Competitive election: 2 Monroe County commissioners to be tested in primary

Correction: This post has been updated to correct the commissioner candidates' districts.

Both Monroe County commissioners who are up for re-election this year are facing primary challenges, including one from a long-time Bloomington City Council member who has clashed with commissioners on major issues including annexation and housing.

Commissioner Penny Githens is seeking re-election, but she will face at least one challenger in the Democratic primary: former long-time Bloomington City Council member Steve Volan.

Githens and Volan are vying for the seat for District 3, which represents Washington Township (north central Monroe County), Clear Creek Township (south central), the county’s eastern townships — Benton, Salt Creek, Polk — and parts of south-central Perry Township.

Voters in the entire county get to vote on commissioner races. The districts merely denote where the candidates must live. That means even though a District 3 candidate cannot live in any townships other than Washington, Clear Creek, Benton, Salt Creek, Polk and Perry, voters in all townships may vote in the race between Githens and Volan.

Additional challengers are possible, as candidates have until Feb. 9 to file their paperwork.

Incumbent commissioner Julie Thomas, president of the board of commissioners this year, had not filed for re-election as of Wednesday, but said via email that she would be seeking another term.

Thomas, too, will face at least one primary challenger: Monroe County Council member Peter Iverson.

Thomas and Iversen are competing for the seat in District 2, which covers Bloomington township, the north-central part of the county, including the northern part of the city of Bloomington.

Neither Githens nor Thomas faced challengers in the primary in 2020.

District 1, which covers primarily the western townships — Bean Blossom, Richland, Van Buren, Indian Creek — is represented by Lee Jones. Her seat is not up for election this year.

In Bloomington, the big elections are in May

As usual in Monroe County, big election clashes are likely to happen in the primary, as Republicans rarely field candidates. Only one Republican had filed for a local race by Wednesday: Paul White Sr. is seeking the Republican nomination for Monroe County Commissioner in District 3. He is unopposed so far, and, if he won, would face in the fall the winner of the Githens/Volan contest.

Taylor Bryant, chair of the Monroe County Republicans, said she expected more Republican candidates to file.

"I know that a few have put feelers out about running so I expect those decisions to be made before the filing deadline," she said via email.

Republicans generally have a tough time getting elected in Monroe County. Among three commissioners, nine city council members and seven county council members, only one is a Republican.

Bryant said Republicans generally have fewer candidates than Democrats in Monroe County in part because the GOP wants to ensure candidates "run for the right reasons and ... have as many resources as we can offer them."

Three at-large seats for the Monroe County Council also are up for grabs this year. So far, three candidates have filed, including incumbents Trent Deckard and Cheryl Munson. David Henry, chair of the local Democrats, is seeking the third seat. The third incumbent, Geoff McKim, said he cannot seek re-election because he has taken a job with the U.S. Department of the Interior. Federal employees are barred from political activity by the Hatch Act.

"Even If I changed jobs, or retired, I would not be running again," McKim said this week via email. "I have been honored to serve on the county council, for what will be 16 years. It is time for a fresh face!"

Offices for surveyor, auditor and treasurer have only one candidate each: Incumbent Trohn Enright-Randolph is seeking another term as surveyor. Brianne Gregory, who works in the auditor’s office, is running for auditor. That position is vacant because former auditor Catherine Smith this month was chosen by caucus to serve as treasurer, Henry said. Smith would not have been able this year to seek another term as auditor because she was term-limited. The treasurer’s position opened up because former treasurer Jessica McClellan resigned as she was tapped by Bloomington Mayor Kerry Thomson to serve as the city’s chief financial officer.

Three incumbent Monroe Circuit Court judges — Christine Talley Haseman, Catherine B. Stafford, Darcie L. Fawcett — also are seeking re-election and are unopposed so far.

What state and federal offices will be on the ballot?

Voters also will get to weigh in on federal offices, such as U.S. president and U.S. Senate but only one candidate had filed for those offices as of Jan. 24, according to the Indiana Secretary of State’s office. One Democrat and one Republican so far have filed for the Ninth District of the U.S. House: Incumbent Erin Houchin is seeking re-election and is so far unopposed in the Republican primary. Timothy Peck is running in the Democratic primary.

Some state offices, too, will be on the ballot, including governor, but at this point, few candidates have filed. The Secretary of State’s office’s list showed only one Republican candidate for governor, though the Republican primary is expected to be crowded.

Other statewide races with local involvement include the Indiana Senate seat for District 40, where Democratic incumbent Shelli Yoder is seeking re-election and the seat for District 44, where Republican incumbent Eric Koch is seeking re-election.

State Rep. Dave Hall, R-Norman, is seeking re-election to his District 62 seat. He is, so far, unopposed in the Republican primary. Hall will face an opponent in the fall, as Democrat Thomas Horrocks, a Bloomington resident, has also filed. Hall won the seat two years ago against Githens, the Monroe County commissioner, by such a slim margin that local Democrats asked for a recount. The final tally showed that Hall won by 74 votes out of 26,000 cast.

Information about Monroe County voter registration and polling places

People who have questions about voter registration, candidate filings and voting locations have the following options:

• The state voter portal: indianavoters.in.gov.
• The county website: tinyurl.com/y59pxfe6.
• The local election office: In-person at 401 W. 7th St. or by calling 812-349-2690.

Local election officials said Wednesday that voting locations have not yet been finalized.

Early voting begins April 9. People can vote early for any reason.

Boris Ladwig can be reached at bladwig@heraldt.com.