Two incumbent county commissioners and the county’s surveyor were the first three people to get their names on the ballot in this year’s election.
Candidates could start filing for office on Wednesday at the Johnson County courthouse.
Johnson County voters will go to the polls in May and November to vote for mostly county offices including county commissioners, county council at-large members, treasurer, coroner and surveyor. School boards and superior court judges will also be on the ballot.
Locally, 25 seats are up for grabs, more than half of which are on school boards. Other county offices that will appear on the ballot this year include: three superior court judges; treasurer; coroner; surveyor; county commissioners in districts 1 and 3; and three Johnson County Council at-large members.
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At the state level, voters will decide who they want to represent them at the Statehouse starting with the 2021 legislative session; four House seats and two Senate seats will appear on local ballots, including House District No. 58, which long-time Rep. Woody Burton has said he will not seek re-election to.
Three candidates, including incumbent Johnson County commissioners Brian Baird and Ron West and surveyor Gregg Cantwell were the first three people to file to run for their current positions. Incumbent Michele Graves filed to run for her job as the county treasurer in the first 2 1/2 hours of filing.
The four candidates were also among the first to file in 2016, when they became the candidates to run for their current jobs, according to newspaper archives.
Baird represents District 1, which covers the southern third of the county. West represents District 3, which covers the northern third of the county, including White River Township. A third commissioner seat currently held by Kevin Walls represents District 2. That seat is not up for election this year.
By 4 p.m. Wednesday, 15 candidates had turned in the necessary forms to run in this year’s elections for county offices and to run as precinct committee people or convention delegates.
The other candidates who filed locally are: Michael Pruitt, coroner and Josh McCarty for Johnson County Council at-large. Pruitt would be a newcomer to the coroner job, as Craig Lutz currently holds that position. McCarty is an incumbent to the county council.
Candidates for federal or state office file with the Secretary of State or Indiana Election Division, according to a news release from the Secretary of State’s Office.
J. David Hopper filed as a Republican for the House District No. 58 seat. Hopper is a current member of Greenwood’s city council. Incumbent Chris May filed as a Republican for the House District No. 65 seat.
Republican and Democrat candidates have to file to seek office between Wednesday and noon Feb. 7, Higdon said. The parties will select their candidates in the primary election on May 5.
Any resident who wants to seek office as an independent candidate has until July 1 to file to be on the ballot in November. Those candidates face different requirements than major party candidates, Higdon has said.
All candidates hoping to run for office can pick up an application at the county’s voter registration office, which is located in the basement of the Johnson County Courthouse in Franklin.
Once major party filing ends next month, county officials will have until May to prepare for the next election, when voters will choose one candidate from each major party for each slot on the November ballot. Voters will have to choose a Republican or Democrat ballot to vote in the primary.
West has made it a tradition to be among the first to file for office in every election where he has been a candidate. He is seeking his third term as a county commissioner; he previously served three terms on the Johnson County Council.
"You get your name on the ballot quickly so people know that you are going to be a candidate," West said.
Part of the reason is because in most cases, the first few people to file get recognition in the newspaper, he said. Another advantage of filing first is to let people know he is running.
West considered running for Burton’s House seat, but decided he could have more of an impact locally where the county is grappling with expansions of the Johnson County jail and Interstate 69, West said.
“I felt like I could still be a positive impact in getting those things done," he said.
Baird also wants to help see those projects through, which is why he filed for a third term, he said.
“I don’t feel like I have done everything that I can do yet," Baird said.
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Here is a look at the candidates who filed to run for local and state offices on Wednesday, the first day of filing:
- Brian Baird, Republican, Johnson County Commissioner District 1
- Ron West, Republican, Johnson County Commissioner District 3
- Gregg Cantwell, Republican, Johnson County Surveyor
- Michele Graves, Republican, Johnson County Treasurer
- Michael Pruitt, Republican, Johnson County Coroner
- Josh McCarty, Republican, Johnson County Council at-large
- J. David Hopper, Republican, House District No. 58
- Chris May, Republican, House District No. 65
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Here is a look at the filing window for all open seats on the ballots this election:
Major party candidates can file until noon Feb. 7;
Independent candidates can file until noon July 1.
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The following offices are up for election this year:
Local:
Superior Court 2 judge
Superior Court 3 judge
Superior Court 4 judge
County treasurer
County coroner
County surveyor
County commissioner district 1
County commissioner district 3
County Council at-large (3 seats)
Republican precinct committeemen for all precincts
School boards (General Election only):
Center Grove School Board at-large (2 seats)
Clark-Pleasant School Board Pleasant Township
Clark-Pleasant School Board at-large
Edinburgh School Board Town of Edinburgh (2 seats)
Franklin Community School Board City of Franklin (2 seats)
Franklin Community School Board Franklin Township
Greenwood School Board district 1
Greenwood School Board district 3
Nineveh-Hensley Jackson School Board Nineveh Township
Nineveh-Hensley Jackson School Board at-large (2 seats)
State:
Governor
Lieutenant governor (General Election only)
Attorney General
Superintendent of Public Instruction
State Representative district 47
State Representative district 58
State Representative district 65
State Representative district 93
State Senator district 36
State Senator district 37
Republican State Convention delegate district 1 (16 seats)
Republican State Convention delegate district 2 (16 seats)
Republican State Convention delegate district 3 (9 seats)
Republican State Convention delegate district 4 (10 seats)
Democrat State Convention delegate at-large (41 seats)
Federal:
President of the United States
U.S. Representative district 9
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