Alea iacta est: May 7, 2024 primary election results, served when ready

Primary Election Day polls for May 7, 2024 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.

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.

Monroe County clerk Nicole Browne typically cautions against expecting any results before 7 p.m. The earliest votes that will be reported are from in-person early voting and mailed-in absentee ballots.

The B Square will add to this article with time-stamped updates from Election Central until the final unofficial results are in, or otherwise indicated here.

[Updated 8:25 p.m. May 7, 2024. The unofficial winners of the contested local races for respective party nominations: Democrat Jody Madeira for District 3 county commissioner; Democrat Julie Thomas for District 2 county commissioner; Democrats Trent Deckard, Cheryl Munson, and David Henry for at-large county council. And Republican Joe Van Deventer for District 3 county commissioner.]
Continue reading “Alea iacta est: May 7, 2024 primary election results, served when ready” →

Monroe County election board finishes final prep for Tuesday, May 7 primaries

These are the lanyards for Monroe County election board members: Nicole Browne, Judith Benckart, and John Fernandez.

Election Central at 7th and Madison streets is set up to process mailed-in and early in-person ballots.

Chart of the early in-person voting totals for the 2024 primary election in Monroe County.

On Monday night, a red-tailed hawk kept watch over Monroe County’s Election Central from the antenna on top of the justice center at 7th Street and College Avenue.

On Monday night, campaign yard signs at Fairview Elementary School were guarded by the Joe LaMantia’s Aristicat.

Campaign yard signs at Monroe County’s election operations building at 3rd and Walnut streets.

By around 7:30 p.m. on Monday night, all but three of the 29 polling locations for Primary Election Day on May 7 had checked in with Monroe County election division staff at Election Central to confirm they were set for the next day’s voting.

Election Central is the old Johnson’s Hardware building at 7th and Madison streets.

Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 6 p.m. Continue reading “Monroe County election board finishes final prep for Tuesday, May 7 primaries” →

Election 2024 | 4 contested races in Monroe County primaries: 1 council at-large, 3 commissioner

Friday at noon was the deadline for declaration of a candidacy for local office in a major party primary this year.

When the deadline passed, the filings in Monroe County added up to four contested primary races—three for the Democrats and one for Republicans. The primary election falls on May 7, with early voting starting two months from now, on April 9.

It was the District 3 race for county commissioner that drew the most interest, with a total of five filings—by three Democrats and two Republicans.

The incumbent, Democrat Penny Githens, will compete in a three-way race for her party’s nomination. Filing for District 3 on Jan. 10, the first day it was possible to declare a candidacy, was former Bloomington city councilmember Steve Volan. Filing for District 3 on Friday, the final day of the window, was Indiana University law professor Jody Madeira.

For the Republicans, the primary race will be contested between Joe VanDeventer, who is director of street operations for the city of Bloomington, and Paul White, Sr. who has previously run for elected office, most recently for county recorder.

In the District 2 race for county commissioner, two Democrats filed paperwork—incumbent Julie Thomas and challenger Peter Iversen, who currently serves on the Monroe County council. Continue reading “Election 2024 | 4 contested races in Monroe County primaries: 1 council at-large, 3 commissioner” →

Smooth sailing at Dems caucus for county treasurer, Smith picked to fill McClellan’s spot, cascade begins

Cathy (Catherine) Smith addresses Saturday’s Monroe County Democratic caucus. (Jan. 20, 2024)

From left: Monroe County circuit court judge Christine Talley Haseman administers the treasurer’s oath of office to Cathy Smith. Standing next to Smith is Jordan Miller, Monroe County financial coordinator. In the background are Charlotte Zietlow, Pat Williams, Jack Davis and Tree Martin. (Jan. 20, 2024)

Treasurer’s vacancy caucus in the Nat U. Hill Room of the Monroe County courthouse. (Jan. 20, 2024)

Monroe County’s new treasurer is Cathy Smith.

Smith was the easy choice for the roughly five dozen Democratic Party precinct chairs who gathered in the Nat U. Hill room of the Monroe County courthouse on Saturday (Jan. 20).

That’s because she was the only choice to fill the vacancy, which was left when Jessica McClellan resigned the treasurer’s job at the start of the year.

McClellan resigned to accept an appointment as Bloomington’s city controller, in new mayor Kerry Thomson’s administration.

No other caucus candidates filed for the position of county treasurer.

Smith was sworn into office on the spot, by Monroe County circuit court judge Christine Talley Haseman.

That means Smith’s position as elected county auditor is now vacant. And that means the Dems will be holding another caucus in a couple of weeks, to fill the auditor’s vacancy. Continue reading “Smooth sailing at Dems caucus for county treasurer, Smith picked to fill McClellan’s spot, cascade begins” →

Elections 2024: First filing day—both Monroe County commissioner races could be contested for Dems

David Henry submits paperwork at Election Central to depuy clerk Larime Wilson. He’s running for county council. (Jan. 10, 2024)

Sierra Roussos submits petitions for Valerie McCray’s campaign for U.S. senate. Working the counter is Larime Wilson (Jan. 10, 2024)

Peter Iversen submits paperwork to run for the District 2 county commissioner seat. Working the counter is deputy clerk Larime Wilson. (Jan. 10, 2024)

Trent Deckard stands just inside the door at Election Central to submit his paperwork to run for re-election as a county councilor. (Jan. 10, 2024)

Deputy auditor Christopher Muench with incumbent auditor Cathy Smith, who filed paperwork to run for county treasurer. (Jan. 10, 2024)

Brianne Gregory files paperwork as candidate for Monroe County auditor. (Jan. 10, 2024)

Monroe County Election Central time stamp. (Jan. 10, 2024)

Steve Volan. The B Square missed Volan at Election Central on Jan. 10, 2023 but he addressed the new Bloomington city council from the public mic later that day.

Official filings on Wednesday mean that Monroe County voters in the 2024 Democratic Party primary might have choices in both of the county commissioner races that are up for election this year.

Previously announced was District 2 county commissioner Julie Thomas’s intent to seek re-election and Peter Iversen’s intent to challenge for the seat. Iversen’s District 1 county council seat is not up for election this year.

Incumbent for the District 3 county commissioner seat is Penny Githens, who has been considered likely to seek re-election. Filing paperwork on Wednesday for the District 3 county commissioner seat was Democrat Steve Volan, a former Bloomington city councilmember.

Volan’s 20 years of service on the city council concluded at the end of 2023. After representing District 6 on the city council for two decades, he sought the party’s nomination to one of the three at-large council seats, but was not among the top three vote getters in the 2023 primary.

Reached on Wednesday, Githens indicated to the B Square that she has not yet decided whether to run again for the District 3 county commissioner seat.

The districts for county commissioners define the limited geographic areas where candidates have to live—but the voting for county commissioners is countywide.

Wednesday was the first day it was possible for this year’s candidates for local office to file their official paperwork.

It was also the first day that candidates for U.S. president and U.S. senate could submit signatures to qualify for the primary ballot. Incumbent Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, and Valerie McCray’s senatorial campaign submitted signatures from Monroe County voters on Wednesday.

Up for local election this year in Monroe County are the positions of auditor, coroner, surveyor, treasurer, circuit court judge (Division 3, Division 4, and Division 9), county commissioner (District 2 and District 3) and county councilor (three at-large seats). Continue reading “Elections 2024: First filing day—both Monroe County commissioner races could be contested for Dems” →

Column: Staring into the civic sun in 2024, the year of a solar eclipse

In 2024, the local civic cosmos could see some big changes, in the same year when a rare literal cosmic event will unfold.

On April 8, a solar eclipse will briefly cast a shadow directly over the Bloomington area, turning daylight into gloam. (Yes, that is an awfully fancy word for “twilight,” but it’s the kind of highfalutin fare that is customary for a newspaper year-in-preview column.)

During an eclipse, in the battle between dark and light across the visible disk of the sun, the dark begins with a steady assimilation of the light’s territory, but the light always reverses the trend and prevails in the end.

That’s either a great or a lousy metaphor for municipal annexation, depending on a person’s political perspective.

In fall of 2021, Bloomington’s city council approved the annexation of seven different territories, all of which are still the subject of litigation.

Metaphors aside, 2024 holds the potential for some court decisions on those pending annexations, which might settle the question of how much Bloomington’s boundaries will change.

Of course, annexation is just one of myriad civic issues that are in the queue for Bloomington and Monroe County in 2024.

Here’s a non-exhaustive rundown of topics The B Square will try to track in the coming year. Continue reading “Column: Staring into the civic sun in 2024, the year of a solar eclipse” →

Monroe County council looks at boosting employee pay in 2024: “We have our work cut out for us.”

Monroe County council (Aug. 22, 2023)

On Tuesday night, Monroe County councilors opened a discussion about next year’s salary increase for county employees.

A starting point for that discussion is 6 percent. No decisions were made on Tuesday. The county’s budget process will unfold over the course of a couple of weeks starting Sept. 6.

The 6-percent number is based on the December 2021 to December 2022 consumer price index increase (CPI) for the Midwest region, as calculated by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. That figure has long been used by the county council as a reference point for pay increases.

As the fiscal body for county government, it’s the county council that makes the final decision on the budget. Continue reading “Monroe County council looks at boosting employee pay in 2024: “We have our work cut out for us.”” →