Off to the races: More candidates adding names to primary ballot

The primary election ballot continues to grow as residents file their intention to run for local office.

Candidates could begin filing their intention to run for office on Jan. 5.

The deadline for candidates to get their name on the ballot with a major political party for the May 3 primary election is Feb. 4.

During that first week seven local Republicans threw their names in the hat to run for multiple offices. Last week, three more Republicans filed to run for local offices.

Positions up for election locally this year are: Assessor, auditor, coroner, clerk, prosecutor and sheriff. County council district seats 1, 2, 3 and 4 will also be elected this year along with the District 2 commissioner seat.

Auditor Julia Reeves will seek re-election this year along with Prosecutor Ted Adams, Washington Township Trustee Brandon Edens Magner and Assessor Mari Miller. Van Buren Township board member Ben Phillips is also seeking re-election.

Adams was first elected in 2014, becoming the first Republican prosecutor in 16 years. He has continued to serve as prosecutor for the last eight years.

Jim Kemp filed to run as a Republican for the Brown County Council District 4 seat, which is currently held by Art Knight.

Kemp previously ran for an at-large county council in 2020. Kemp served on the Brown County Redevelopment Commission for three years after being recruited to serve on the board in 2017. He has lived in the county since 2008.

Republicans Brad Stogsdill, Chad Williams and Scott Bowling have all filed to run for Brown County Sheriff. Stogsdill currently serves as chief deputy under Sheriff Scott Southerland who will conclude his second term this year. The office of sheriff is limited to two terms. Williams is a sergeant in the department and Bowling is a deputy.

All three candidates began campaigning this summer.

Pearletta Banks filed to run as a Republican for clerk.

No local Democrats have filed to run for any office as of last week’s report from the Clerk Kathy Smith.

Former Nashville Police Chief Ben Seastrom had began his campaign for sheriff as a Democrat last summer, but decided not to file to run after accepting a new job as a deputy for the sheriff’s department in Jennings County.

Clerk Kathy Smith said last week her office had received many phone calls from residents who wish to run as independents.

“We have answered lots of questions. A lot of people calling in, asking ‘Do I have to get signatures?’ ‘How do I do this?’ ‘Do I not register until the fall?’ We have received a lot of telephone calls,” Smith said.

Independent candidates can file to run for office now and will need to file a “Consent of independent or minor political party candidate nominated by petition for election 2022” form that is found on the Indiana Secretary of State’s website.

The consent form must be filed no later than noon on July 15.

Those interested as running as an independent could begin filing a petition for nomination on Jan. 5. Independents are elected in the general election.

Smith said residents have also called in asking about the qualifications to run as a Democrat or Republican regarding their voting history.

A person must have voted either as a Democrat or Republican in the last two primary elections they cast their vote to qualify to run with either party, according to the Indiana Election Division.

Looking ahead

School board districts 1, 2 and 3 seats will be elected in the general election in November. Anyone who is interested in running for school board can put their name in the hat beginning July 27.

In December, the county commissioners approved an ordinance establishing the districts for commissioners and county council ahead of this year’s election. The new districts were established due to changes with the Washington Township precincts.

Beginning with this year’s election, the four voting precincts in Washington Township will be condensed to three with the current Washington 4 being renamed Washington 3. All in-town Nashville voters will cast their vote at the Washington 2 precinct now.

It is still unclear how the precinct change in Washington Township could affect the school board districts, if at all.

Last week, Smith said any changes to the districts must be approved by the school board.

The precinct change in Washington Township happened after Nashville Town Council decided to elect all of its members at-large from among in-town residents instead of requiring three of them to live in specific areas of Nashville. This change will begin with this year’s election.

The redistricting ordinance also stated the commissioners decided to not change districts following the release of Census data, which did show a population deviation gap between the districts with the highest and lowest populations.

It states there is “no practical plan which improves the representational equality of the districts” due to the “rural nature and “wide distribution” of residents and voters.

The commissioners decided early in October to look at the precincts that make up the county council districts, but after more than a month of discussing new maps the commissioners voted to not make any changes ahead of this year’s election.

Following the approval of the redistricting ordinance on Dec. 29, the commissioner and council districts will continue to cover the same areas with some changes to the precincts in the districts.

County council District 4 is now made up of Jackson 4, Washington 3 and Van Buren precincts. District 3 will include only Washington 1 and 2. District 2 is made up of Hamblen 2, Jackson 1 and Jackson 3. District 1 now consists of Hamblen 1, Hamblen 3 and Jackson 2.

County council member Gary Huett is the District 1 council member. Art Knight is from District 4. Darren Byrd represents District 2 and Dave Redding is the District 3 council member.

The commissioner districts also changed with the precinct adjustments in Washington Township.

District 1 will include all of Hamblen Township as it had before. District 2 will be made up of all of Jackson Township and the new Washington 3 precinct. The new Washington 3 precinct includes Annandale Drive and other roads to the west of Nashville.

District 3 will be made up of the new Washington 2, which is all of Nashville, Washington 2 and Van Buren precincts.

Commissioner Diana Biddle currently represents District 2. She is seeking a third term as county commissioner this year.

The District 1 seat on the Gnaw Bone Sewer District Board will also be elected this year. The deadlines for that seat are the same as school board. Voters who live within the Gnaw Bone Sewer District will only cast their votes in that race.

Early voting will begin on April 5 and will take place in the Salmon Room at the County Office Building, 201 Locust Lane, for both primary and general elections.

The absentee voter board will use the conference room space next to the commissioners’ office in the County Office Building. The absentee voter board will move into that space around March to start administering absentee voting, which includes mailing out ballots to those who requested one.