On Saturday in Monroe County Public Library’s downtown auditorium, three candidates who are vying to fill the vacant District 5 seat on Bloomington’s city council appeared in front of an audience of about three dozen people.
Courtney Daily, Jason Moore, and Jenny Stevens gave opening statements and answered questions delivered by Monroe County Democratic Party chair David Henry.
Questions probed views of candidates on a range of topics—from non-police alternative response programs, to allowing duplexes in historically single-family-zoned areas, to homelessness.
Candidates were also given a chance to talk about what they see as the greatest challenges and opportunities that Bloomington faces. They were also asked how they planned to fill the gap left by Shruti Rana as a woman of color. It was Rana’s resignation that left the vacancy in the District 5 seat.
It is the Democrats who will make the selection to fill the vacancy, because Rana was the Democratic Party’s nominee, who was elected to the District 5 seat in November last year. She resigned about two weeks after being sworn into office.
Under Indiana state law, a vacancy in a city office like the city council has to be filled by a caucus where the eligible voters are required to be precinct chairs, who are members of the same political party as the person who vacated the office to be filled.
The Democratic Party’s caucus is set for next Saturday, March 2, at 1 p.m. in city council chambers at Bloomington’s city hall.
District 5 lies on the southeastern periphery of the city.
Stevens was a candidate in the District 5 Democratic Party’s 2023 primary race, which Rana won, with about 58 percent of the vote. Moore’s name will be familiar as Bloomington’s fire chief, who resigned at the end of the year. Daily could be familiar to readers from her work with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
Daily is also the chair for Perry Precinct 13 in District 5, which means that she will be able to take part in the caucus voting, along with the other eight precinct chairs in District 5.
The full roster of the eight District 5 precinct chairs who will decide Rana’s successor is: Jennifer Crossley, Patricia Williams, Manuel Diaz-Campos, Courtney Daily, Iris Kiesling, Sarah Bauerle, Edward Robertson, and Matt Flaherty.
It would be nine, not eight, precinct chairs who have a vote, but Allyson McBride, who was precinct chair for Perry 21, moved out of the precinct. That makes her ineligible to participate in the caucus.
All eight eligible voters in next Saturday’s caucus attended Saturday’s forum. Several of the questions put to the candidates, which attendees were invited to write out, came from precinct chairs.
Among the eight who are eligible to vote in the District 5 city council caucus are a couple of current elected officials—Monroe County councilor Jennifer Crossley and at-large Bloomington city councilmember Matt Flaherty.
Even though he does not live in Perry Precinct 28, Flaherty can still serve as that precinct’s chair, through an appointment from the Monroe County Democratic Party chair. The other seven precinct chairs were elected to the job, which means they live in the precinct where they serve as chair.
Also among the eight who are eligible to vote in the District 5 city council caucus are two former elected officials—former city clerk Patricia Williams and former county commissioner Iris Kiesling.
Each candidate was given a chance to make an opening statement.
Jason Moore started off by saying that even though people might know him as the former Bloomington fire chief, “That’s not all I am.”
In his opening statement, Moore focused on answering the question: Why is he running? He is a military veteran like both his parents, Moore said, and that meant moving frequently. In Bloomington, Moore said, he had finally “found a place that I didn’t want to leave.”
For 23 years, Moore said, he had loved the fire service. After he resigned the job of Bloomington fire chief, he could have pursued some other job in the fire service in a different place. But he is staying in Bloomington, Moore said, because “I actually love this place more than I love that job.”
Moore compared serving as the fire chief to serving as a councilmember: “When you’re department head, you take all the input and solve problems. And I don’t see being a council member being a lot different: Take input and solve problems.”
As a councilmember, Moore wants to focus on three key areas: public safety; affordable housing; and the issues that were important to Shruti Rana. About the third point, Moore said, “The community already decided what they wanted.“ By that Moore meant that Rana had won the Democratic Party’s primary election last year—she was unopposed in November.
The things that were important to Rana are important to him as well, Moore said. As one example, Moore gave affordable child care.
Courtney Daily introduced herself as a 14-year Bloomington resident and a mom “to three quirky and amazing boys.” She described herself and her husband as “theater nerds”—he teaches theater at Bloomington High School North.
Daily named the arts and education as two of her family’s values. Daily is currently associate director for admissions with Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business direct online MBA program. She also taught nursery school and kindergarten for several years at St. Mark’s.
Daily said she had put her educational values into her volunteer work with the grassroots organization Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, leading Bloomington’s local group for three years. One of the training packages she developed, and still delivers annually, is called: How to talk to your legislator.
Daily said she developed that training package, “because I was stunned and disheartened really to learn how many people are either uncomfortable, unwilling, or even unable to reach out to their legislators.” About that separation between residents and elected leaders, Daily said, “ I want to bridge that divide. I want to be a representative that our constituents know that they can come to.”
Sustainability, equity and public safety are other areas Daily wants to focus on. Her 10 years advocating for common sense gun laws proves that she is dedicated to public safety, Daily said.
Jenny Stevens introduced herself by highlighting the fact that she was the other candidate besides Shruti Rana in last year’s Democratic Party primary. About the 930 votes she received in District 5, Stevens said, “They voted for me, because my issues resonated with them.”
She added, “I loved meeting my neighbors at their doors in their neighborhoods, listening to their concerns and their issues, and their ideas for making Bloomington better.”
As issues she’s concerned about, Stevens named affordable housing and public safety. There are staff shortages in police, fire and dispatch, she said.
Development of multi-model infrastructure is also a big concern for Stevens. About new sidewalks, walking trails, biking trails, Stevens said, “This is an issue that has some residents concerned: When is it coming to my neighborhood? Why is it coming to my neighborhood?” Stevens is hearing from both sides on that issue, she said.
Citing three sewer line breaks in her own neighborhood, Stevens said the infrastructure in Bloomington’s older neighborhoods and across the city needs attention. Stevens said she wants to work on the issue of homelessness, because “In every neighborhood, I heard concerns and sympathy for the homeless in our community.”
In her work in higher education, she has held “robust leadership positions where I am in charge of millions of dollars from multiple funding agencies,” Stevens said.
Marking the start of her political activity, Stevens said, was her work in 2010 to lead support for the MCCSC (Monroe County Community School Corporation) referendum.
| Precinct | Appointed/Elected | Name |
| Perry 10 | Elected | Jennifer Crossley |
| Perry 11 | Elected | Patricia Williams |
| Perry 12 | Elected | Manuel Diaz-Campos |
| Perry 13 | Elected | Courtney Daily |
| Perry 18 | Elected | Iris Kiesling |
| Perry 19 | Elected | Sarah Bauerle |
| Perry 21 | Elected | |
| Perry 26 | Elected | Edward Robertson |
| Perry 28 | Chair Appointed | Matt Flaherty |
Video: Feb. 24, 2024 District 5 caucus candidate forum
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