A rarity for caucuses, it only took one round of votes to elect the next state representative for portions of White River and Perry townships, replacing a decades-long lawmaker who retired suddenly last month, months after being re-elected to the post.
Dollyne Sherman, who turned 64 on Tuesday, will fill the remainder of David Frizzell’s term, which is slated to end in January 2021. She beat out six other candidates for the job in a special Republican caucus at the Perry Township Government Center in Indianapolis. Two of the candidates — Shawn Gardner and Melinda Griesemer — are Johnson County residents.
District 93 had been served by Frizzell, who stepped down to spend more time with family according to the Marion County GOP, since 1992. It includes the southern portion of Perry Township and Indianapolis in Marion County, and a portion of White River Township in Johnson County. As a member of the House of Representatives, Sherman will draft and vote on bills that come before the General Assembly, as well as approve the state’s bi-annual budget.
“It’s very gratifying. The process allows you to talk to voters one on one. Sure, it’s on a much smaller scale, but you earn those votes one at a time,” Sherman said.
Her main focus over the next year and a half will be on how Interstate 69 will impact local residents and businesses as it is built through the northwest corner of Johnson County, and southwest corner of Marion County, she said.
“I-69 is on our doorstep,” Sherman said. “We need to address the disruption it will cause, but also take advantage of the job opportunities it will present us.”
A strategic communications consultant by trade, she ran a strong campaign — knocking on doors and talking to District 93 constituents about the issues that matter to them, she said.
Among them were: jobs and prosperity; protecting the state’s financial health; improving public safety and making sure police and fire are well-funded; educational challenges; doing more Indiana’s veterans; better managing the opioid crisis; and protecting the unborn and Second Amendment rights.
“I know you feel under siege from us,” Sherman said. “After tonight, maybe you’re the ones who should be showing up on our doorstep, uninvited, at dinner time, and filling our phones and mailboxes with messages.”
She promised to always be available, and never lie.
Those promises earned her 22 of the 34 votes cast by precinct committeemen from both counties.
She’s one of us, said Phil Borst, a long-time Indianapolis City-County councilman.
“You judge a person by who they hang out with and maybe who they work with, or for, and if you look at the names of the people (who) she’s worked with and for, I think that’s a good reflection on how things will go and how she’ll make decisions,” Borst said.
Sherman spent much of her career in government. She served on the staffs of Gov. Bob Orr and Gov. Mitch Daniels, worked for Rep. Susan Brooks and worked with legislators behind-the-scenes to get bills passed.
Currently, she runs a strategic communications firm dubbed DS Consulting, and lives on the Johnson and Marion County line with her husband. Her children attended both Center Grove and Perry Township schools. Her family has lived on the southside for 35 years. She graduated from Southport High School and studied political science at Ball State University.
