Just a few days remain to get on the fall ballot, and multiple independent candidates have decided to seek a city or town office.
Independents have until noon Monday to file for candidacy, and the Johnson County Republican Party and Democratic Party both have caucuses scheduled this weekend to slate candidates for vacancies on the ballot. The deadline to notify the county election office that a candidate has been named is Wednesday.
Twelve races are slated for fall, when voters who live in cities or towns will have a chance to determine who should have a hand in making the local decisions that affect them the most.
Contested races have taken shape in all cities and towns except Whiteland and New Whiteland. At this point, Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers and Franklin Mayor Steve Barnett do not face opposition, but that could still change if an independent candidate comes forward for those top leadership posts in the coming days.
So far, six independent candidates have filed the necessary paperwork with the county clerk’s office to be placed on a ballot, said Reagan Higdon, first deputy clerk.
Jeff Simpson and Jacqueline Oltman will run as independents for Edinburgh Town Council at-large seats. They will face three Republican candidates: Dawn Graham; Miriam Rooks; and Lewis Turner.
Rose Yates will run as an independent for Princes Lakes clerk-treasurer. She is running against Republican Erica Giger for the job.
Some independents had already filed:
Kimberly Rice, who first filed for Trafalgar clerk-treasurer as a Republican but was challenged by the party due to lack of voting history and removed, has since filed as an independent for the job. She will face incumbent Donna Moore in the fall election, marking the only contested race in the county’s smallest town.
Zach Stevenson filed as an independent for Franklin City Council’s District 4 seat; he will face Republican Ken Austin, who was uncontested in the primary.
And Erin Davis filed as an independent for Franklin City Council at-large; she is up against two Republicans for those two seats: Bob Heuchan and Shawn Taylor.
Four Democrat precinct committeemen will decide whether to slate Mark Eccles for an at-large seat in Whiteland, said Robert Service, Johnson County Democratic Party chairman. That caucus is schedule for 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Friend’s Diner in Whiteland. The public is welcome to attend.
Eccles initially decided to run in the primary election for the Ward 2 seat. He withdrew from that position, Higdon said. The party decided to slate him for an at-large seat that is not contested, Service said.
Four Republican precinct committeemen will decide whether to slate Leah Futrell for Edinburgh clerk-treasurer, said Beth Boyce, Johnson County Republican Party chairwoman. That caucus will be conducted Sunday morning in Blue River Township. It is not open to the public, Boyce said.
Edinburgh clerk-treasurer was the only seat with no Republican candidates.
"Obviously, we want to have a candidate for every position on the ballot. Truthfully, this all just kind of came together at the very end," Boyce said.
In fact, no candidates applied for the position, which would have left that post vacant.
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Here is a look at the remaining filing deadlines for open seats on the ballots in the fall election:
Independent candidates can file until noon on Monday;
The county Republican and Democratic parties can slate candidates to fill a vacancy on the ballot until noon on Wednesday; two caucuses are scheduled this weekend.
HOW TO FILE: Candidates are encouraged to fill out the required forms at the county’s voter registration office in the basement of the Johnson County Courthouse. But you can also print them out online and bring them in.
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