One more candidate joined the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board field on Wednesday, adding a third name to the District 1 contest.
Anthony Jason Wren filed to run in District 1 as a member of the Libertarian Party. His entry makes District 1 the most crowded of the four races on the November 3 ballot, with three candidates now spanning three different ballot designations: No Party, Republican and Libertarian.
The new filing also highlights one of the most visible effects of Indiana’s shift to partisan school board races. Under Senate Enrolled Act 287, signed into law this spring, candidates may run with a party label — Republican, Democrat or, as in Wren’s case, a third party such as the Libertarians — or with no label at all. In every previous HSE election, board races were strictly nonpartisan, with no party affiliation printed beside any candidate’s name. Indiana is the 10th state to allow partisan school board elections, and the November vote will be among the first statewide tests of how those labels play out at the local level.
The filing window closes at noon Thursday. Candidates have until then to enter, and District 4 remains the only seat with just a single candidate so far.
The candidates so far
The following is the listing of candidate filings as of the close of business Wednesday, according to the Hamilton County Election Office:
District 1 (1 seat)
- Faiza Maqsood — No Party
- Greg Wright — Republican
- Anthony Jason Wren — Libertarian
District 2 (1 seat)
- Josh Perry — No Party
- Cyrus Keck — No Party
District 3 (1 seat)
- David Turk — Republican
- Michelle Fullhart — No Party
District 4 (1 seat)
- Stephanie Braden — No Party