Next prosecutor to be picked by 131 local Republicans

They’ve spent at least a month explaining why they are the best candidate for Johnson County prosecutor and what they would do differently if selected.

On Thursday, the six candidates for the job will make their final cases and the decision will be up to 120 Johnson County Republican Party precinct committee members and 11 vice precinct committee members. 

As many as 131 local Republicans will have final say over who gets the job for the next three years. The person named as prosecutor will decide which suspects are charged, and which aren’t, set guidelines for what types of plea agreements are acceptable, and manage a staff of nearly 40 employees. The job comes with an annual salary of $151,000.

When an elected official resigns, is removed or dies in office, precinct committee members of the political party are called to action. Because former Prosecutor Brad Cooper was a Republican, the local Republicans will choose his replacement.

The next prosecutor will be the candidate who gets a simple majority, which is half of all votes cast, plus one.

The committee members will cast private ballots as many times as necessary, Republican Party Chairperson Beth Boyce said. After the second round of voting, the candidate or candidates with the fewest votes will be removed from the race.

Six candidates want the job. They are: James Ackermann, Carrie Miles, Beckie St. John, Lori Torres, Mike Vertesch and Joe Villanueva. The winner will be sworn in and begin the job immediately, completing Cooper’s term that ends on Dec. 31, 2022. 

The county has 135 precincts, but two of the precinct committee member positions were vacant when Cooper was removed from office in July, so the Republican Party decided to leave them open until after the caucus to avoid any concern about people being appointed to affect the vote, Boyce said. Precinct committee members who have been in office at least 30 days before the date of the vacancy are eligible to vote. Two other precinct committee members have moved and are not eligible to vote, Boyce said.

That leaves 131 precinct committee members. Eleven of them can not attend and have submitted the proper paperwork by deadline to allow their vice precinct committee members to vote in their place on Thursday.

Most precinct committee members work or have worked in local government, or are current or former elected officials, or are the spouse of someone who has held a government position. The committee members were elected, volunteered or were recruited to the post.

On the list of people who can vote are local attorneys, four deputy prosecutors who will be selecting their next boss and at least 15 local police officers. Torres and Vertesch are precinct committee members and can vote for themselves. 

The candidates have taken a variety of approaches to communicating with the caucus voters. They’ve gone to their homes, sent them mailers, called them, and then called them again.

Generally, precinct committee members fly under the radar. Their jobs were first established by the state to register voters in their neighborhoods and rally support for their political parties. When county-wide voting took place at more than 130 neighborhood precinct polling places, they organized election workers and brought in the food for the day. That work has evolved as election technology has changed and the county moved to vote centers.

In 2005, when Mayor Norman P. Blankenship Jr. died in office, 14 Republicans selected then-Johnson County Auditor Brenda Jones-Matthews to finish the remainder of his term. In more recent years, Franklin precinct committee members selected Steve Barnett to finish the term of Joe McGuinness as mayor when McGuinness became commissioner of the Indiana Department of Transportation. Each year, caucuses are conducted to replace city or town council vacancies when someone moves, resigns or dies.

The caucus this week will be conducted much like previous events, with each candidate given three minutes to address the precinct committee members, Boyce said. Voting is done by secret ballot. Johnson Circuit Court Judge Andy Roesener will immediately swear in the next prosecutor.

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Johnson County Prosecutor Caucus

What: Local Republicans will select the next prosecutor among six candidates.

When: 6:30 p.m. Thursday

Where: Grace Assembly of God Church, 6822 North U.S. 31, Greenwood

The event is open to the public, but seating is limited.

Results: Check www.dailyjournal.net on Thursday night to see who is named prosecutor.

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Who gets to pick the next prosecutor?

These 131 people serve as Johnson County Republican Party precinct committee members or vice committee members and will get to select the next prosecutor in a caucus on Thursday.

Blue River Township

John Johnson

David Lutz

John Hoskinson

Pam Burton

Flory Lloyd

Clark Township

Vic Hasler

Doug Lechner

Tony Povinelli

Franklin Township

Sandi Huddleston

John White

Doug Cox

Ted Murphy

Eric Fredbeck

Danny Richards

James Martin

Matt Prine

William Pfifer

Cecelia Campbell

Pam Ault

Kirby Cochran

Richard Midkiff

Angie Longtin

Steve Hinkle

Keith Fox

Anne McGuinness

Robert Henderson

Dustin Huddleston

Charlotte Sullivan

Hensley Township

R.J. McConnell

Mike Vertesch

John Young

Needham Township

Rob Seet

Kyle Kasting

Trena McLaughlin

Sarah Kegerreis

Nineveh Township

Phillip Murphy

Tamara Ketchum

Gary Hall

James Kaylor

Pleasant Township

Jason Miller

John Perrin

Ron West

Jerry Ashby

Jack Napier

Drew Foster

Christopher Speer

Harold Hughes

Jerry Napier

Debbie Magnuson

Beth Boyce

Daylon Welliver

Gregory Hill

Shan Rutherford

William Hart

Joseph Farley

Maribeth Alspach

Joseph Sayler

Doug Rees

Tony Schantz

Geoffrey Sutton

Jeannine Myers

Thomas Whitaker

Anya McConnell

Linda Gibson

Ezra Hill

David Hopper

Damian Katt

Richard Hartman

Karen Capozzi

Josh Marshall

John Dickey

David Hilton

Volly Burton

Cheryl Clemens

Steve Owen

Michael Hughes

Duane Burgess

Stan Lynn

Jim Klenner

Scott Combs

Jeff Colvin

William (Dan) Johnson

Kristine Schutte

Lori Torres

Doreen Bennett

Nate Annis

Keith Hardin

Union Township

Sherry Abney

Carla Sutton

Annette Barr

White River Township

Steve Young

Martin Howe

Elizabeth Mallers

Doug Kessler

Ron Bates

Susan Hessman

Brett Haworth

James Dunn

Gayle Allard

Lynn Gray

Bill Barrett

Dan Malone

Michael DeCourcy

Russ Johnson

Stoney Vann

Debbie McCarty

Pat Vehorn

Robert Overton

Brian Walker

Richard Huber

John Smart

Terry Carpenter

Mike Campbell

Bill Cruser

Mark Messick

Ann Barton

Walt Janiec

Andy Fisher

Josh McCarty

Brenda Jacks

John Price

Lou Zickler

Jon Williams

William Reisa

JT Doane

Jeff Ready

Linda Sargent

Vallerie Hackett

Forrest Chambers

David Bausman

Erin Smith

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