Republicans won big in Greenwood Tuesday night, continuing their hold on all city offices.
Of the 14 total candidates who ran for the six districted and three at-large seats, seven incumbents retained their seats. This includes four unopposed candidates.
The nine-member council sets annual spending for the city, makes policy changes, adopts new local rules and ordinances, approves new taxes and appoints members to various city boards. The candidates who won Tuesday will take office in January, serving four-year terms.
City-council at-large
Six people — three Republicans, two Democrats and one Libertarian — ran for the three at-large seats on the council, the officer holders of which represent the entire city. The voters chose Republicans Steve Moan, Mike Campbell and Erin Betron, giving them 23.5%, 21.5% and 20% of the vote respectively.
Betron, a veteran who joined the council in February after being selected in a caucus, ran for office as another way to serve. For her one of the city’s most pressing issues is public safety, as there is a divided narrative about whether or not there are enough firefighters and police officers, she said earlier this year.
“(With) all those apartment complexes and everything coming up, those are full of people,” Betron said. “We need more coverage to be able to handle the influx of population. It will be the same for the police department.”
Campbell, who has held one of the seats since 2012, sought reelection because he wants to make Greenwood a better place to live, work and play, he said earlier this year. In terms of pressing issues, the priorities for any government are, in his view, public safety, infrastructure and economic development.
The Western Regional Interceptor project addressed the infrastructure portion, and public safety has always been one of his top priorities, he said.
“Public safety is always a concern and has always been one of my top priorities — trying to support the police and fire departments. … Since I’ve been in office, we’ve increased the budget for public safety every year, and increased the number of police officers, and the number of full-time firemen,” Campbell said.
A former school board member and current member of the city’s redevelopment commission, Moan said earlier this year he wants to bring a “common sense” perspective to the council. He previously ran for City Council District 4 in 2019.
For Moan, one of the most pressing issues for Greenwood is traffic and infrastructure and getting people east and west across the city. While people want city to continue to grow, he knows residents want to feel like it’s a small community still, he said.
“A lot of people are not happy with the explosive growth and the feel in town, and I’d like to work to ensure that Greenwood is growing because we’re a place that people want to live, a place where people want their kids to go to school here and people know that it’s a community that’s safe,” Moan said.
Also running for the seats were political newcomers and Democrats Rachel Matthews and Charrie Staumbaugh, along with Libertarian James Sceniak, a former U.S. Senate candidate.
District 3
A human resources professional serving his first term on the city council secured another term Tuesday night.
Voters chose Republican incumbent Michael Williams over his Democratic opponent Manjit Nagra, a political newcomer, with Williams receiving 51.7% of the vote. Williams has served on the city council since 2019, when he was first elected.
Williams decided to run again because he feels there is a lot more work ahead for the city, and said balancing growth is among the city’s top issues.
“When it came time to look at reelection, the big reason for the desire to serve another four years is I think we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us,” Williams told the Daily Journal in October. “I think the challenges that are presenting themselves, especially over the past couple of years in terms of the development and things like that, the fight’s not done.”
District 3 is one of Greenwood’s largest districts by land area, covering the southeastern and far eastern side of the city, including all of the land east of Interstate 65 within city limits, southeast of Worthsville Road and the Louisville & Indiana railroad tracks and areas between Grassy Creek and I-65.
District 4
An educator and political newcomer on the Republican ticket overwhelmingly defeated her Democratic challenger for city council District 4.
Teri Manship, a director and teacher at Knightsbridge Academy, defeated Democrat Nathan Cardenas, a newcomer to both politics and Greenwood. She previously ousted Republican incumbent Ron Bates in the May primary, receiving 54% of the vote in a three-way race.
For Manship, who received 75.5% of the vote Tuesday night, the city’s top issues include managing growth, inflation and restoring civility in the political process.
“I want to see Greenwood continue to grow in ways that are responsible, of course,” Manship told the Daily Journal last month. “But after three decades of education experience here in Greenwood, I just want the opportunities there for the children so they can stay here with their families and not be forced to move somewhere that has the opportunities available.”
District 4 is Greenwood’s most developed district, serving the northwest corner of the city, from U.S. 31 to State Road 135, and from Main Street to the county line.
Uncontested candidates
Although there was a heated Republican primary in May, Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers had nothing to worry about Tuesday as he was uncontested in the municipal election. Because he was the only candidate, he will begin his fourth term in January.
In a written statement, Myers said he was proud to call the city, proud of the progress that has been achieved and is proud to lead it into the coming years.
“We have accomplished so much over the years together, and we’re just getting started,” he said. “I am grateful to all who have supported our efforts and our campaign, and I look forward to the years ahead.”
Other uncontested candidates also had nothing to worry about.
Republican City Judge Candidate Drew Foster, who ousted incumbent Lew Gregory in May, had no competition on Tuesday, cementing Foster’s new tenure as city judge starting next year. City council members Linda Gibson, of District 1, and David Hopper, of District 5 — both of whom had previously faced primary challenges — faced no competition on Tuesday either, granting them both another term.
City Clerk Jeannine Myers, a Republican, faced no competition at all for her bid as another term in either the primary or Tuesday’s election. The same goes for Republican city council members Ezra Hill, of District 2, and David Lekse, of District 6.
HOW YOU VOTED
Greenwood City Council District 3
Manjit S. Nagra (D): 48.2%
Michael Williams (R): 51.7%
HOW YOU VOTED
Greenwood City Council District 4
Nathan Cardenas (D): 24.5%
Teri Manship (R): 75.5%
HOW YOU VOTED
Greenwood City Council At-Large
Erin Maurine Betron (R): 20%
Mike Campbell (R): 21.5%
Rachel Matthews (D): 13.4%
Steve Moan (R): 23.5%
James M. Sceniak (L): 8.1%
Charrie Stambaugh (D): 13.5%
