Election 2023 notebook: Filings on final day mean contested clerk/treasurer race in Ellettsville
The finalization of polling sites for the 2023 municipal elections in Monroe County could not be decided at last Thursday’s meeting of the three-member election board.
That’s because it was still an open question whether any elections would be held in Ellettsville and Stinesville—the other incorporated areas in Monroe County besides Bloomington.
As of the Thursday meeting, there were no contested elections in either place. But the filing deadline was not until noon the following day.
By noon Friday, two additional Republican candidates had filed the paperwork to become candidates in the race for Ellettsville clerk/treasurer.
That means the Republican primary for Ellettsville clerk/treasurer will be a three-way race between: Noelle Conyer, Dan Swafford, and Paul Turner.
Conyer had been the first to file, on Jan. 25. Swafford and Turner filed their declarations on Feb. 3, which was the final day.
Conyer is currently deputy clerk/treasurer for incumbent Sandra Hash, who is not seeking re-election to a four-year term. Swafford is currently an Ellettsville town councilor, representing Ward 4. Turner works for Smithville communications, a phone and internet service provider.
That means the election board will include polling locations for Ellettsville in the list that it eventually approves.
That approval will come next Thursday, Feb. 9, when the election board resumes its meeting from this past week. The procedural step the board took last Thursday was to recess its meeting in progress until the same time a week later.
