Hamilton County Superior Court No. 1 Judge Steven R. Nation announced Monday that he will not seek a fifth term in the upcoming May 2018 primary election, and for the first time in 40 years his name will not appear on the ballot.
Nation
Nation was elected to the Bench and took office in 1995 and is now completing his 24th year, or fourth term as a Judge. Prior to taking the Bench, Nation served as a Hamilton County Deputy Prosecutor for two years and in 1979 was elected as the Hamilton County Prosecutor where he served 16 years, or four terms.
In addition to presiding over a yearly caseload of approximately 3,000 pending cases, Nation has always been actively involved in the community. He participated in the Noblesville Elementary Football League as a coach and on the Executive Board of Directors; Hamilton County Chairman of the Funding Drive for United Way; Board of Directors of the Hamilton County Red Cross and Board of Directors of Noblesville Boys and Girls Club.
Nation has worked with other people to create Prevail, Hamilton County Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs, Hamilton County Traffic Safety Task Force and the Hamilton County Youth Assistance Program. He wants to continue to work with schools and various communities to expand this program statewide. The Youth Assistance Program is designed to bring together schools, businesses, faith-based organizations and the community to help at-risk students stay in school and out of the Juvenile Justice system through volunteers who provide tutoring, mentoring and a coordination of services to at-risk children and their families. He was recently honored to be Person of the Year for his efforts with youth.
He is also currently active in and hopes to continue to serve the citizens of this county and state with efforts to create a Mentors Group for inmates at the Hamilton County Jail, Tom Burton Recovery Center to assist individuals with drug and/or mental health issues as an alternative to incarceration, Senior mentor and Guardianship Project, Domestic Violence Shelter, working with Trustees and community concerning the homeless and Workforce Development, Ivy Tech and the schools for creation of a local career center.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the citizens of Hamilton County. I am grateful to God and the people of Hamilton County for permitting me to serve them all these years. I have been blessed to work with many wonderful elected officials and people from the various communities in Hamilton County. Hamilton County is the best place in the State to live because we have such caring people who live and serve here. I hope that my service has protected the citizens and has helped make Hamilton County and the State of Indiana a safer and better place to live,” Nation said.