Dear Representative Hinkle,
I’m writing this open blog post as a constituent and as a neighbor. You may not remember me, but we’ve met on a couple of occasions.
To be completely honest, our first encounter in March of 2009 left me with a poor opinion of you. My girlfriend (now my wife) was giving a presentation at the Wayne Township public library regarding her vision for Chapel Hill Community Development, a non-profit organization she had recently established. Towards the end of that presentation you commented (in front of the entire audience) that when you first met her (my wife) you, for whatever reason, “just wanted to slap (her)”. This comment was incredibly inappropriate in that public forum, especially since that when you first met her, she was a high school student working for you as a Page.
Our most recent encounter was during Mayor Ballard’s presentation at Wayne Township 7th & 8th grade building in regards to the Chapel Hill neighborhood (of which you and I are residents). When I arrived You were kind enough to point out her location so that she and I could sit together. I was impressed that you were able to recognize the back of her head, and since you were kind and helpful I gave you a retroactive “pass” on the previously mentioned “slapping” comment. Later that evening we even had a good-spirited discussion regarding your position on the school voucher legislation that was being proposed.
Rep. Hinkle, I may not be in total agreement with your politics, but I do respect the job you have done over the past decade. I think that you have represented your area well and have earned your re-election victories.
However, I am now convinced that the present circumstances have rendered you incapable of being an effective representative for your constituents. A recent story in the Indianapolis Star quotes you as saying:
“I want to know what upstairs in my brain went off that sent me down a road of self-destruction…”
Your humility is admirable, but your obvious confusion as to why you’ve made such questionable decisions does not inspire my confidence in you as a public servant. If I can’t trust you to do what is right by your family then how can I, as a constituent, trust that you have my best interests in mind when faced with tough political decisions?
Your party has made its position very clear and now one of your constituents is doing the same. At this point you have already been stripped of your committee leadership position(s), and regardless of the facts, your morals and ethics have proven to be completely out-of-line with those expected of a man in your position.
I ask that you please do the right thing by your party, your family, and by those you have served well over the past decade and resign your position in the Indiana House of Representatives. Your insistence on serving out the remainder of your term does little to convince me that the current allegations you deny are either false or misleading and it serves nothing but your own sense of pride.
Respectfully,
Jordan W. Whitt
Indianapolis, IN 46214
*All expressed opinions are solely my own.
