Voters to decide on Town Council members, county seats

Voters in Hope will be deciding on three members for the Hope Town Council this year as well as clerk-treasurer and casting ballots in county and races.

The seats on the Hope Town Council representing Wards 1, 2 and 3 are all up for election this year. The seats are currently held by Ohmer Miller, Nellie Meek and Ed Johnson, although none of them have filed yet for re-election as of Friday afternoon according to the Bartholomew County clerk's office. Nor has Clerk-Treasure Diane Burton filed for re-election, who runs as an independent.

The only Hope candidate to file for election so far is John Walstad who filed as a Republican for the Ward 2 seat on the council.

At the county level, Republican voters will have a choice of at least seven candidates to run for the three at-large seats on the County Council. That includes incumbents Evelyn Pence, Matt Miller and Bill Lentz, but also includes Laura DeDomenic. She currently holds the District 2 seat on the council but has announced that she is running for at-large so she has the freedom to move in the county. Newcomers Bill Read II, Derick Olson and Andrew Brunni, are also seeking the seats on the council as Republicans.

Former Columbus police chief Jon Rohde and local attorney Dominic Glover have filed to run for judge in Superior Court II as Republicans. Judge Kitty Coriden is not seeking re-election.

Republican County Commissioner Larry Kleinhenz is seeking re-election to his District 1 seat, while Joanne Flohr and Tony London are seeking the Republican nomination for District 3. Current incumbent, Republican Rick Flohr is not seeking re-election.

County Surveyor E.R. Gray and County Coroner Clayton Nolting have both filed for re-election.

No Democrats have filed to run for county seats. 

At the state level, Republican State Rep. Sean Eberhart, of Shelbyville, has filed to run for re-election in District 57, which includes Hope and northeastern Bartholomew County.

The deadline to file paperwork to run for office is noon on Friday Feb. 7th at the voter registration office in the Bartholomew County Courthouse. You can call 812-379-1604 for more information.