There will be some changes coming to the Fishers City Council. The 2 Democrats currently on the council lost their bid for re-election Tuesday. One new Democrat will be serving the South West District, Bill Stuart.
Democrats Jocelyn Vare and Crystal Neumann lost. A new Republican will assume an at-large Council seat, Tiffanie Ditlevson.
Democrat Howard Stevenson was unsuccessful in his bid for an at-large Council seat. “We didn’t get the result we wanted, but I’m proud that I ran a positive campaign,” said Stevenson in a social media post. “I want to congratulate Todd Zimmerman, Cecilia Coble, and Tiffanie Ditlevson and wish them the best. I will continue to serve the Fishers community that I love to make it even better for everyone.”
The only Republican to lose in this round of city elections was David Giffel, with Democrat Bill Stuart the winner. “While the election didn’t go our way, I want to congratulate Bill Stuart on winning the Fishers City Council SW (South West) seat,” Giffel said in a post-election written statement. “Your campaign resonated with the voters, and I wish you the best in your new role.”
Some races were not particularly close, but others were.
Stuart’s win over Giffel was by a margin of less than 2% of the votes cast. In the at-large council race, Jocelyn Vare was less than .5% away from winner Divletson. In the North Central District, John DeLucia won by less than 2% of the votes over Crystal Neumann.
So, Bill Stuart, John DeLucia and Tiffanie Ditlevson will be new members of the Fishers City Council as of January 1, 2024.
The result of this election is that Republicans will retain solid control of Fishers city government.
I have written previously about the attacks some candidates have withstood in this city election. Sadly, negative campaigning often works and that’s why it is utilized so often. But it is my view that campaigning in the mud does extend into governing and makes good government more difficult to achieve. Fishers will pay a price for this campaign over time.
So, let’s see what happens in 2024. After all, Scott Fadness was unopposed as Mayor of Fishers and we will see what the coming 4 years bring us.
Thank you Larry! Your insightful reporting is appreciated. I wonder what the results for at large members would have been without Dell Webb? Dell Webb is it’s own demographic and geographic bubble, neither good nor bad, but taking them out of the equation may show a more accurate picture of the shape of things to come.
Fishers disappoints again!
Lol, not at all. Dems just know raise taxes and spend, spend spend! Good job, Rebublicans!
This sounds like a national party lens being applied erroneously to a local election. Fishers has been majority Republican controlled since it became a city, and well before.
If your top priorities are literally taxes and spending, we have a new food and beverage tax to help pay for all the spending that the city is doing, and our credit rating decreased since we’re leveraging city bonds as well (more spending). Not that those are necessarily bad things, but your criticism of raising taxes and spending seems misdirected at the wrong party in this case.
That’s a weird take, since Jocelyn Vare voted against the new F&B tax and every Republican city councilor voted for it.
I think you are confused. We have bragging about lowering tax rates for three years, yet my property taxes have risen three years in a row. This last year’s increase was 10% alone. They also increased the debt from 400M to 900M in one year in bond indebtedness , and the spending continues unabated on questionable projects while infrastructure struggles to keep up.
No, in Fishers the Republican Party is the party of tax and spend.
Move
What a terrible elitist comment to make.
Hey, it’s Caddyshack! Evidently some people don’t belong.
An opportunity was missed in Howard Stevenson not winning a seat on the council. A good solid man losing to a preposterous negative attack.
I am proud of the campaigns run by Fishers Democrat Candidates. I totally agree Fishers will pay a price for this campaign over time. Fishers residents have lost a voice (Jocelyn Vare) for transparency and fairness. Fishers residents have lost a voice (Crystal Neumann) for sustainability and education. Mayor Scott Fadness maintains his supermajority without any checks and balances for how your tax dollars are being spent.
Fishers remains an unbalanced local government easily targeted for special outside groups to hide within. Don’t be fooled, it’s happening right before our eyes. You may have thought the national embarrassment of local HEPL and HSE School board members was over. Fishers will pay the price over time. My eyes are wide open, I will not be silent. I will always want what is best for All of Fishers.
I think everyone should take a look at Bill Stuart’s campaign finance report. It’s eye opening
So is Coble’s. Amazing.
I like Scott Fadness, but the cynic in me can’t help but wonder why 90% of his campaign contributions come from real estate developers, their companies, or their attorneys. What are they getting out of it? TIFs?
Yes, preferential treatment, considerations.
While money enters into it, it is the changing demographics of Fishers. Most races were one by the skin of the teeth — this time. The days of the Dems only getting 15-20% of the votes are over in this area.
You are repeating a lie. Again. Show a direct quote where she has said that word for word. You absolutely cannot.
This has turned into the childhood game of “telephone” where meaning and words are added every time something gets repeated. No where did Jocelyn compare Republicans to the KKK. Continuing this smear campaign after the election is typical of SOME GOP members in Fishers however. Not all thankfully.
There are some conservatives who ARE trying to control things beyond their reach around here, Moms for Liberty for example, and they are the most offended by the suggestion that Fishers residents read a book about history. Very telling! Her post seemed to be a dog whistle that worked. Brilliant!
Your accusation is false, lacks context and continues to smear someone who did not use the same tactics in her campaign.
Hi Jeff, can you please share the outrageous Twitter claims that you say I made?
“Every Republican in Fishers is a member of the KKK” is outrageous indeed!
I don’t recall that one. You may be thinking of something else?
FYI….A person posted a comment about Jocelyn Vare. I asked for documentation and it has not been provided. That post has been taken down by me.
Yes, this lie started by Republican candidates, council. That’s not what her posts said, but that’s what they want you to believe they said, and as you can see, it worked. Talk about a smear campaign. Her voting record was twisted, half stories told, and that’s really disgusting.
The only way Republicans can continue to win in areas like Hamilton County is by lying about the Democratic candidates (particularly on social media), and pushing ridiculous culture related conspiracy theories that whip fearful folks into a frenzy. Sadly – it sure seemed to work in Fishers. If only Republicans actually had some good policy ideas they could run on… that would improve the lives of their constituents and their communities. I guess they are too busy trying to instill THEIR moral/religious code on everyone else.