Democrats dominate in city council races

Democrats nearly swept the city council races, leaving only one seat behind in Tuesday’s election.\nDemocrats will represent eight of nine districts in the Bloomington City Council for the next four years. Incumbent Brad Wisler will hold the only Republican seat on the council next term.\nNewly re-elected Mayor Mark Kruzan said the re-election of the six Democratic incumbents and the election of two new members, Mike Satterfield and Isabel Piedmont, showed Bloomington likes what it has seen in the past four years.\n“Voters want a balance,” said Susan Sandberg, a re-elected city council member at-large. “And this administration has been balanced. I think that’s what voters said – ‘Keep going. This is the Bloomington we want.’”\nAll three city council member at-large positions will be filled by Democrats: Sandberg, Tim Mayer and Andy Ruff.\n“Bloomington’s a great place to live that is not like any other place,” Kruzan said. “That is what this election is about.”\nSandberg said Democrats will continue to use arts as “an economic engine” and push issues of poverty to the forefront of Bloomington’s political agenda.\nRuff said he thought more Bloomington voters realized what Democrats have been doing to improve Bloomington. He pointed toward Democratic incumbents’ loyalty to environmental protection, the arts and small business and rejection of plans for I-69.\nHe said Democrats ran on a platform of keeping the city unique and “maintaining and enhancing Bloomington’s character.” \n“We did a great job, whatever the outcome,” defeated Democratic candidateJillian Kinzie said.\nKinzie lost the District 2 city council seat by six votes to Wisler. She was the only Democrat to lose in Bloomington’s election. \nThis means Wisler will be the only Republican city council member for the next four years. This term, Republican city council member and defeated mayoral candidate David Sabbagh accompanied him.\n“I’ve always been in the minority,” Wisler said. “But, (Sabbagh) and I could at least console each other from time to time.”\nWisler’s campaign volunteer and long-time business partner Mike Trotzke said Wisler will “work well” with Democrats.\n“I think (Wisler) will be able to reach across the aisle on a lot of things,” Trotzke said. “His campaign was about basic issues everyone can agree on.”\nTrotzke said Wisler will work with Democrats on universal, not partisan, issues.\n“The issues that the city council deals with have lines,” Wisler said. “But party lines are not always the lines.”\nHe said there were few split votes in city council decisions.\nDespite Kinzie’s loss, Sandberg remained optimistic about the surge of women getting involved in Bloomington politics.\n“That’s what the Democrats represent to me – that big tent with as many voices as possible,” Sandberg said.\nRuff said he appreciated being able to serve this city, “the most wonderful place in Indiana, hands down.”\n-Reporter Ben Phelps contributed to this article.