, 2011, in opposition to proposed right-to-work legislation that would have limited union powers in Indiana. The Democratic departure left the House void of a quorum, leaving only 58 of the 67 representatives needed to establish a quorum.[2] Terri Austin, Steven Stemler and Vanessa Summers stayed behind to provide, if necessary, a motion and a seconding motion, which would enable them to stop any official business from proceeding should the Republicans try to do so.[2]
On March 7, 2011, House Minority Leader B. Patrick Bauer revealed that the Democrats were staying at the Comfort Suites in Urbana, Illinois during their absence from the statehouse.[3] According to the Indiana Constitution, Article 4, sections 11 and 14, the House may enforce fines and other methods to compel absent members to return. Beginning on March 7, 2011, each Democrat was subject to a fine of $250, to be withheld from future expense or salary payments, for each day they were not present in the statehouse.[4] Regarding their actual pay, House Speaker Brian Bosma announced that the 37 lawmakers were required to be physically present in the chambers to receive their per diem payment of $152/day.[3]
On March 21, 2011, Governor Mitch Daniels (R) and House Republicans increased daily fines from $250/day to $350/day. In response to the increase in fines, House Minority Leader B. Patrick Bauer stated that Democrats "will remain steadfast" in their opposition to the right-to-work bill.[5] Rep. Winfield Moses, Jr. (D) called the increase "a poke in the eye," and said it would not cause the Democrats to return.[6]
The Democrats returned to the statehouse on March 28, 2011, after the two sides had agreed to compromise on a number of issues, including shelving the controversial right-to-work bill.[4] Although the Democrats had some of their demands met, each absent member accrued a total of $3,500 in fines.[4]
The Legislature ended up passing right-to-work legislation on February 1, 2012, becoming the 23rd state to do so. Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) signed the measure into law.[7]
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
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 Scott Pelath ran unopposed in the Indiana House of Representatives District 9 general election.[8][9]
| Indiana House of Representatives, District 9 General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic |  Scott Pelath Incumbent (unopposed) | |
| Source: Indiana Election Divsion | ||
Incumbent Scott Pelath ran unopposed in the Indiana House of Representatives District 9 Democratic primary.[10][11]
| Indiana House of Representatives, District 9 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Scott Pelath Incumbent (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 Scott D. Pelath was unopposed in the Democratic primary and was unchallenged in the general election.[12][13]
2012
Pelath won re-election in the 2012 election for Indiana House of Representatives District 9. Pelath ran unopposed in the May 8 Democratic primary and defeated Dan Granquist (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[14][15]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Scott D. Pelath Incumbent |
69.5% | 17,172 | |
| Republican | Dan Granquist | 30.5% | 7,545 | |
| Total Votes | 24,717 | |||
2010
Pelath defeated Libertarian candidate Andrew Wolf by a margin of 10,995 to 2,716 in the November 2 general election.[16]
In the May 4 primary election, Pelath ran unopposed and received 3,895 votes.[17]
| Indiana House of Representatives, District 9 General Election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Scott Pelath (D)
|
10,995 | |||
| Andrew Wolf (L) | 2,716 | |||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Democrat Scott Pelath won re-election to the Indiana House of Representatives District 9 receiving 20,509 votes, ahead of Libertarian K.P. Nfr who received 1,818 votes.[18]
| Indiana House of Representatives, District 9 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Scott Pelath (D)
|
14,495 | |||
| K.P. Nfr (L) | 1,818 | |||
2006
On November 7, 2006, Scott Pelath won re-election to the Indiana House of Representatives District 9 unopposed.[19]
| Indiana House of Representatives, District 9 (2006) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Scott Pelath (D)
|
' | |||
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.
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.
2018
In 2018, the Indiana General Assembly was in session from January 2 through March 16.
- 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 whether they supported or opposed IMA's position on a bill.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2017, the Indiana General Assembly was in session from January 3 through April 22.
|
2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2016, the Indiana General Assembly was in session from January 5 through March 10.
|
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2015, the Indiana General Assembly was in session from January 6 through April 29.
|
2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2014, the Indiana General Assembly was in session from January 6 through March 14.
|
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2013, the Indiana General Assembly was in session from January 7 through April 29.
|
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Scott + Pelath + Indiana + Legislature
See also
- Indiana State Legislature
- Indiana House of Representatives
- Indiana House Committees
- Indiana state legislative districts
External links
- Profile from Open States
- Legislative Profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Watchdog Indiana Candidate Ratings
- Campaign contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 1998
Footnotes
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Political Summary," accessed March 6, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 IndyStar.com, "Indiana Democrats trigger Statehouse showdown over anti-union legislation," February 22, 2011
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Fox 59, "Fines begin for absent House Democrats," March 7, 2011
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Wall Street Journal, "Pressure Mounts on Absent Democrats in Wisconsin, Indiana," March 3, 2011 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "wsj" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ IndyStar.com, "Dems' walkout drags on, among nation's longest," March 23, 2011
- ↑ WFIE.com, "Indiana Republicans say they're done negotiating," March 17, 2011
- ↑ Reuters, "Indiana becomes 23rd "right-to-work" state," February 1, 2012
- ↑ Indiana Secretary of State, "November 8, 2016 General Election candidates," February 5, 2016
- ↑ Indiana Election Division, "General election 2016 results," accessed December 16, 2016
- ↑ Indiana Secretary of State, "May 3, 2016 Primary Election candidates," February 5, 2016
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Indiana Secretary of State, "2010 Official General Election Results," accessed March 6, 2014
- ↑ Indiana Secretary of State, "2010 Official Primary Election Results," accessed March 6, 2014
- ↑ Indiana Secretary of State, "2008 Official election results," accessed March 6, 2014
- ↑ Indiana Secretary of State, "2006 Official election results," accessed March 6, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Indiana House of Representatives District 9 1998–2018 |
Succeeded by Patricia Boy |
