2022 candidates for Monroe County sheriff

Incumbent Monroe County sheriff Brad Swain will mark the end of his second four-year term at the end of 2022. Indiana’s state constitution puts a term limit on the office of county sheriff, which means Swain cannot seek re-election as sheriff this year.

Six candidates are vying to fill the spot that will be left open by Swain—five Democrats and one Republican. The Democrats are Steve Hale, Ruben Marté, Angie Purdie, Joani Stalcup, and Troy Thomas. The May 3, 2022 Democratic Party primary will sort out which of the five will be the party’s nominee to appear on the Nov. 9, 2022 general election ballot.

The only Republican candidate is Nathan Williamson.

The duties of a county sheriff in Indiana  are listed out in the state statute like this:

IC 36-2-13-5 Duties
(a) The sheriff shall:
(1) arrest without process persons who commit an offense within the sheriff’s view, take them before a court of the county having jurisdiction, and detain them in custody until the cause of the arrest has been investigated;
(2) suppress breaches of the peace, calling the power of the county to the sheriff’s aid if necessary;
(3) pursue and jail felons;
(4) execute all process directed to the sheriff by legal authority;
(5) serve all process directed to the sheriff from a court or the county executive;
(6) attend and preserve order in all courts of the county;
(7) take care of the county jail and the prisoners there;
(8) take photographs, fingerprints, and other identification data as the sheriff shall prescribe of persons taken into custody for felonies or misdemeanors; and
(9) on or before January 31 and June 30 of each year, provide to the department of correction the average daily cost of incarcerating a prisoner in the county jail as determined under the methodology developed by the department of correction under IC 11-10-13.

In Monroe County, the sheriff’s office general fund budget approved for 2022 by the county council was $5,099,414 and the general fund budget approved for the jail was $6,346,254.

The B Square pages about each candidate for sheriff are meant to provide only basic background, with pointers to additional resources that voters might find useful to consult before making  their choice for sheriff.

2022 Candidates for Monroe County sheriff

Additional resources