Tag: BloomMayorRace2023

Alea iacta est: May 2, 2023 primary election results, served when ready

Primary Election Day polls for May 2, 2023 have now closed in Monroe County.

The cutoff time was 6 p.m., which made for a 12-hour voting day. But anyone in line by 6 p.m. has to be allowed to cast a ballot.

Bloomington voters are electing party nominees for mayor, clerk, and nine city council seats. Ellettsville voters are electing party nominees for clerk/treasurer and town council.

Preliminary results from Bloomington and Ellettsville precincts will be published as updates to this article as they are available.

Monroe County clerk Nicole Browne wrote in her 5 p.m. emailed message: “Please do not anticipate any results before 6:30 p.m. or 7 p.m.”

Voters who joined the line just before the closing of the polls are just one reason that results can’t be reported immediately at 6 p.m..

Geography also plays a role. There’s some physical distance that has to be covered, when teams from Primary Election Day polling locations across Bloomington and Ellettsville pack up their ballots, the memory devices from the ballot scanners, and other election documentation, and turn in the whole package to Election Central. Continue reading “Alea iacta est: May 2, 2023 primary election results, served when ready” →

Feisty final mayoral forum for Bloomington Dems

Three candidates are vying for the Democratic Party’s nomination for mayor of Bloomington: Don Griffin; Susan Sandberg and Kerry Thomson.

No Republicans have declared.

On Monday night, some pre-forum banter among the three seemed a bit more relaxed than for previous events. During their small talk, the trio managed to conjure up an imaginary scenario involving a ukulele duet and parachute pants.

Monday’s forum took place in the auditorium of the Monroe County Public Library.

The event was hosted by the city’s police union (FOP Lodge #88), the fire union (Bloomington Metropolitan Firefighters Union Local #586) and AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) Local #2487. Questions came from union members.

Putting the questions to the candidates was moderator Amy Swain, who is Monroe County’s elected recorder.

Monday’s event was the last scheduled forum before Primary Election Day, which is May 2, now just a week away.

The candidates were relaxed enough to make light-hearted smalltalk, but were also confident enough to engage each other in a lively, pointed way. Continue reading “Feisty final mayoral forum for Bloomington Dems” →

Dem candidates for Bloomington mayor talk economic development with head of Cook Group

At a Wednesday morning forum, the three candidates for the Democratic Party’s nomination for Bloomington mayor talked with Cook Group president Pete Yonkman about the job of mayor, jobs in general, and economic development.

The forum was hosted by the Bloomington Economic Development Corporation at the Monroe Convention Center.

Seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination for mayor of Bloomington are: Don Griffin, Susan Sandberg and Kerry Thomson. No Republican has declared a candidacy for mayor this year.

Not much new was revealed about where candidates stand on various policy issues. But the forum was more conversational in character than previous events, even if not exactly a free-for-all. Continue reading “Dem candidates for Bloomington mayor talk economic development with head of Cook Group” →

2023 Election notebook: Bloomington mayoral candidates have so far raised a combined $327K

Pre-primary campaign finance reports for the May 2 primary election were due on Friday by noon.

When added to the year-end reports from 2022, the reports filed by the Democratic Party’s three candidates for mayor of Bloomington show that they have raised a total of about $327,000.

If election turnout for the May 2 primary is similar to the last couple of cycles, around 5,000 voters will cast a ballot. If the candidates spend every dollar before the election, that works out to about $65 invested in each voter.

Raising the most of the three was Kerry Thomson. The roughly $106,000 that she raised from Jan. 1 through April 7 this year brought her overall total to just under $200,000.

In this year’s pre-primary period, Don Griffin raised $47,000, bringing his total to about $73,000.

Susan Sandberg raised about $30,000 in this year’s pre-primary period, bringing her total to about $55,000. Continue reading “2023 Election notebook: Bloomington mayoral candidates have so far raised a combined $327K” →

Soft jabs from Bloomington mayoral candidates at forum on the arts

On Tuesday night, The Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington held a forum for the Democratic Party’s candidates for Bloomington mayor.

All three mayoral hopefuls somewhat predictably expressed support for the arts.

Seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination for mayor of Bloomington are: Don Griffin, Susan Sandberg and Kerry Thomson.

Seated on stage at the Waldron Arts Center in front of a mostly full auditorium, the trio answered questions on a range of topics, including: arts funding; access to the arts for underrepresented and underserved groups; support for emerging artists and cultural entrepreneurs; the future of city-owned arts venues like the Buskirk-Chumley Theater and John Waldron Arts Center; and partnerships with Indiana University.

Candidates exchanged some soft verbal jabs, but no real punches were thrown. Continue reading “Soft jabs from Bloomington mayoral candidates at forum on the arts” →

Bloomington mayoral candidate forum: Sharp difference in perspectives on crime, city-county relations

At a forum for mayoral candidates hosted on Monday night by the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, not a lot of new, additional daylight emerged between the three candidates as far as their known policy positions.

But a sharp difference in perspective emerged in response to a couple of the questions—one involving public safety and another involving the working relationship between city and county governments.

Moderating the forum was Paul Helmke, who was a three-term mayor of Fort Wayne, and is a professor of practice at Indiana University’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

Seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination for mayor of Bloomington are: Don Griffin, Susan Sandberg and Kerry Thomson Continue reading “Bloomington mayoral candidate forum: Sharp difference in perspectives on crime, city-county relations” →

Democratic Party’s mayoral candidates talk annexation, encampments, Lower Cascades closing

For 90 minutes on Monday night at Tri-North Middle School, the three candidates for the Democratic Party’s nomination for mayor of Bloomington fielded questions at a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Bloomington-Monroe County.

Seated from left to right on the stage of the school’s performance center, in front of an audience of about 40 people, were: Susan Sandberg and Kerry Thomson, and Don Griffin.

Asking the questions was Indiana University Maurer School of Law student, Laura Rusk. This report does not try to cover every question asked at the forum.

Community Access Television Services (CATS) was on hand to record the proceedings.

Monday’s forum took place on last day before the start of early voting, which begins Tuesday, April 4 at 8 a.m. The League of Women Voters maintains a list of upcoming candidate forums, for mayor and for city council races.

Annexation was a topic where some daylight had already been established between the candidates, and that distance was also apparent on Monday night. Griffin is in solid support of annexation, Sandberg in solid opposition Thomson is somewhere in between.

Although they disagree on annexation, Sandberg and Griffin found common ground on a recent proposal by Bloomington mayor John Hamilton to close Lower Cascades Road (Old State Road 37) to car traffic. Neither Sandberg nor Griffin want to see the road closed to automobiles.

The wording of the question went like this: “The sense is that those who would like to see Old State Road 37 closed, and the space transition to a green space, have few advocates in government. What is your position?”

Thomson did not state a position on the road closure, but analyzed the preamble to the question, saying, “The problem that this questioner has brought up, is not actually about the road—it’s about their access to their government.”

At Monday’s forum, the three candidates also responded to a question about the Seminary Park encampment that was the subject of a proposed ordinance in 2021.

Continue reading “Democratic Party’s mayoral candidates talk annexation, encampments, Lower Cascades closing” →

Griffin, Sandberg, Thomson speak on social justice as early voting for May 2 mayoral primary looms

Appearing on stage in the auditorium of the Monroe County Public Library on Saturday afternoon were all three candidates for the Democratic Party’s nomination as mayor of Bloomington: Don Griffin, Susan Sandberg and Kerry Thomson.

Early voting for the May 2 primary starts on April 4.

The theme of Saturday’s forum was: racial justice, social justice, and economic justice. The event was hosted by Monroe County NOW and several other organizations that are committed to advancing the interests of marginalized communities and promoting civic participation.

After giving two-minute opening statements, the candidates fielded questions delivered by moderator Maqubè Reese, who is associate director of diversity initiatives at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, and president of the Monroe County Branch NAACP.

Asked how they would describe the racial climate in Monroe County the candidates agreed that improvement is needed. Continue reading “Griffin, Sandberg, Thomson speak on social justice as early voting for May 2 mayoral primary looms” →

Bloomington mayoral primary forum: Are we scared of being the best at taking care of the less fortunate?

2023 Democratic Primary candidates for mayor of Bloomington, from left: Don Griffin, Susan Sandberg, and Kerry Thomson. (March 28, 2023 Heading Home forum)

At a Tuesday evening event for mayoral hopefuls in the Democratic Party’s May 2 primary, moderators from Heading Home of South Central Indiana quizzed the candidates about housing for low-income residents and homelessness.

The hosts also flipped the usual script for part of the event.

Each candidate had submitted one question for the audience to answer on arrival at the venue—Crestmont Boys and Girls Club on the north side of town. The questions were accessible through a QR code that appeared on a handout at the reception table.

Out of the roughly 100 people who attended, 58 responded to the three questions.

Co-moderator Leon Gordon, who is administrative director for Bloomington Housing Authority, reported a perfect 50-50 split for the question submitted by Don Griffin:

Are we as a community scared of being the best at taking care of those that are less fortunate?

Griffin then gave his take on the response to the audience poll question, followed by Susan Sandberg  and Kerry Thomson. Continue reading “Bloomington mayoral primary forum: Are we scared of being the best at taking care of the less fortunate?” →

Independent hopeful makes uninvited appearance at Bloomington mayoral primary candidate forum

From left: Don Griffin, Kwan Wallace, Joe Davis, Susan Sandberg, and Kerry Thomson.
From left: Don Griffin, Kwan Wallace, and Joe Davis.
From left: Kira Richardson, Jim Sims, Don Griffin, and Joe Davis.
From left: Joe Davis, Don Griffin, Susan Sandberg, and Kerry Thomson.

Who gets invited to participate in mayoral candidate forums? What happens if an uninvited mayoral hopeful shows up to participate?

With early voting in the May 2 municipal primary races starting in a little over a week, those questions got asked and answered at a Saturday event hosted by the Kappa Tau Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

Alpha Kappa Alpha is one the Divine Nine—that’s the nickname for the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), which is an umbrella council composed of historically Black fraternities and sororities.

The forum, which was held at the Crestmont Boys and Girls Club on the north side of town, included the three Democratic Party primary candidates: Don Griffin, Susan Sandberg, and Kerry Thomson.

Not invited was Joe Davis, who has filed the paperwork to form a campaign committee called “Joe Mama for Mayor.” Davis has not submitted the required 352 signatures to be placed on the Nov. 7, 2023 ballot for the general city election.

But Davis arrived at the venue on Saturday, ready to participate. In the end, he was allowed to sit at the table with a hand-written “Joe Mama Bear Davis” name card sitting in front of his spot on the table, and to answer questions in turn with the other questions.

That’s not the way the Alpha Kappa Alpha wanted the event to unfold. Continue reading “Independent hopeful makes uninvited appearance at Bloomington mayoral primary candidate forum” →