What a strange time to be alive.
Not only have large swathes of the country lost their trust in basic government leaders, they have lost respect for the offices themselves, rather than the individual officeholders. In some instances, rather than working to do the very best job they can for constituents, those same officeholders appear to do the bare minimum – or less.
One of the results of this is a moment of shock and awe when someone does a good job.
As I said, a strange time.
I have two examples to share with our readers today. One of absolute failure to perform and another of going above and beyond. Both have to do with the upcoming election.
Hamilton County Election Administrator Beth Sheller does the best job I have ever seen in this state when it comes to election information. From the moment a candidate files until the last vote is cast and tabulated on election night, the data coming from her office is both efficient and accurate.
Every single day this newspaper has access to an accurate and updated list of all candidates who have filed for local offices. The entire world also has access to that list if people want to go to the county website and pull a new spreadsheet each day.
Meanwhile, at the state level, the information coming from Secretary of State Diego Morales’s office is both incomplete and inaccurate.
Candidates who told this newspaper directly that they had filed before noon on day one were not shown in the state candidate list. At least one candidate was listed as having filed for a different office – one that he does not even live in the correct district to be a valid candidate for!
As a public service, for the past several years The Hamilton County Reporter has published a daily list of candidates who have filed for office. We run that in every digital-only edition from the first day of filing through the last. Then we will run it from the first day of early voting through Election Day for both the primary and general elections.
Sheller makes that easy for us to do for our readers, and she always has.
Morales does not and never has.
This newspaper does not make political endorsements because it is not the job of any newspaper to try to shape or reshape public opinion. Those who try to do so have lost their way.
Individuals affiliated with this newspaper are always welcome to write letters to the editor signed with their name and city of residence (but not with their newspaper titles) to opine about which candidate they prefer, just as all our readers are welcome to do.
I am not saying I or this newspaper endorses Beth Sheller for Hamilton County Clerk. I am, however, saying that in her current capacity as Election Administrator, she does an incredible job that should be the gold standard for Election Administrators across the state.
I am also saying that Diego Morales is not even doing the bare minimum to ensure that information coming from his office about the upcoming 2026 Indiana Primary Election is accurate. I know that because I see the information and it is not accurate, much less complete.
Diego, do better or quit.
Beth, please never quit.
Candidates and potential candidates who wish to have their campaign announcements in the pages of The Reporter can send them to News@ReadTheReporter.com. Digital edition versions must be under 500 words. Print versions must be under 150 words. [Note: If you filed for a state office, we might need that announcement to be certain we have accurate data.]