They’ve spent at least a month explaining why they are the best candidate for Johnson County prosecutor and what they would do differently if selected.
On Thursday, the six candidates for the job will make their final cases and the decision will be up to 120 Johnson County Republican Party precinct committee members and 11 vice precinct committee members.Â
As many as 131 local Republicans will have final say over who gets the job for the next three years. The person named as prosecutor will decide which suspects are charged, and which aren’t, set guidelines for what types of plea agreements are acceptable, and manage a staff of nearly 40 employees. The job comes with an annual salary of $151,000.
When an elected official resigns, is removed or dies in office, precinct committee members of the political party are called to action. Because former Prosecutor Brad Cooper was a Republican, the local Republicans will choose his replacement.
The next prosecutor will be the candidate who gets a simple majority, which is half of all votes cast, plus one.
The committee members will cast private ballots as many times as necessary, Republican Party Chairperson Beth Boyce said. After the second round of voting, the candidate or candidates with the fewest votes will be removed from the race.
Six candidates want the job. They are: James Ackermann, Carrie Miles, Beckie St. John, Lori Torres, Mike Vertesch and Joe Villanueva. The winner will be sworn in and begin the job immediately, completing Cooper’s term that ends on Dec. 31, 2022.Â
The county has 135 precincts, but two of the precinct committee member positions were vacant when Cooper was removed from office in July, so the Republican Party decided to leave them open until after the caucus to avoid any concern about people being appointed to affect the vote, Boyce said. Precinct committee members who have been in office at least 30 days before the date of the vacancy are eligible to vote. Two other precinct committee members have moved and are not eligible to vote, Boyce said.
That leaves 131 precinct committee members. Eleven of them can not attend and have submitted the proper paperwork by deadline to allow their vice precinct committee members to vote in their place on Thursday.
Most precinct committee members work or have worked in local government, or are current or former elected officials, or are the spouse of someone who has held a government position. The committee members were elected, volunteered or were recruited to the post.
On the list of people who can vote are local attorneys, four deputy prosecutors who will be selecting their next boss and at least 15 local police officers. Torres and Vertesch are precinct committee members and can vote for themselves.Â
The candidates have taken a variety of approaches to communicating with the caucus voters. They’ve gone to their homes, sent them mailers, called them, and then called them again.
Generally, precinct committee members fly under the radar. Their jobs were first established by the state to register voters in their neighborhoods and rally support for their political parties. When county-wide voting took place at more than 130 neighborhood precinct polling places, they organized election workers and brought in the food for the day. That work has evolved as election technology has changed and the county moved to vote centers.
In 2005, when Mayor Norman P. Blankenship Jr. died in office, 14 Republicans selected then-Johnson County Auditor Brenda Jones-Matthews to finish the remainder of his term. In more recent years, Franklin precinct committee members selected Steve Barnett to finish the term of Joe McGuinness as mayor when McGuinness became commissioner of the Indiana Department of Transportation. Each year, caucuses are conducted to replace city or town council vacancies when someone moves, resigns or dies.
The caucus this week will be conducted much like previous events, with each candidate given three minutes to address the precinct committee members, Boyce said. Voting is done by secret ballot. Johnson Circuit Court Judge Andy Roesener will immediately swear in the next prosecutor.
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Johnson County Prosecutor Caucus
What: Local Republicans will select the next prosecutor among six candidates.
When: 6:30 p.m. Thursday
Where: Grace Assembly of God Church, 6822 North U.S. 31, Greenwood
The event is open to the public, but seating is limited.
Results: Check www.dailyjournal.net on Thursday night to see who is named prosecutor.
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Who gets to pick the next prosecutor?
These 131 people serve as Johnson County Republican Party precinct committee members or vice committee members and will get to select the next prosecutor in a caucus on Thursday.
Blue River Township
John Johnson
David Lutz
John Hoskinson
Pam Burton
Flory Lloyd
Clark Township
Vic Hasler
Doug Lechner
Tony Povinelli
Franklin Township
Sandi Huddleston
John White
Doug Cox
Ted Murphy
Eric Fredbeck
Danny Richards
James Martin
Matt Prine
William Pfifer
Cecelia Campbell
Pam Ault
Kirby Cochran
Richard Midkiff
Angie Longtin
Steve Hinkle
Keith Fox
Anne McGuinness
Robert Henderson
Dustin Huddleston
Charlotte Sullivan
Hensley Township
R.J. McConnell
Mike Vertesch
John Young
Needham Township
Rob Seet
Kyle Kasting
Trena McLaughlin
Sarah Kegerreis
Nineveh Township
Phillip Murphy
Tamara Ketchum
Gary Hall
James Kaylor
Pleasant Township
Jason Miller
John Perrin
Ron West
Jerry Ashby
Jack Napier
Drew Foster
Christopher Speer
Harold Hughes
Jerry Napier
Debbie Magnuson
Beth Boyce
Daylon Welliver
Gregory Hill
Shan Rutherford
William Hart
Joseph Farley
Maribeth Alspach
Joseph Sayler
Doug Rees
Tony Schantz
Geoffrey Sutton
Jeannine Myers
Thomas Whitaker
Anya McConnell
Linda Gibson
Ezra Hill
David Hopper
Damian Katt
Richard Hartman
Karen Capozzi
Josh Marshall
John Dickey
David Hilton
Volly Burton
Cheryl Clemens
Steve Owen
Michael Hughes
Duane Burgess
Stan Lynn
Jim Klenner
Scott Combs
Jeff Colvin
William (Dan) Johnson
Kristine Schutte
Lori Torres
Doreen Bennett
Nate Annis
Keith Hardin
Union Township
Sherry Abney
Carla Sutton
Annette Barr
White River Township
Steve Young
Martin Howe
Elizabeth Mallers
Doug Kessler
Ron Bates
Susan Hessman
Brett Haworth
James Dunn
Gayle Allard
Lynn Gray
Bill Barrett
Dan Malone
Michael DeCourcy
Russ Johnson
Stoney Vann
Debbie McCarty
Pat Vehorn
Robert Overton
Brian Walker
Richard Huber
John Smart
Terry Carpenter
Mike Campbell
Bill Cruser
Mark Messick
Ann Barton
Walt Janiec
Andy Fisher
Josh McCarty
Brenda Jacks
John Price
Lou Zickler
Jon Williams
William Reisa
JT Doane
Jeff Ready
Linda Sargent
Vallerie Hackett
Forrest Chambers
David Bausman
Erin Smith
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