This is been a very busy week, particularly for a guy in his late 60s that is supposed to be retired. I was fulfilling a teaching contract with Indiana University, covering the election results and welcoming a number of relatives from out of town for a family wedding.
So, I’m a little late in publishing this commentary, but please be patient with an older person juggling a lot of responsibilities the past week.
My election night story said this was an historic election in Fishers for a lot of reasons, I will do my best to lay out what I believe this election told us and how it may give us a glimpse into future Fishers elections.
Two women, both Democrats, won seats on the Fishers City Council. In many communities, that would not be terribly newsworthy. In Fishers, it is historic.
When I moved to Fishers after marrying my lovely wife Jane in 1991, no one living here could remember any Democrat winning a local elected office. We were a town then, and there were some general election cycles when the voting was cancelled because no Democrats or Independent candidates were running.
All the political squabbles that existed in Fishers were within the Republican Party and were hashed-out in the GOP primary election. The general election rarely provoked much interest.
Jocelyn Vare and Samantha DeLong will raise their right hands and take the oath of office to begin their 4-year terms beginning on January 1, 2020. They are very different candidates that won for the same reason – they both worked very hard at campaigning and that work paid off in election victories.
Ms. DeLong defeated incumbent North Central District Councilor Eric Moeller by a total of 32 votes, or by about 2.7% of the votes cast. Eric had served as a temporary member of the Fishers Town Council for a few months before being elected to the city council once Fishers transitioned from a town to a city and has served on the city council ever since.
The at-large election is done a bit differently. The top three in vote count are elected to the council, and this year there were 3 Republicans running along with one Democrat. Cecilia Coble received the most votes among the four, with Todd Zimmerman coming-in second. That left one more seat to be filled.
Democrat Jocelyn Vare came-in third in the vote tally with 4,950. Rich Block finished last with 4,390. Ms. Vare won that final at-large slot by 560 votes, or by nearly 2.9% of the votes cast between the two candidates.
The most striking numbers I found on election night were the numbers shown for the losing Democrats. For example, the longest-serving elected official in Fishers, Republican David George, won re-election over Democrat Adam Kaps, but only be a margin of 57 votes, or a margin of just over 3% of the votes cast. Lane Skeeters lost to incumbent South Central Councilman John Weingardt by 127 votes.
Even the Democrats on the losing side in district council races put up numbers of at least 45% of the votes. This means Democrats are willing to get out and talk with voters in ways we have not seen before. Democrats have become competitive in Fishers.
What does this mean for future Fishers elections? In my view, two important things.
First, Republicans are clearly still dominant in Fishers, but not as dominant as before the 2019 general election. Our mayor, city clerk, city judge and a clear majority of the city council are still in Republican hands.
But the GOP can no longer coast to general election victories. The party will now need to put more resources into the general election in order to win.
Secondly, for the first time in anyone’s memory, Democrats have the opportunity to be competitive. It has been a struggle to find candidates on the Fishers Democratic side in the past. The election results show that a candidate willing to organize followers, working hard & smart, can put themselves in a position to be competitive.
For both parties, my sincere hope is that more young people will start to become a part of the political process. In my view, a healthy and competitive two-party system is very good for the body politic in any local community.
Again, that is my hope. Whether this actually happens is up to the people of Fishers.
I have one important comment to make about this election. I congratulate Jocelyn Vare and Sam DeLong on their historic wins. But I also believe all the citizens of Fishers owe a very big “thank you” to Rich Block and Eric Moeller.
Rich is best known for his work in commercial real estate, but I know him for his many volunteer efforts in the local community. He was instrumental in establishing the
Fifty Club, an organization designed to help public safety workers and their families when injured on the job or (heaven forbid) financially help the families of such workers that die in the line of duty. The state does provide support for such workers and their families, but the Fifty Club works to fill gaps in that support.
Another volunteer activity Rich has supported is the Youth Mentoring Initiative (YMI). He has been a mentor for young people in the HSE Schools, making a difference in their lives.
Rich may no longer be serving on the council as of January 1st, but I would surmise that he will continue to be a part of supporting important organizations throughout the local community.
Then, there is Eric Moeller. I first began to know Eric during the campaign over whether Fishers would become a city with a strong mayor or strong council. Voters chose the strong mayor.
Eric was on the losing side of that campaign, but in covering that election of 2012, I always found Eric to be professional and focused on what he believed was best for Fishers.
When he was appointed to serve for a few months on the town council and later elected to the new city council, Eric was always laser focused on making neighborhoods in his council district better places to live. He was always thinking about the families of Fishers as he and his wife were raising two youngsters of their own. He has supported the local schools in many ways.
I know Eric had to miss important milestones in his children’s lives in order to fulfill his responsibilities as a council member. I would fully expect Eric will find other ways to make Fishers a better place once leaving office.
As someone that has covered local Fishers news for nearly nine years as a volunteer blogger, I will miss seeing Rich and Eric. They were always responsive to this reporter anytime I needed some background or a comment.
At the same time, I look forward to following the city council work of Jocelyn Vare and Sam DeLong.
If you would allow me one final thought in this very long piece, there is a decision that the new Republican council majority must make. How will they treat the new Democrats?
Indiana does have an “Open Door” law, but there are big loopholes in the area governing public meetings. Local government entities are allowed to meet in executive session to discuss specific subjects, such as litigation or employee evaluations.
But another provision allows members of one political party to meet apart from the other party if the caucus session is “held for purposes of planning political strategy and holding discussions designed to prepare the members for taking official action.” (Indiana Code Section 5-14-1.5-2(c))
With a 7-2 majority on the Fishers City Council, will the Republicans on the council allow the Democrats to have a voice in decision making or will all the major decisions be reached at private party caucuses? We should have an answer to that question soon. We should all be watching.
