Tag: William Ellis

2023 Elections | Day One notebook: 9 file paperwork, including 3 known mayoral candidates

Wednesday was the first day it was possible to file the forms to declare an official candidacy for municipal elections in Indiana’s 2023 election cycle.

In Monroe County, nine candidates got that paperwork task out of the way on Day One.

Filing their CAN-42 forms on Wednesday, in order of filing, were: Kerry Thomson (Bloomington mayor); Susan Sandberg (Bloomington mayor); Sue Sgambelluri (Bloomington city council District 2); Don Griffin (Bloomington mayor); Ron Smith (Bloomington city council District 3); William Ellis (Ellettsville town council Ward 2); Jonas Schrodt (Bloomington city council at large); Brett Heinisch (Bloomington city council, District 3); and Nicole Bolden (Bloomington city clerk).

Ellis and Heinisch filed to run in the Republican Party’s primary. The others filed to run in the Democratic Party’s primary. Continue reading “2023 Elections | Day One notebook: 9 file paperwork, including 3 known mayoral candidates” →

Recount confirms Dodds for Benton Township board, election finally over in Monroe County

Benton Township board recount certificate.
From left: Judge Erik Allen, and recount commissioners Bob White, WIlliam Ellis, and Fred Turner.
Recount commissioner Fred Turner.
From left: Dave Hall, Cory Ray, Fred Turner, Bob White, William Ellis.
From left: Recount commissioners Bob White and William Ellis.
Recount commissioner William Ellis.

Republican Jake Dodds has been confirmed as winning one of the three seats on the Benton Township board in Monroe County, Indiana.

The result of a manual recount of the ballots, which concluded Thursday morning around 11 a.m., provided a 3-vote margin for Dodds over fourth-place finisher, Democrat Hans Kelson.

Before the provisional ballots were adjudicated on Nov. 18—that’s 10 days after the Nov. 8 Election Day—Dodds was up by 6 votes over Kelson. Dodds had 621 votes compared to 615 for Kelson.

The adjudication of the provisional ballots added 2 more votes to Kelson’s total. That reduced the margin to 4 votes—621 to 617. That’s when Monroe County Democratic Party chair David Henry filed a petition requesting a manual recount.

After the manual recount, Dodds had one fewer vote and Kelson had the same number, leaving a 3-vote gap.

That means the Benton Township board that’s sworn into office on Jan. 1, 2023 will consist of Dodds, and Democrats Sean McInerney and Joseph Husk. The Benton Township trustee’s election was won by Democrat Michelle Bright over Republican Josh Dodds.

Judge Erik Allen out of Greene County oversaw the recount work. On Thursday, after the recount commissioners had completed their work at Monroe County’s Election Central, Allen told them: “I observed the process from beginning to end, and I have full confidence in the job that was completed.”

Allen added, “I think you’ve been very diligent and I appreciate your work and certainly have full confidence in the result.” Continue reading “Recount confirms Dodds for Benton Township board, election finally over in Monroe County” →

Election recount paused for Benton Township board as winter storm hits Midwest

Recount commissioner Fred Turner is sworn in.
Recount commissioner Bob White is sworn in.
Recount commissioner William Ellis is sworn in.
Recount commissioner William Ellis reviews a disputed ballot with a magnifier.
Judge Erik Allen swears in the recount commissioners.
Monroe County’s Election Central on Dec. 22, 2022.

Republican Jake Dodds will have to wait until after Christmas for confirmation of his election to one of the three seats on the Benton Township board in Monroe County, Indiana.

The three-member recount commission that is conducting a manual review of the ballots got started at 9 a.m. on Thursday, but was not able to complete the work by the end of the day.

The margin for Dodds over fourth-place finisher Hans Kelson was 4 votes.

They will pick back up in a week, on Dec. 29. The election took place on Nov. 8.

The recount commission’s work day was shortened by a winter storm that led the Monroe County government to send workers home at 3 p.m. Continue reading “Election recount paused for Benton Township board as winter storm hits Midwest” →

Bloomington plan commission news: State’s highest court declines case on party affiliations for partisan-balanced boards

Chris Cockerham will remain a Bloomington plan commissioner. Andrew Guenther will not be installed to replace him.

From left: Chris Cockerham, Andrew Guenther

That’s because Indiana’s Supreme Court gave notice on Tuesday that it will not to hear an appeal that was requested in July by Guenther and former Monroe County Republican Party chair William Ellis.

In June of 2020, Guenther and Ellis had filed a lawsuit against Bloomington mayor John Hamilton over the rightful appointee to the Bloomington plan commission.

The key question of law in the case was this one: Is there a statutory requirement that a member of a partisan-balanced board or commission be affiliated with some party or other?

Guenther and Ellis said yes. Bloomington’s mayor John Hamilton said no.

In a ruling that was issued in late May this year, a three-member panel of the court of appeals sided with Bloomington. The court of appeals decision reversed the initial ruling at the circuit court level, by special judge Erik Allen, who had decided the case in Ellis and Guenther’s favor.

The court of appeals said there is no requirement—that for someone to be appointed to a partisan-balanced board or commission, they have to be a member of some political party or other. That means someone who is unaffiliated with any party can be appointed to a partisan-balanced board.

Tuesday’s notification from the Supreme Court, that it won’t hear the case, means this spring’s court of appeals ruling will now stand. Continue reading “Bloomington plan commission news: State’s highest court declines case on party affiliations for partisan-balanced boards” →

Indiana Supreme Court gets petition to hear case on Bloomington plan commission appointment

Late Tuesday, a petition was filed with the Indiana Supreme Court, to hear a case involving the rightful appointee to fill a vacant seat on Bloomington’s plan commission.

Filing the petition were former Monroe County Republican Party chair William Ellis, who is now vice chair, and Andrew Guenther, who at the time was affiliated with the Republican Party.

They say Guenther should now be sitting in the seat left vacant by Nick Kappas in January 2020, when Bloomington mayor John Hamilton chose not to reappoint him. Their claim is based on a state law that allows a party chair to make an appointment under certain circumstances. Ellis chose Guenther as his appointee.

The city of Bloomington’s position is that Chris Cockerham is the rightful appointee. Cockerham was the person Hamilton appointed. He has been serving for the last two years on the plan commission as the successor to Kappas.

Giving rise to the dispute is the statutory partisan balancing requirement for the five mayoral appointees to city plan commissions in the state of Indiana. No more than three of the five can be affiliated with the same political party.

Is there also a statutory requirement that plan commission appointees must be affiliated with some political party or other? That’s the key question of law at the heart of the case. Continue reading “Indiana Supreme Court gets petition to hear case on Bloomington plan commission appointment” →

Monroe County GOP gives greenlight to county chair to fill ballot vacancies

William Ellis at GOP meeting on June 28, 2022.
Taylor Bryant at GOP meeting on June 28, 2022.

At a meeting of Republican Party precinct chairs held at Ellettsville town hall on Tuesday evening, they gave county party chair Taylor Bryant the authority to fill vacancies on the Nov. 8 election ballot.

Bryant would have until noon on July 3 fill ballot vacancies.

Before the vote, county vice chair William Ellis said Bryant’s authority is just for cases where no GOP candidate filed for the May 3 primary election, and does not extend to filling a vacancy for an office due to resignation or death.

As of Tuesday, the GOP does not have on-the-ballot candidates for several Monroe County races, like prosecutor, clerk, assessor, and two judgeships. That’s due in part to the fact that Monroe County voters favor Democratic Party candidates. In the 2020 presidential race, Democrat Joe Biden won over Republican Donald Trump by a 28-point margin.

Responding to a B Square question after Tuesday’s meeting, Bryant said for township trustee and township board positions she’s heard some interest expressed from potential candidates. About county-level positions, Bryant said, “We’ve had some conversations—I don’t know if we’re going to get anybody for those.” Continue reading “Monroe County GOP gives greenlight to county chair to fill ballot vacancies” →

Court of appeals: Bloomington mayor’s pick for plan commission valid, not GOP county chair’s

In a ruling issued Friday morning, Indiana’s court of appeals reversed the decision of a lower court that found Andrew Guenther had been rightfully appointed to Bloomington’s plan commission seat in spring 2020 by then-chair of the Monroe County GOP William Ellis.

From left: Andrew Guenther, Nick Kappas, Chris Cockerham

The court of appeals found on a 3-0 vote that the lower court’s ruling was “clearly erroneous.”

[Opinion: Guenther v. Hamilton]

According to the ruling, Bloomington mayor John Hamilton’s appointment of Chris Cockerham to the contested seat was valid. Cockerham has been serving on Bloomington’s plan commission since his May 2020 appointment by Hamilton.

Reached by The B Square shortly after the ruling was released, Guenther indicated that he was not yet sure if an appeal to Indiana’s Supreme Court would be attempted.

The three-member panel on the court of appeals reduced the various questions of law that were in front of it to just one: For boards and commissions that have a partisan balancing requirement under Indiana state law, is it possible for an appointee to have no affiliation at all with any party?

Guenther and Ellis said no. The city of Bloomington and Hamilton said yes.

The court of appeals agreed with Bloomington and Hamilton.

Friday’s ruling says that the disputed statue should not be interpreted to mean that an appointee to a partisan-balance board or commission, like a plan commission, must have some partisan affiliation or other.

The central question about the lack of party affiliation did not involve either Guenther or Cockerham. It was undisputed that the seat in question could not be filled by a Democrat, because three of the five plan commission seats appointed by the mayor were already filled with Democrats. Continue reading “Court of appeals: Bloomington mayor’s pick for plan commission valid, not GOP county chair’s” →

Outgoing Monroe County GOP chair on election of youngest party leader in Hoosier state: “Taylor is…going to drive this past the finish line.”

Taylor Bryant, newly elected Monroe County GOP chair.
William Ellis, now Monroe County GOP vice chair, and Taylor Bryant, newly elected chair.
Taylor Bryant, newly elected Monroe County GOP chair.
Dec. 18, 2021 GOP caucus at Ellettsville town hall.

At Ellettsville’s town hall on Saturday morning, about 60 people gathered to elect Taylor Bryant as the new chair of Monroe County’s Republican Party.

She had declared her candidacy earlier in the week in a Facebook post.

Saturday’s voice vote by the party’s precinct committeemen and committeewomen was not controversial. It’s not a dramatic change in party leadership. Her election just elevated Bryant from party vice chair to chair.

And Bryant’s first appointment, to fill her vacant vice chair spot, was a familiar face—William Ellis, who up to now has served as party chair. Saturday’s news could be fairly described as a simple swap in the roles of Ellis and Bryant.

What has some area Republicans thinking Bryant’s chairship could attract the attention of media statewide, or even on the national level, is the fact that the eighteen-year-old is now the youngest county chair for the Republican Party in the state of Indiana, possibly the country. Continue reading “Outgoing Monroe County GOP chair on election of youngest party leader in Hoosier state: “Taylor is…going to drive this past the finish line.”” →

Stay granted: GOP pick for Bloomington plan commission won’t be seated pending appeal

Andrew Guenther will not be serving as a Bloomington plan commissioner—at least not for the next several months—even though a mid-November order from special judge Erik Allen installed him in a plan commission seat effective immediately.

From left: Chris Cockerham and Andrew Guenther.

On Monday morning, Allen granted a request
from the city of Bloomington for a stay of his November order, pending the appeal for which the city has given notice.

That means Chris Cockerham will continue serving on the Bloomington plan commission while the appeal is battled out in court.

The order granting the stay came the morning of the same day when the plan commission next meets—Monday at 5:30 p.m.

The stay means that it will be Cockerham, not Guenther, who appears in the Zoom videoconference square for the plan commission’s Monday night meeting.

The end of 2021 will mark the half-way point in the four-year term of the disputed plan commission seat. It is conceivable that the appeal could take up much of the remaining two years in the term.

It was in mid-2020 when the lawsuit over the plan commission seat was filed by Monroe County Republican Party chair William Ellis and Andrew Guenther. Continue reading “Stay granted: GOP pick for Bloomington plan commission won’t be seated pending appeal” →

Bloomington city council to recognize GOP party chair’s choice for transit board seat, an appointment the council is supposed to make

In a press release issued in mid-November, GOP Monroe County chair William Ellis announced he had appointed Doug  Horn, a Bloomington businessman and former Monroe County plan commissioner, to the five-member, partisan-balanced Bloomington Transit board.

It’s an appointment that is normally supposed to be made by the city council. The mayor makes appointments to two of the seats and the city council makes the other three.

That’s under normal circumstances, when the appointing authority fills a vacancy in a timely way.

On Tuesday night, at a meeting of the city council’s four-member transportation committee, council attorney Stephen Lucas weighed in on the announcement Ellis had made three weeks earlier.

“I don’t see a reason why William Ellis would not have the authority to make that appointment, Lucas told committee members.” Lucas continued, “The state law [Ellis] cites allows for the appointment by the county chair, when the appointing authority does not fill a vacancy. I think that’s the case here.”

For a partisan-balanced board, a party’s county chair can make an appointment for a seat of a member with an expiring term, if that member is affiliated with the same party. Ellis’s appointment replaced Alex Cartwright, who is a Republican.

The state law cited by Ellis to make Horn’s appointment allows for a board member to serve for 90 days past the expiration of a term. But Cartwright’s four-year term expired on July 31. Ellis’s appointment of Horn came after that 90-day window closed.

Lucas also said at Tuesday’s committee meeting that the other vacant seat on the BT board that the committee was looking to fill was not actually vacant.

Nancy Obermeyer’s four-year term does not actually expire until 2021, based on a recent detailed review of records done by city clerk Nicole Bolden, according to Lucas. Obermeyer is a Democrat.

Continue reading “Bloomington city council to recognize GOP party chair’s choice for transit board seat, an appointment the council is supposed to make” →