“I voted” stickers scattered on a table at the Clark Pleasant Library on May 3 Election Day.
Daily Journal File Photo
Eight new candidates threw their names in for the November municipal elections in Johnson County.
Two Democrats, three Independents, one Libertarian and two Republicans who were not on local ballots during the May primary were slated this week to be on the ballot for the Nov. 7 election. Major political parties had the chance to slate candidates to fill vacant spots left on the ballot after the primary, if they didn’t have a candidate run then. The deadline for slating was Wednesday.
With the ballots shaping up for the fall, nearly every municipality in Johnson County has at least one contested race. Franklin, New Whiteland and Trafalgar do not have any challenged races.
Greenwood has the most contested races for its city council. The race for three at-large council seats is now crowded with six candidates. Democrats Rachel Matthews and Charrie Stambaugh added their names to the ballot through slating. They will face Republicans Erin Betron, Mike Campbell, and Steve Moan and Libertarian James Sceniak.
Two other seats representing Districts 3 and 4 on the Greenwood City Council are also challenged. Democrat Manjit Nagra is challenging incumbent Republican Mike Williams in District 3, and Democrat Nathan Cardenas will face Republican Teri Manship in District 4.
Republican Mayor Mark Myers is unopposed this fall, after winning a highly-contested Republican primary against challenger Joe Hubbard. The remaining seats for the city council are also uncontested, along with the Greenwood Clerk’s seat, which will be retained by Jeannine Myers.
In Edinburgh, current Clerk-Treasurer Scott Finley filed for reelection after the primary as an Independent. No other candidates filed or were slated for the clerk-treasurer seat, so Finley will be uncontested in November.
Independent Michael Bryant filed for Edinburgh Town Council, at large, making the race for the three available seats contested. He will face Republicans Miriam Rooks, Jeff Simpson and Sherri Sweet.
The race for Prince’s Lakes Town Council will also now be contested in November, with Independent candidate Catherine Gleason filing to run this summer. She will challenge Republicans Charlie Bourne, Kevin Harrison, Lindsey Kelly, Greg Nelson and Bryan Tearman. Prince’s Lakes Clerk-Treasurer Erica Giger, a Republican, is unchallenged.
Vacant spots on the ballot for New Whiteland Town Council were filled by the two incumbents who previously did not file for the primary. Republicans Chad Waltz and Dennis Combs were slated to run for reelection in Wards 1 and 4, respectively. They both did not file for the May primary. All three seats up for election on the council are uncontested this fall. New Whiteland Clerk-Treasurer Angela DeVoss, a Republican, is also unchallenged.
In Bargersville, the race for town council is contested. Democrat Blythe Potter is challenging incumbent Republicans Ruth Ann Moore, Susie Qualls and James Rumell II for the three available at-large seats. Republican Dustin Doyle, a former town council member, is uncontested for clerk-treasurer, after he unseated current Clerk-Treasurer Nancy Kehl in May.
Whiteland will have one contested race for two at-large seats on the town council. Democrat Jaylen Whithem is challenging Republican Incumbents Richard Hill and Joe Sayler. The rest of the seats on the council and for clerk-treasurer are unchallenged. The remaining Republican council candidates are Tim Brown in Ward 1, incumbent Brad Goedeker in Ward 2 and Debra Hendrickson in Ward 3. Melissa Fraser, a Republican newcomer, is on the ballot for clerk-treasurer.
All races in Franklin are uncontested for the Nov. 7 election, with all Republicans filling the ballots. Republican Mayor Steve Barnett is unchallenged in his reelection bid for a second full term.
Republican candidates on the ballot for Franklin City Council are incumbent Josh Prine in District 1, incumbent Anne McGuinness in District 2, incumbent Jennifer Price in District 3, incumbent Ken Austin in District 4, incumbent Irene Nalley in District 5 and incumbent Shawn Taylor and newcomer Todd Shuck for at-large.
Republican Jan Jones, a newcomer, is also unchallenged in the race for Franklin Clerk-Treasurer.
Trafalgar has no contested races for its council and clerk-treasurer. Republican candidates for the five-member Trafalgar Town Council are newcomers Jackie Bryant, Ashley Chaney, Mike Peters, and incumbents Jessica Jones and Jason Ramey. Clerk-Treasurer Donna Moore, also a Republican, is running for reelection unopposed.
Candidates currently on the ballot who wish to withdraw have until July 17 to do so. Ballots will be finalized in early fall.
Correction: This story has been corrected to reflect that Edinburgh Clerk-Treasurer Scott Finley has not run for this seat as a Republican in the past. The spelling of Miriam Rooks has also been corrected.
