Monroe County ballot nears final shape: Davis files write-in bid, Trimble’s final paperwork pending

The most recent, but not yet final list of candidates for local office in Monroe County in the Nov. 3 general election was released by Monroe County’s election division early Monday afternoon.

Since the May 5 primary elections, there are a few additional candidate names for voters to consider.

One name was added because the candidate registered as a write-in. That’s Joe Davis, who is making an independent bid for county clerk, after finishing third in a three-way race for the Democratic Party’s nomination.

Davis is aware of the so-called “sore-loser” law in the state of Indiana, which would preclude his write-in candidacy, but wants to mount a constitutional challenge to the law. Davis refers to the the statute as the “sore winner” law. The law says that a person who is defeated in a primary election is not eligible to be a candidate for the same office in the next general election. The deadline for registering as a write-in candidate was noon Monday (July 6).

Three candidate names were added since the primaries, because the Democratic Party filled some vacancies on the ballot stemming from vacancies on the primary ballot. Those three were: Vic Sterif for Polk Township board; Ashlie Kehrberg for Washington Township board, and Sean McInerney for Benton Township board.

Kehrberg will be joining three Republicans on the ballot in a pick-any-three race: Andrew Spriggs, Jerry Ayers, and Kenny Bryant. The races for the boards of Polk and Benton townships don’t have a full complement of three candidates, even adding in both parties.

The deadline for either the Democratic Party or the Republican Party to file a certificate of selection to fill a vacancy on the Nov. 3 General due to a vacancy on the primary ballot was noon Monday (July 6).

Even though there had been some speculation that the GOP would fill a vacancy for a higher profile race like the sheriff, no GOP filing was made by noon on Monday.

That means on the county-government level, there will be two Republican candidates on the Nov. 3 ballot: incumbent District 3 county councilor Marty Hawk, who is unopposed; and Julie Hays, who is contesting the county clerkship with Democrat Tree Martin. Incumbent clerk Nicole Browne is term-limited and cannot run.

One name is not yet added to the official list, but is expected to appear, just as soon as the final paperwork is filed. Collecting enough signatures to appear on the ballot as an independent candidate for county assessor—alongside Democratic Party nominee and incumbent Judy Sharp—is Lisa Jeneé Trimble. The final step for Trimble to become an official candidate, according to election division staff, is to file her CAN-20 form. The deadline for Trimble to file the form is July 15.

Once the final paperwork is filed, the Monroe County election board might now take up the matter of an allegation that was filed against her by incumbent assessor Judy Sharp. Incumbent county assessor Judy Sharp prevailed in the Democratic Party’s primary over Bob Nyquist with 8,048 (66%) of the vote.

In a letter to the election board, Sharp wrote that she was made aware of a media post by Trimble offering her services in property tax matters “in exchange for signatures allowing her to be on the ballot” as an independent candidate in the fall. At a meeting on May 15, the board decided to table the matter and not to deal with it unless she actually became a candidate.

Trimble’s response to the allegations was: “I do not represent taxpayers at their local or state appeal hearings. There is not a law against telling people how to read their property record cards or explaining to them how to file an appeal, or explaining the local & state appeal process. Everyone has these rights. I did [not] violate any local, state or election laws.”

Like Trimble, Joe Davis, now seeking to run as a write-in candidate, faced allegations about election law violations, which resulted in a referral to the prosecutor’s office. As of Monday (July 6), the prosecutor’s office had not yet taken a specific action, but told The B Square the office had recently received additional information and it’s still under review.