PURPOSE
Next Gen Hoosiers is founded with the belief that to solve the most pressing problems facing Hoosiers today, we need to elect a new generation of leaders with a real vision for a better Indiana and the work ethic to make that vision a reality.
Across the state, you see the impact of twenty years of one-party Republican control. From underfunded local schools to stagnant wages, all 92 counties are being left behind due to inaction from MAGA Republicans.
That’s where Next Gen Hoosiers comes in.
In 2024, our focus will be on running paid media campaigns to flip and hold competitive seats to break the extreme MAGA Republican supermajority.
A Few Next Gen Hoosiers
Rep. Mitch Gore
House District 89
A Captain with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Rep. Gore is running for a third term to the Indiana House. District 89 covers parts of eastern and southeastern Marion County.
Rep. Victoria Garcia Wilburn
House District 32
A clinician and public health advocate, Rep. Garcia Wilburn is running for a second term to the Indiana House. District 32 includes parts of Carmel, Fishers, and Indianapolis.
Alex Burton
House District 77
An Evansville City Councilman and business leader at Berry Global, Councilman Burton is a leading voice for neighborhood revitalization, equity, food access, youth development, and housing. District 77 includes Evansville.
Tiffany Stoner
House District 25
Tiffany Stoner is a senior leader at a large consulting firm and a small business owner. District 25 includes Zionsville and Brownsburg in Boone and Hendricks counties.
MEET THE FOUNDER
George Hornedo
An Indianapolis native, George Hornedo is President of Hornedo Strategies—a consultancy specializing in government advising and political strategy. Concurrently, George is a Senior Consultant to Prime Policy Group—Washington’s leading bipartisan government relations firm.
Prior to founding Hornedo Strategies, George worked as a Public Affairs Attorney at Ice Miller LLP, an Indianapolis-headquartered law firm, where he supported corporate, municipal, and nonprofit clients with their policy, government affairs, communications, and business development needs before federal, state, and local governments.
During the 2020 election cycle, George worked as the National Deputy Political Director (Marathon States and Delegates) and National Delegate Director at Pete for America. George’s dedication to public service has also led him to roles in voter protection for the 2020 Democratic Coordinated Campaign, mayoral outreach at the Obama Foundation, policy at Let America Vote, outreach for the pre-elect Clinton-Kaine Transition Project, and delegate operations for Hillary for America.
George started his career as a political appointee in the Obama-Biden Administration, serving as a communications aide at the U.S. Department of Justice under Attorneys General Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch.
George received his B.A. in Government from Cornell University, his Ed.M. in Education Policy and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and his J.D. from The George Washington University Law School.
MEET THE CHAIRMAN
Tony Coelho
In 1978 at just 36 years old, Tony Coelho was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from California’s Central Valley. As a result, he knows the importance of electing the next generation of leaders. In the House, Coelho advanced quickly through the leadership ranks and served as Chairperson of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee from 1981 through 1986. Coelho later became the first-ever elected Majority Whip, the third most powerful position in the House, from 1987 to 1989.
A life-long advocate of people with disabilities, Coelho authored the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) during his time in the House. This legislation provides people with disabilities equal access to employment, public facilities, and transportation and makes it possible for them to become full participating members of society.
After leaving Congress, he joined investment firm Wertheim Schroder & Company as a managing director and eventually served as president and CEO of Wertheim Schroder Investment Services which grew from $400 million to $4 billion in managed investments under his management.
In 1999, Coelho returned to politics when Vice President Al Gore asked him to join his campaign as the General Chairman where he was instrumental in refocusing the campaign, including relocating its headquarters to Nashville. His leadership helped Vice President Gore get the Democratic nomination while winning every state primary and caucus before resigning in June 2000 due to health concerns.
My Story
Indiana is home and where my American Dream happened. But twenty years of one-party Republican control is making it hard for folks across all 92 counties to achieve their own American Dream. I started Next Gen Hoosiers because I believe that to solve the most pressing problems facing Hoosiers today, we need to elect a new generation of leaders with a real vision for a better Indiana for all Hoosiers and the work ethic to make that vision a reality. I want to share some of my story, talk about our community, and focus on our future.
My story takes me to Indiana by the time I’m in school. But I initially grew up in Laredo, Texas—a predominantly Latino border town and a gateway to the United States for people searching for the American Dream. In my own life, I believed a quality education would help provide me with my American Dream.
Founder's Vision
Founder's Vision
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But fundamentally, everyone is in search of their own American Dream. I believe that the government—at every level—has the power and duty to improve people’s lives. And I believe everyone shares some core needs—to feel safe and secure, to feel seen and heard, and to feel like they belong.
But right now, folks all over the country don’t feel safe or financially secure, don’t feel seen or heard by our elected leaders, and don’t feel like they belong in our political process.
Always with my heart (and a foot) in Indianapolis, I’ve spent the past 15 years in politics and public service at the national level. I’m proud of the work I got done.
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I served in the Obama Administration’s Department of Justice, where I focused on civil rights issues, community policing, and criminal justice reform.
Across the country, I’ve worked on political campaigns for leaders I believe in—including Indiana’s very own Pete Buttigieg—where I learned to engage communities, set visions, and build teams.
In the nonprofit world, I combated voter suppression as well as led the Obama Foundation’s effort to secure 300+ mayors in signing a pledge to redefine public safety in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
And in the private sector, I’ve helped communities secure nearly a billion dollars in Biden Administration funding for economic development programs, infrastructure projects, and environmental justice.
Economic Development and Job Creation. Public Safety and Police Accountability. Civil Rights and Environmental Justice. These are issues that make a difference in people’s lives. These are the issues we need our elected officials to work on. That’s why I started Next Gen Hoosiers—because Indiana is home, and I want to help elect the next generation of leaders who will get stuff done.
But there’s one particular issue that touches on everything else I mentioned…
OUR COMMUNITY
Nearly one in six children in Indiana lives in poverty. In my hometown of Indianapolis, that number is one in four.
And frankly, folks in their communities know their poverty rates are far higher than what the official measure is. We haven’t updated how we measure poverty in more than 60 years. We’re using outdated numbers and leaving people behind as more and more families fall through the cracks.
That is one of our country’s biggest and most shameful policy failures. Yet too few of our elected officials talk about poverty. We talk about the middle class, helping people get into it, and keeping people from falling out—all while ignoring that the middle class is feeling the heat precisely because it doesn’t mean what it used to mean.
In my career, I’ve had the privilege to work with and for many great political leaders—including coming of age and starting my career during the Obama years. But the historical figure I’ve been most fascinated by is Bobby Kennedy. Not only does Kennedy hold a special place in the story of Indianapolis given his famous speech upon learning about the assassination of MLK Jr., but he had a near obsession with the issue of poverty.
Bobby Kennedy understood that poverty, economic development and job creation, educational and health outcomes, housing and urban development, environmental justice, and more are all interrelated. They affect everyone regardless of where they fall on the socioeconomic ladder. And although these issues don’t operate in silos, we too often think of them in that way. The vision and leadership Bobby Kennedy exhibited—bringing people from a vast array of social and economic backgrounds together to address the pressing issues of poverty—is something our politics is sorely lacking.
Indiana can and must do better by and for Hoosiers.
OUR FUTURE
Access to affordable and quality preschool is scarce, so it should be no surprise that only 28% of young adults in Indiana have a bachelor’s degree or higher. We need to ensure that our young adults are college-or-career ready.
Looking at my hometown of Indianapolis as an example, our K-12 public education system is struggling. With 11 school districts in Marion County, Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) is the largest school district in both the district and state—operating 77 schools with nearly 30,000 students. When only 60% of third graders are reading at grade level, it’s no surprise that barely half of the students in high school are hitting the benchmark scores expected for students to have a high probabilities of success in careers or college.
And we know what happens when kids don’t make it through school. Getting that first good-paying job becomes harder. Affording that first apartment is out of reach. They’re less likely to find a partner, get married, have kids of their own, and succeed in building whatever life they may want for themselves.
That impacts our whole community. We need our kids to succeed, whatever that may look like for them. We need our kids to be happy. And we need our kids to help build our state better and stronger from the bottom up. We can tinker around the edges here and there, but the only way we’re going to create a state that truly succeeds is when we’re laser-focused on our kids and make sure they have the resources to do better than our generation and our parents’ generation.
But to achieve that, our state needs fresh and effective leaders with a real vision to better their communities and the work ethic to get stuff done.
I'm here today in Indiana because my American Dream was made here. I started Next Gen Hoosiers to help elect leaders who will ensure every kid has the same chance I did.
If we have the vision to see beyond where we are today and to fight for a better future for all of us, I'm living proof that we can get there together.
