To help voters keep in touch with him and the campaign, Charbonneau has launched a new campaign website: www.CharbonneauforSenate.com .

“Hoosiers want leaders who are focused on making good decisions today that will give Indiana a better tomorrow,” Charbonneau said. “I strive every day to make our state government more accountable, efficient and transparent and serve Hoosiers with common sense and uncompromising integrity. I hope the good people of Senate District 5 will re-hire me to represent them at the Statehouse.”

Last summer Charbonneau led the charge to re-evaluate state law after the Indiana Supreme Court issued a controversial opinion regarding Hoosiers’ rights against unlawful entry of their homes.

“This session I have authored legislation – Senate Bill 1 – to clarify this issue and make sure Hoosiers’ property rights are respected,” he said. “The right to self-protection is one of the foundations of our democracy and I want to make sure Hoosiers have peace of mind knowing they are protected on their own private property.”

Charbonneau is also focused on protecting the rights of women and children. This session he authored SB 190, which denies parental rights to rapists who father a child during the act of rape.

Last fall he attended a legal seminar at Valparaiso Law School put on by a young lady that had been raped, became pregnant as a result of the rape, and chose to have the baby and keep it as opposed to aborting it or putting the child up for adoption.  He was shocked to learn that in most states rapists have the same parental rights as any other father.  As a result while being criminally prosecuted for rape the rapist can create havoc for his victim by seeking parental rights to the child.  “I decided right then to author legislation to prohibit this from occurring here in Indiana,” Charbonneau said.

In addition, Charbonneau has authored legislation to create tax credits for high-tech equipment to encourage business growth and the creation of new jobs.

“We need to do everything we can to help Hoosier businesses thrive and create more good-paying jobs for hard-working Hoosiers,” he said.

During his legislative career, Charbonneau has been ranked one of the state’s most pro-job, pro-economy policymakers by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, who last year named him a 2011 Small Business Champion. He is committed to fiscal discipline and in his role as Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations he has worked to pass honestly balanced budgets without raising taxes – ensuring the state lives within its means just like Hoosier families must do.

“Hoosiers know a dynamic, growing economy is critical to our future – for us and for our children,” Charbonneau said. “While the federal deficit has continued to grow, in Indiana we tightened our belts and learned to do more with less,” Charbonneau said.

As a member of the US Army Reserves from 1966 to 1972, Charbonneau understands the needs and concerns of Hoosier Veterans and members of the military and helped pass legislation expanding Veteran’s benefits. He is also committed to working on issues specific to Northwest Indiana including the assessment process for agricultural land, drainage issues on the Kankakee River, rehabilitation of abandoned buildings, public/private partnership agreements, and co-chairing a regional panel on US-Canadian trade and border policies.

Active in a wide variety of community organizations, Charbonneau is currently Board Secretary for Opportunity Enterprises and President of the Home Field Advantage Foundation.  He has served as Board Chairman of the United Ways of Lake and Porter Counties as well as Tradewinds Rehabilitation Center.  He was also on the Executive Board of the Northwest Indiana Quality of Life Council and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Indiana Dunes Environmental Learning Center.

Charbonneau received his undergraduate degree at Wabash College in Crawfordsville and completed his MBA at Loyola University and his law degree at South Texas College. He and his wife Sharon have been married 39 years and have two children and four grandchildren. They reside in Valparaiso.