Three city council members, a mayor and a judge were the first five people to get their names on the ballot in this year’s municipal election.
Candidates could start filing for office on Wednesday at the Johnson County Courthouse.
Johnson County voters who live within city or town limits will choose local leaders to fill 53 seats on the ballot this year.
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Three candidates, including Franklin Mayor Steve Barnett, waited outside in the cold for at least 10 minutes before they could enter and file their applications in person at the county’s voter registration office.
By 4 p.m. Wednesday, 14 candidates had turned in forms to run in this year’s election. Mayors, city and town council members, clerk-treasurers and city judges are among the seats up for election this year.
The candidates who filed for Franklin offices are: Steve Barnett, mayor; Kim VanValer, city court judge; Danny Richards, city council, at-large; Bob Heuchan, city council, at-large; Josh Prine, city council, district 1; Andrew “Drew” Eggers, city council, district 3; Jayne Rhoades, clerk-treasurer; and Anne McGuinness, city council, district 2.
In Greenwood, the first-day candidates are: Linda Gibson, city council, district 1; Mike Campbell, city council, at-large; Drew Foster, city council, at-large; Bob Dine, city council, at-large; Ron Bates, city council, district 4; Lewis Gregory, city court judge.
Candidates are encouraged to fill out the required forms at the clerk’s office, but they can also print them out online and bring them in. Major party candidates have until noon on Feb. 8, while independents have until July 1 to file.
Once major party filing ends next month, county officials will have until May to prepare for the next election, when voters will choose one candidate from each major party for each slot on the November ballot. Voters will have to choose a Republican or Democrat ballot to vote in the primary.
If the primary races are uncontested for all seats in a city or town, then no primary election will be conducted and the candidates will automatically advance to the fall general election.
Linda Gibson, a Greenwood City Council member, is running for a third term. She hopes to continue to have a hand in Greenwood’s ongoing development, she said Wednesday morning.
She is amazed by how much the city has grown since she and her husband moved to Greenwood in 1967, she said. They both had a hand in that development. Gibson took over for her husband on the council when he died in 2008. This will be her 11th year of public service.
The candidates seeking office this year are not limited to the number of terms they can seek.
“I’ve enjoyed it. It’s amazing how the city has grown, changed, prospered. I’m very proud,” Gibson said. “There’s a lot going on in the downtown area. It’ll be interesting to see if a private developer will come in and do something with the old middle school there.”
Her priority list is similar to Mayor Mark Myers’s, who is also running for a third term. Her goals are to improve public safety, specifically in terms of staffing, and get a food and beverage tax passed, she said.
Gibson serves on the boards of The Social, a non-profit organization in Greenwood that offers a variety of programs and services for seniors, and Greenwood Village South, a senior living community.
“A lot of people need help, but they don’t know that they can ask for it, or they don’t think it’s available to them. But it is. Things happen that have major impacts on their lives, and they shouldn’t have to just put up with it. If I can’t help, I may be able to point them in the direction of someone who can. But sometimes, just talking to people (and) having conversations with neighbors helps,” she said.
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Here is a look at which seats are up for election in 2019. All of them have four-year terms:
Bargersville
Clerk-treasurer
Town council, at-large, 3 seats
Edinburgh
Clerk-treasurer
Town council, at-large, 3 seats
Franklin
Mayor
Clerk-treasurer
City court judge
City council, district 1, district 2, district 3, district 4, district 5, two at-large seats
Greenwood
Mayor
Clerk
City court judge
City council, district 1, district 2, district 3, district 4, district 5, district 6, three at-large seats
New Whiteland
Clerk-treasurer
Town council, ward 1, ward 3, ward 4
Prince’s Lakes
Clerk-treasurer
Town council, at-large, 5 seats
Trafalgar
Clerk-treasurer
Town council, at-large, 5 seats
Whiteland
Clerk-treasurer
Town council, ward 1, ward 2, ward 3; two at-large seats
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Here is a look at the filing window for all open seats on the ballots this election:
Major party candidates can file until noon on Feb. 8;
Independent candidates can file until July 1
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