Voters selected Cheryl Munson, Trent Deckard and David Henry as the Democratic nominees for the three-at large seats on the Monroe County Council.
Munson received 28.91% of the vote, Deckard received 28.5% and Henry received 21.81%.
Munson, an incumbent, has served three terms on the county council. She served as the council’s president for two years. Prior to serving in county government, Munson was a research scientist for the IU anthropology department and served on the Indian Creek Township Board of Trustees for 16 years. Munson told the Indiana Daily Student in February she is running for re-election because she wants the county to complete two major projects: constructing a new justice center and expanding the Monroe County Convention Center.
Trent Deckard, another incumbent, has served on the council since 2019. He is currently the council’s president. Before joining the council, he was the chair of the Monroe County Democratic Party from 2013-15 and served as Chief of Staff for the Indiana House Democratic Caucus from 2015-17. He is also a faculty member of the Kelley School of Business. Deckard told the Indiana Daily Student in February his top priorities if re-elected will be addressing affordability and homelessness in Monroe County.
David Henry is the chair of the Monroe County Democratic Party. He has served in this position since January 2021, and his term expires in January 2025 — around when he would take office if elected to the county council. Henry, an adjunct professor at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, has served in various county government positions including as president of the Monroe County Election Board. Henry said he wants the county government to get more projects done, including the Monroe County Convention Center expansion and new jail projects.
The three nominees also competed against a fourth Democratic candidate, Matt Caldie, for the nominations. Caldie received 20.78% of the vote.
Matt Caldie serves on the Bloomington Environmental Commission and is a customer service representative for IU Parking Operations. He previously ran for the District 5 seat on the Bloomington City Council, but dropped out in February 2023 to support Shruti Rana, who was elected to the position in November 2023. Caldie told the Indiana Daily Student he wants to provide a voice for residents “who the economy isn’t working for,” listing affordable housing as one of his top priorities.
The Monroe County Council is responsible for adopting the county’s annual budget and fixing tax rates to raise funds to meet budget requirements. The council also authorizes the county’s expenditures and approves job descriptions and salaries for all Monroe County offices.
No Republican candidates filed declarations of candidacy to compete for the open seats. However, 2023 Bloomington mayoral candidate Joe Davis also expressed that he plans to run for a seat on the council as an independent candidate, even though he didn’t appear on the primary ballot Tuesday. The deadline for Davis to file his declaration of candidacy is July 15.
