Tag: Don Griffin

Bloomington Transit board OKs budget for presentation to city council, plans for limited replacement of Rural Transit service

From left: John Connell, Don Griffin, James McLary

Bloomington Transit’s 2024 budget, as adopted by the board at its meeting last Tuesday, is about $280,000 more than the draft presented a month ago by BT general manager John Connell.

At around $26.6 million, it’s still less than this year’s $35-million budget, which included significant amounts for acquisition of new buses.

The other notable topic of discussion at Tuesday’s board meeting was the city council’s action, taken the previous week, to give BT the legal authority to operate outside the city limits of Bloomington anywhere in Monroe County.

Still to be negotiated are interlocal agreements between BT and other entities, so that BT can provide service to non-city residents who previously were served by Rural Transit. Under the ordinance, the interlocal agreements have to be “equitable in relation to the level of support city residents already provide to the Bloomington Public Transportation Corporation.”

Continue reading “Bloomington Transit board OKs budget for presentation to city council, plans for limited replacement of Rural Transit service” →

Bloomington mayor calls Hopewell groundbreaking a “once-in-a-century opportunity to create a new neighborhood in the heart of our beloved city”

Hopewell West Primary Plat
Hopewell West Primary Plat

On Friday afternoon, a day with partly cloudy skies and a temperature around 80 degrees, about 60 local leaders gathered at the now empty grassy lot on the south side of 2nd Street, between Rogers Street and The B-Line Trail.

They were assembled to mark the groundbreaking for the Hopewell neighborhood, which will be constructed at the site of the former IU Health hospital, where the health care provider operated its facility until December 2021.

Delivering remarks on Friday were Bloomington mayor John Hamilton, followed by Cindy Kinnarney, who is president of Bloomington’s redevelopment commission, and by Mick Renneisen, who is president of the board for the nonprofit called City of Bloomington Capital Improvements, Inc.

Hamilton led off his remarks by saying, “We are here to break ground on this once-in-a-century opportunity to create a new neighborhood in the heart of our beloved city.” Continue reading “Bloomington mayor calls Hopewell groundbreaking a “once-in-a-century opportunity to create a new neighborhood in the heart of our beloved city”” →

Carmichael to step down as Bloomington deputy mayor, Hamilton taps assistant city attorney for job

Mary Catherine Carmichael is stepping down as Bloomington’s deputy mayor effective July 28.

Assistant city attorney Larry Allen has been appointed by Bloomington mayor John Hamilton to replace Carmichael starting July 29.

That’s according to a news release from the mayor’s office around noon on Friday.

The news marks the first of what could be additional transitions at city hall, ahead of the anticipated inauguration of a new mayor, Kerry Thomson, to start 2024. Thomson won the Democratic Party primary, and there’s no opponent on the Nov. 7 ballot. Continue reading “Carmichael to step down as Bloomington deputy mayor, Hamilton taps assistant city attorney for job” →

Bloomington primary election 2023 photos: A look back to the distant past of one week ago

Wildlife was not allowed to vote at Bloomington High School South—there’s no election-deering allowed within 50 feet of the polls. (May 2, 2023)
Don Griffin (May 2, 2023)
Kerry Thomson (May 2, 2023)
Don Griffin (May 2, 2023)
Kerry Thomson (May 2, 2023)

For the B Square’s day-of election coverage last Tuesday, words and numbers took priority over photographs.

But a complete record surely demands some photos, even if they’re late.

In that spirit, below is a set of photographs, in mostly chronological order, as they were taken during the day—at different polling places and then at the Cascades Inn where the local Democrats gathered to celebrate their victories. Continue reading “Bloomington primary election 2023 photos: A look back to the distant past of one week ago” →

2023 Bloomington Democratic Party Primary: Mapping out the mayoral results

It’s no longer breaking news that Kerry Thomson won the Democratic Party’s nomination for mayor of Bloomington in Tuesday’s election.

Bloomington 2023 Mayoral Primary. Kerry Thomson’s Percentage of the Vote by Precinct. The image links to a dynamic version of the map. Data for all candidates can be downloaded via the dynamic map.

Thomson’s 3,444 votes gave her about 43 percent of the vote, compared to 33 percent (2,644) for Susan Sandberg and 24 percent (1,924) for Don Griffin.

The county clerk’s office has now released the precinct-by-precinct totals. Thomson won 30 of the city’s 47 precincts. Sandberg won 6 of them, and Griffin won 9.

Who won the remaining two precincts?

In Richland 09, not one of the 13 registered voters participated in the primary, so it was a three-way tie at zero.

In Perry 15, which includes an older central Bloomington neighborhood northeast of Bryan Park, Thomson and Sandberg tied with 105 votes apiece. Griffin tallied 32 votes in Perry 15.

Those totals are all unofficial. The results won’t become final until provisional ballots have been adjudicated by the election board. Adjudication of provision ballots is scheduled for next Friday, May 12. Continue reading “2023 Bloomington Democratic Party Primary: Mapping out the mayoral results” →

2023 Bloomington Democratic Party primary results: Thomson wins mayoral nomination, 5 of 9 councilmembers won’t return in 2024

On Tuesday, Kerry Thomson won a clear 10-point victory over second-place finisher Susan Sandberg in the race for the Democratic Party’s nomination for mayor of Bloomington.

[.pdf file of 2023 unofficial primary election results]

Thomson did not get a majority of the 8,012 votes in the three-way race.

Thomson’s 3,444 votes gave her about 43 percent of the vote, compared to 33 percent (2,644) for Susan Sandberg and 24 percent (1,924) for Don Griffin.

No Republican has yet declared a candidacy for mayor and no independent candidate has submitted the required 352 signatures to qualify for the November ballot. To appear on the ballot as an independent candidate for mayor or city council, qualifying signatures  have to be submitted by June 30.

So it’s likely that Thomson will be the next mayor of Bloomington. Incumbent mayor John Hamilton did not seek re-election. Continue reading “2023 Bloomington Democratic Party primary results: Thomson wins mayoral nomination, 5 of 9 councilmembers won’t return in 2024” →

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” →