District 61 race: Incumbent Matt Pierce and challenger Liliana Young clash over housing, health care, education and data centers
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Summary
At a DSA-hosted forum in Bloomington, State Rep. Matt Pierce and challenger Liliana Young traded sharply different approaches to housing, Medicaid, education funding and data-center regulation, with Young pressing for structural change and Pierce stressing legislative experience and targeted amendments.
Representative Matt Pierce and challenger Liliana Young faced voters at a DSA-hosted candidate forum in Bloomington where they outlined sharply different plans for housing, health care, education and local control.
Pierce, the District 61 incumbent, framed his record around protecting voting rights, opposing recent redistricting efforts and using legislative tools to blunt measures he called harmful. He told the audience he had offered an amendment to "unmask ICE" to require law enforcement to identify themselves, and described pushing amendments to force data centers to pay most of their own energy costs and to delay enforcement of Senate Bill 285 until regional treatment capacity exists. "We have to make sure that the data center people ... pay for their own power," Pierce said, arguing local governments must retain authority over land use and that public pressure can stop problematic bills.
Liliana Young, who serves on the Bloomington–Monroe County Human Rights Commission and identified herself as the challenger, positioned herself to the left of Pierce on many issues. She called for a near-term repeal of Senate Bill 285, which she described as "heinous and inhumane," and said she would seek amendments to reduce penalties and work with Bloomington officials to expand shelter capacity. On housing, she called for decommodifying housing and "state ownership of as much housing as possible" so units are not operated for profit. On health care, Young advocated fully funding Medicaid and expanding coverage; on education she said she wants to dissolve school-voucher programs and return funds to public schools.
Both candidates said they would use public pressure and amendments to confront a likely Republican supermajority at the statehouse. Pierce emphasized his legislative experience and tactics — spotlighting bills, offering amendments and informing the public — while Young said she'd lean on daily press outreach, social media and on-the-ground organizing.
What happened next: The forum moved on after closing statements; the moderator announced a brief break before the congressional-candidate portion of the evening. No formal endorsements or votes were taken at the event.