IU law school student Andrew Guenther filed paperwork last week to form an exploratory committee to run for an at-large seat on the city council in 2023.
Guenther holds a bachelor’s degree in public affairs from IU and is the former chair of the city’s environmental commission. He has also served on Monroe County’s environmental commission and Bloomington’s board of housing quality appeals.
Guenther ran for District 2 of the city council in 2019 as a Republican but lost to Democrat Sue Sgambelluri.
Guenther announced he was no longer a member of the Republican Party January 2021, and is considering running as an independent instead. No independent candidate has ever served on the Bloomington city council.
When voters select at-large council members, they choose up to three out of the list of candidates running. The current at-large council members are Susan Sandberg, Jim Sims and Matt Flaherty.
Guenther is the third person to formally express interest in running during the 2023 municipal elections. Kerry Thomson and city council president Susan Sandberg have each formed committees for mayoral runs in the past few weeks.
