Mara Candelaria Reardon

Mara Candelaria Reardon is an American politician who is a member of the Indiana House of Representatives, representing the 12th District from 2007 - 2015, and then 2017 to present. Candelaria Reardon is a member of the Democratic Party. She was first elected in 2006. She was defeated in the 2014 general election by Bill Fine, but defeated Fine in the 2016 general election.

Mara Candelaria Reardon
Minority Caucus Chair of the Indiana House of Representatives
In office
November 7, 2018 – November 4, 2020
Preceded byJohn Bartlett
Member of the Indiana House of Representatives
from the 12th district
In office
November 9, 2016 – November 4, 2020
Preceded byBill Fine
Succeeded byMike Andrade
In office
November 8, 2006 – November 5, 2014
Preceded byJohn Aguilera
Succeeded byBill Fine
Personal details
BornEast Chicago, Indiana
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Matthew
ResidenceMunster, Indiana
Alma materIndiana University Northwest
OccupationLegislator

Candelaria Reardon is a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Indiana's 1st congressional district, to replace retiring incumbent Pete Visclosky. She announced her run on November 21, 2019.[1]

Biography

Candelaria Reardon was born in East Chicago, Indiana, in 1964. She is the daughter of Isabelino "Cande" Candelaria, the first Puerto Rican appointed to a city council in Indiana, and Victoria Soto Candelaria, the first Latina elected as President of the Indiana Federation of Teachers.[2] She graduated from Munster High School in Munster, Indiana, in 1982 and attended Indiana University Northwest for her undergraduate degree, before attending John Marshall School of Law in Chicago.

Political career

Reardon served as executive director of Lake County's Drug Free Alliance. She has served on the Ways & Means, Education, Environmental, Governmental/Regulatory Reform, and Small Business/Economic Development Committees. In 2006, Candelaria Reardon became the first Latina elected to the IN General Assembly. In 2018 she was elected by her peers as House Democrat Caucus Chair, a historic Caucus that was for the first time in State history made up of a majority of female Members.

She has served as a commissioner for the Indiana Commission for Women, Market Development Recycling Board, Minority & Women's Business Enterprise Commission, Hispanic/Latino Affairs Commission, and the Indiana Commission to Combat Substance Abuse.

She and her husband are principals at MCR Partners LLC , a consulting firm.

She is the Chair of the Board of Hispanic Caucus Chairs (BHCC), serves as Chair of the National Association of Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Education Fund Board of Directors, and is a member of the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL).[3]

Reardon has advocated for greater funding for drug addiction treatment and legalizing medical marijuana.[4]

She has generally opposed cuts to public education funding, limits on collective bargaining, cuts to unemployment insurance programs, repealing Common Core education standards, and directing state funding to private charter schools.[5]

In July 2018, Candelaria Reardon came forward as one of five women who allege they were sexually harassed by Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill while celebrating the end of the General Assembly session at 2:00 a.m. at AJ's Lounge, an adult party bar and the oldest African-American-owned bar in Indianapolis.[6][7] On March 2, 2020, the lawsuit and all federal claims in the civil case brought against the Attorney General by Candelaria and three other women were dismissed by federal Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson of the U.S. District Court of Southern Indiana and refilled in State Court.[8]

In the 2020 elections, Reardon ran for the United States House of Representatives seat in Indiana's 1st congressional district, where incumbent Pete Visclosky is retiring. Reardon lost the Democratic nomination.[9]

Election results

2012
2012 Indiana General Election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Mara Candelaria Reardon 54%
Republican William I. (Bill) Fine 46%

2014
2014 Indiana General Election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Mara Candelaria Reardon 49%
Republican William I. (Bill) Fine 51%

2016
2016 Indiana General Election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Mara Candelaria Reardon 55%
Republican William I. (Bill) Fine 45%

2018
2018 Indiana General Election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Mara Candelaria Reardon 100%

References
  1. "Candelaria Reardon enters race to succeed Visclosky in Congress". The Northwest Indiana Times. November 21, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  2. "Visclosky Honors Representative Mara Candelaria Reardon". Visclosky.house.gov. September 21, 2010. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  3. "State Rep. Mara Candelaria Reardon". Indiana House Democratic Caucus. Indiana Democratic Party. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  4. "Mara Candelaria Reardon". The Northwest Indiana Times. April 28, 2018. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  5. "Mara Candelaria Reardon's Political Summary". VoteSmart.org. VoteSmart. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  6. "What's the deal with that new bar on South Meridian Street?". Indianapolis Star. March 28, 2016. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  7. "Democratic lawmaker says Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill groped her". CBS News. July 6, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  8. "Why the harassment lawsuit against AG Curtis Hill failed. And what's next". Indianapolis Star. March 3, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
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