I write this on Sunday evening, October 10.  On October 11, Fishers City Councilman David George will attend his final meeting as a council member.  He plans to resign his seat.  Councilor George has the most seniority on the council, going back to the days when Fishers was a town and governed by a 7-member town council.

Mr. George’s replacement on the council, to serve for the remainder of his term, which runs through December 31, 2023, will be chosen by a process spelled-out in Indiana state law.  The Republican precinct officials within his district will vote on the new council member to represent the Southwest Council District.  Mr. George also serves as council vice-president, so it would be assumed the council will vote on which council member will fill the position of  vice president for the remainder of 2021.

The Indianapolis Star published an extensive and well-documented story in the Sunday, October 10 print edition, analyzing Indiana’s unusual system of replacing elected officials when an office becomes open during a term.  It tells the story of how Victoria Spartz jump-started her political career in a Republican precinct caucus when State Senator Luke Kenley resigned his seat.  Spartz was selected by the caucus to serve the remainder of Kenley’s term in the General Assembly, which led to a successful campaign for her current position as a member of the United States House of Representatives.

Two excellent Star reporters, Amelia Pak-Harvey and Kaitlin Lange, do a deep dive on how the Indiana system works to replace vacancies for elective office, with the good and not so good aspects of using that system.  You can read the article at this link.  You will need a subscription to the IndyStar in order to access this story.  I have written this before, and I will write it again, please subscribe to your local media!  An initial online subscription to the Star is as little as $1 for the first few months.