The County Line
The dust has settled from the municipal election campaign, and there are observations that may be worth noting as a result of Tuesday’s voting.
For example, for the first time in Hamilton County, there will be three generations of one family holding public office at the same time. Glen Schwartz, a Republican, is a Jackson Township Board member, his son, Steve Schwartz, is a member of the County Council, and this week, Steve’s son, Pete Schwartz, was elected to the Noblesville City Council.
If there is one person Democrats can thank, and Republicans can blame, for the victory of three Democratic city council members in Fishers and Carmel, it is Joe Weingarten, chairman of the Democratic Party. Joe worked overtime getting candidates for council. He tried to get candidates for mayor and more for council. But, many Democrats are reluctant to run because they almost always lose. This time 11 council seats in Noblesville, Carmel and Fishers were contested. Three won for the first time ever.
This makes news because it’s a first, but 49 other city offices in the county went to Republicans, not to mention the 16 town council positions in Sheridan, Cicero, Arcadia and Atlanta, all but one of which is Republican.
Next year there will likely be more Democrats running. They may find it a bit harder seeking countywide office, although Republican winning margins have been shrinking. The cause of this is debatable, but certainly the thousands of new apartment dwellers are a contributing factor.
Carmel voters easily approved a school security referendum Tuesday which could result in a property tax rate increase of up to five cents, but Carmel Clay business manager Roger McMichael doubts the full five cent levy will be needed next year. He says the school system plans to hire 11 new resource officers, but they cannot all be found immediately.
Despite all recent efforts including early voting, just under 35,000 city and town residents participated in the election. That is less than 16 percent of the electorate, and rather dismal. But, other communities did even worse if that means anything.