Yesterday at noon was the filing deadline for candidates wishing to run for their party’s nomination in the 2015 local primary elections. I’ve collected a list of the candidates based on media coverage, and where possible I’ve linked to their campaign websites or other online presence:
Mayor
- Monica Burns
- Kyle Ingram
- Diana Pappin
- Larry Scott
- Dave Snow
City Clerk
- Karen Chasteen
City Council
District 1:
- Doug Goss
District 2:
- Kelley Cruse-Nicholson
District 3
- Denise Bullock
- Bruce Wissel
District 4
District 5:
- Jeffrey Locke
- Don Winget
District 6:
- Danny Matheny
- Gary Turner
- Nick Wilson
At-Large
- Ron Deane
- Shane Eddington
- Kamara Gard
- Al Glover
- Misty Hollis
- Jamie Lopeman
- Ron Oler
- Sandra Shelly
According to the election schedule, any of these candidates can still withdraw from the race by noon on Monday the 9th. Primary election day is Tuesday, May 5th, 2015.
More commentary is coming later, and I’ll try to keep this list updated as I can; if you notice any errors or omissions, please let me know.
Hi - I'm Chris Hardie. I live and work in Richmond, Indiana.
Monica Burns
Thanks Chris. Too bad your name isn’t somewhere on that list.
Nick Wilson
Thanks i always enjoy your writings.
Jason R. Elliott (@novabeatnik)
As I look through this list and each candidate’s associated online information and social media presence, I wonder if, other people feel that a candidate’s digital profile holds a great deal of weight in their opinion of a candidate’s fitness for public office. I think social media and an internet presence is vitally important. I see some good websites and others that are essentially virtual flyers. Any candidate that fails to take the time to make at least a minimal effort, registering a relevant domain name and putting up at least a static page has little to no chance of getting my vote. Also a Facebook page just doesn’t cut it.
Chris Hardie
Jason: I agree that having some kind of easily located Internet presence is critical, even if the candidate is in an uncontested race.
I also agree FB isn’t a good answer to this, but I don’t think the specific platform or service a candidate chooses is as important as whether they take the time to make a detailed, well-reasoned case to voters about the issues and questions facing the community. I hope people demand more than flag waving and fancy images.