The County Line
Primary election day is just over two weeks away. On May 7 voters in Hamilton County’s cities and towns will chose Republicans and a few Democrats for their general election ticket. In the last municipal primary four years ago, a puny 16 percent of voters cast ballots.
Will there be greater participation this year? Maybe a little, but probably not a lot. Spirited contests for mayor in Noblesville and Carmel should increase turnout, but certainly the vote will be far less than it should be for an important local election.
You have to wonder why it is that so few people want a voice in selecting their future officials. Winners in a Republican primary are almost certain to be elected in November, especially if the Democrats fail to find candidates for their tickets.
Apathy is the biggest reason for many folks not voting. Secondly, there is the failure to understand the importance of a primary where only the winners quality for the general election. It seems that this simple fact would be widely understood, but apparently not.
Conventional wisdom holds that a light vote favors an incumbent in any election. But, this year there is no incumbent for mayor in Noblesville. So, likely the winner will be the candidate with the best name recognition. Three of the four hopefuls have pretty good name ID; at least among longtime residents.
Chris Jensen has been essentially running for a year or more, and has gotten his name out well. Julia Church Kozicki, widely known for her work with the schools, is the only woman in the field with three men which should help, and Mike Corbett is probably in good shape with the historic preservationists as well as having a history of running previously for the city’s top job.
This writer thinks it’s a three-way tossup and will be decided entirely of which candidate gets his or her voters to the polls. So, this should mean a big vote. Don’t count on that.
In Carmel, incumbent Jim Brainard with almost universal name recognition and plenty of campaign funds should be the odds-on favorite. But, it’s beginning to look like it could be the closest race in his 24 years as mayor.
Challenger Fred Glynn appears to be running well with folks who feel it’s time for a change in City Hall. And, oddly enough in this race, a low voter turnout might favor Glynn because there is a segment of the community that has regularly opposed Brainard, largely because of public spending.
So, as in almost any election it depends on who gets their votes out. In that regard, we find more efforts to inform voters about the election, and make it easier vote. Early voting, currently in progress, will be extended to remote voting centers in Fishers, Carmel and Westfield beginning April 24.
County taxpayers spend tens of thousands of dollars on an election, paying workers at the polls, getting machines prepared, notifying voters of changes in polling places, sending out absentee ballots along with other expenses.
Putting on this kind of event is not simple, but most important it is done so that we the voters (however many want to participate) can choose who is going to run our growing communities for the next four years.