Several local races are contested in this year’s primary election, and candidates are doing their best to shore up support in the final days before the May 3 primary.
This year, voters will decide races at all levels of government — from the county prosecutor and town council members to state representatives to U.S. senators. There are more than 45 local, state and federal offices on the ballot, as well as elections for delegates to the Democratic and Republican state conventions, and Democrat precinct committeemen. Democrats and Republicans will choose which congressional candidate they would like to see advance to the general election in the fall.
There also is a public question on the ballot for the Edinburgh Community School Corporation.
The local contested races are for prosecutor, county council districts 1 and 4, town councils in Bargersville, New Whiteland and Edinburgh, Nineveh Township Trustee, and the Union Township seat on the Franklin Union Needham Township Board. Campaign finance reports show political action committees, parties and individual donors are doling out cash by the hundreds and thousands to give their chosen candidates boosts to try to win your votes.
In past elections, campaign spending has been looked at as a measure of the amount of support for a particular candidate.
Prosecutor
Thousands of dollars are being spent by the two men running for Johnson County Prosecutor in the Republican primary. Prosecutor Joe Villanueva is running for his first full term in office. He was selected via caucus after former prosecutor Brad Cooper was removed from office due to his felony conviction. Villanueva, who was chief deputy prosecutor at the time, won the caucus against five other candidates.
His opponent, Lance Hamner, is a former county prosecutor and superior court judge, who resigned as Johnson County Superior Court 3 judge in February to run for prosecutor. He previously served as Johnson County prosecutor from 1991 to 2008.
Both candidates have spent a sizeable amount of money on their campaigns — a combined $46,348 from Jan. 1 to April 8. Villanueva has been the bigger spender of the two, filings show.
Villanueva has spent $23,584.02 in his bid for a full term in office, and expenses range from political mailers to Facebook advertisements. He has spent more than $15,321 on political mailers, signs, cards, stamps and related items. There is also a $427.25 expense to Facebook, which was used to boost his campaign’s Facebook posts from Feb. 18 to April 4, filings shows.
Villanueva’s campaign has also given $10,185.50 to the Englehart Group, an Indianapolis-based strategic marketing firm with a portfolio that includes, among others, local political campaigns. Filings show the campaign hired the firm in February and pays the firm a monthly fee of $750.
He also gave Johnson County GOP more than $2,050 for expenses incurred during the party’s Lincoln Day event, filings shows.
Villenueva has also raised more funds than Hamner so far, with over $38,005.11 in contributions so far, adding to the $13,809.75 he already had on hand for his campaign. He also has $4,294.76 in debt for his campaign, all loans against himself taken out beginning in 2020. There were $2,500 in loans from a previous campaign reported as well.
There have been 77 individual contributions to Villanueva’s campaign, including both direct and “in-kind” contributions, or non-monetary contributions. Of the 77 individual contributions, 71 were direct contributions, the highest being $5,000. The “in-kind” contributions were for items such as a table, gift baskets, stamps and lumber, filings show.
Villanueva has also received contributions from eight other organizations, several of which were direct contributions from area businesses. One contribution, for $100, was from a committee of a county council member who is not seeking re-election. There were also a few in-kind contributions for gift cards, gift baskets and for hosting an event, filings show.
A supplemental filing filed on Monday also shows Villanueva received an additional $5,000 contribution from a construction and logistics company.
Hamner has spent $10,933.45 for his campaign so far, the largest chunk being more than $7,300 for printer services. Another $2,500 was spent on campaign services, with the remaining funds being used for a website designer, graphic designer and photography.
Hamner has raised $33,698 in contributions for his campaign, $30,000 of which is a loan he took out himself for his campaign. He also received $2,198 from 12 individual contributions, the largest being $1,500. There was also a $1,000 contribution from a White River Township animal hospital, filings show.
Sheriff
Campaign finance reports also show at least one incumbent who is not facing a primary challenge has both raised and spent thousands of dollars during his campaigns.
From Jan. 1 to April 18, Johnson County Sheriff Duane Burgess received $20,625 in contributions, adding to the $8,895.42 he had on hand for his campaign. He received 17 individual contributions, the highest being $1,000, filings show.
He has also received contributions from 19 area businesses, including several wrecker services, funeral homes, law firms and an engineering company. The largest contribution was $2,500 from a financial company, filings show.
He also received a $1,000 contribution from another Republican running for office, filings show.
Burgess has also spent about $6,901.70 for his campaign, including $1,217.20 for political gear. Another $1,500 was given to a child abuse prevention organization, and $1,450 was given to the county Republican party for Lincoln Day, filings show.
County Council
Four seats on the county council are up for election this year, one of which is contested.
Johnson County Council District 4 has two candidates running for an open seat: Walt Janeic and John Mallers. Mallers’ campaign received $3,350 in contributions from Jan. 1 to April 8, the largest being $2,000 from a domestic limited liability company based in Indianapolis, filings show.
He has also spent $3,342.12 in expenses, the majority of which has gone to printing services, $2,842.12, filings show.
Mallers’ opponent, Janeic, has not received any contributions, nor has he spent any funds, filings show.
District 1 is also a contested race, with David Bleke and Pamela Burton challenging each other for the open seat. Bleke has not spent any funds on his campaign from Feb. 25 to April 18, although $1,602.33 in debts were taken out in March. Burton has not received any contributions nor made any expenses, documents show.
In District 2, Charlotte Sullivan’s campaign has had $0 in contributions so far, but the campaign has $1,308.02 in cash on hand. There was a single expense of $150 for Lincoln Day, the Johnson County GOP event, filings show.
Like Sullivan, District 3 candidate Jon T. Myers has had $0 in contributions so far. Both Sullivan and Myers are running unopposed.
Bargersville Town Council
This year’s ballot features three contested town council races, along with one uncontested race. In Bargersville, three candidates are running for two open seats on the town council: Andrew Greenwood, Jamie Pheifer and Roger Hitz.
Greenwood, an incumbent, did not receive any contributions from Jan. 1 to March 31, although his campaign already had $4,290.54 available. His campaign has spent $1,865.35, $1,140 of which was for campaign signs. The remaining expenses were for Lincoln Day, postcards and design services, and filings show.
Pheifer has received $1,604.39 in contributions from Jan. 1 to April 8, all of which were funds he loaned himself for the campaign. The entirety of funds was spent on items including, printing, graphic design, and shipping. There was also a $150 expense to the county Republican party, documents show.
Candidate Roger Hitz did not receive any contributions from Feb. 1 to April 13. His campaign did incur $2,792.35 in expenses, however, filings show.
Edinburgh Town Council
In Edinburgh, four candidates are running for two seats: Ryan Blaker, Debra Buck, Maryann Gallagher-Little and Marshall Ryan Piercefield. Gallagher-Little announced earlier this that she no longer wanted to seek office, but she was unable to withdraw before the deadline passed.
Both Blaker and Piercefield have raised $0 for their campaign, and filings show there have not been any expenses, filings show
Buck also raised $0 for her campaign, and in her finance filing indicated she wanted her political committee to be dissolved, the filing shows. Gallagher-Little did the same thing in her filings.
Whiteland Town Council
In Whiteland, there are two candidates running for the contested Ward 2 seat: Derek Cox and John Purdie. Cox has not raised any funds but has spent more than $271 in expenses, according to the latest filings.
Purdie has not raised funds either, but his filing shows there is $476.12 in debt connected to his campaign.
Edinburgh Schools Referendum
Another highlight from the latest campaign finance reports shows that a political action committee has been formed to encourage voters to support the upcoming Edinburgh schools referendum, which is on primary ballots as a public question. Voters in Johnson County’s Blue River Township and Bartholomew County’s German Township are asked to raise their own taxes in exchange for raising teacher salaries and giving the school district a more secure future, said Ron Ross, superintendent. The school district has proposed a tax increase of about 40%, from about $1.06 for every $100 of assessed value to about $1.45, and the referendum could decide the fate of Edinburgh schools.
From Feb. 25 to April 11, the Vote Yes for Edinburgh Schools PAC had $4,614.95 in contributions, the largest being $2,500 from the IN Political Action Committee for Education. The Vote Yes for Edinburgh Schools PAC received $200 from an individual contributor, and another $1,175 from area businesses, filings show.
The Vote Yes for Edinburgh Schools PAC also had $2,149.42 in expenses, which includes mailers, postage, yard signs, printing services and a website. There was also a $59.54 expense for water bottles that were given out during a parade on April 16, filings show.
BY THE NUMBERS
Here is a look at how much was raised in spent in local contested races:
Prosecutor
Lance Hamner: Raised $33,628; spent $10,933.45; debt: $30,000
Joe Villanueva: Beginning cash balance: $13,809.75; Raised $38,005.11; spent $23,584.02; debt: $6,794.76
County Council District 1
David Bleke: Raised $0; spent $0; debt: $1,602.33
Pamela Burton: Raised $0; spent $0
County Council District 4
Walt Janeic: Raised $0; spent $0
John Mallers: Raised $3,350; spent $3,342.12
Bargersville Town Council
Andrew Greenwood: Beginning cash balance: $4,290.54; Raised: $0; Spent: $1,865.35
Roger Hitz: Raised $0; spent $2,792.35
Jamie Pheifer: Raised $1,604.39; spent $1,604.39
Edinburgh Town Council
Ryan Blaker: Raised $0; spent $0
Debra Buck: Raised $0; spent $0
Maryann Gallagher-Little: Raised $0; spent $0
Marshall Ryan Piercefield: Raised $0; spent $0
Whiteland Town Council – Ward 2
Derek Cox: Raised $0; spent $271
John Purdie: Raised $0; spent $0; debt: $476.12
Nineveh Township Trustee
Jonetta Knight: Raised $0; spent $160
Janet J. Renner: Raised $0; spent $0
Franklin Union Needham Township Board – Union Township seat
Dawn Barr: Raised $0; spent $0
Justin Griggs: Raised $0; spent $0
Source: Campaign Finance Reports
