BROWNSTOWN —The busiest office at the Jackson County Judicial Center early Wednesday morning was the voter registration office.
That’s pretty understandable since this is an election year, and it was the first day candidates could file declarations of candidacy for the May 3 primary.
This year, voters will decide who will be their next sheriff, clerk, assessor, recorder, prosecutor and Jackson Circuit Court II judge. The primary decides the candidates for the Nov. 8 general election.
Voters also will pick representatives for the county council’s four district and trustees and board members for the county’s 12 townships.
The county commissioner District 3 seat, presently held by Republican Matt Reedy of Freetown, also will be on the ballot.
As of Wednesday afternoon, 13 people had filed to run for office, including Reedy. No Democratic candidate for any office had filed through mid-afternoon.
The only contested field for the primary so far is the race for sheriff.
Current Sheriff Rick Meyer was of one of the 13 to show up to file a candidacy. The Seymour Republican provided a news release Wednesday detailing his candidacy.
“Law enforcement has been my chosen career and I’ve dedicated my life to it. Serving as your sheriff has been a great honor and responsibility,” he said. “I would like to continue working to make this department even better.”
Since first taking office in 2019, Meyer said he has made several improvements to the sheriff’s department, including working to help put school resource officers at several schools. That includes the first-ever SROs at Medora and Crothersville.
He said he also started the first-ever K-9 program at the sheriff’s department and added a drug detective who works in partnership with the FBI and DEA.
“Our drug detective has been key in tracking down and eradicating drugs that poison our community. As sheriff, I will continue to make Jackson County an inhospitable place for drug dealers,” said Meyer.
Meyer’s only competitor, as of Wednesday afternoon, was Seymour native Shawn Minton, who is an officer with the Jennings County Sheriff’s Department.
Minton said being sheriff has been a lifelong dream for him. He said he plans on setting up a Facebook page and starting a committee for his campaign.
Recorder Amanda Lowery filed a declaration of candidacy for clerk, a position she held for two four-year terms before current clerk Melissa Hayes. Hayes is not running for reelection this year.
“I love everything about the clerk’s office, whether it’s the court side or the election side,” she said. “When Melissa let me know that she wasn’t going to run again, I was excited. I’m excited to get back if that’s what the voters decide they want to do.”
This year’s primary will be the first since the county received state approval to implement vote centers, which are polling places where any eligible voter in the county can go to vote on Election Day instead of having to vote at a designated polling place.
Lowery said she’s excited to see how the seven vote centers work out this year and, if elected, wants to improve the process of using them in future elections.
She also filed to run to be one of the county’s 14 delegates to the Indiana Republican Party’s state convention. Present District 2 county Commissioner Drew Markel, county Building Commissioner Conner Barnette and county Councilman Dave Hall also filed to run as Republican state delegates.
Those delegates will attend the June 18 convention to pick the party’s candidates for secretary of state, auditor of state and treasurer of state.
One person who is familiar with filing for office was Brian Thompson, the present District 3 councilman. It was the fifth time the Seymour Republican has filed for office for the position he has held since 2006.
He said being a county councilman was important to him because he wants to work for other people and not just himself.
“In only working for myself, I’m afraid I would not function well,” he said. “Another type of work I do in my life is working for others. That’s key. Without that, there would be a big hole in my life.”
If re-elected, Thompson said he plans to continue to solve issues with the teamwork of the rest of the council and other county officeholders.
Thompson said he felt the start of the election process was important to the county.
“It’s important to the future of the county to have this strength in interest in what goes on here,” he said. “It’s not like every decision of the county government affects things in the county today, but they can affect things in the county in 20 years.”
Brownstown Township Trustee Jennifer Isaacs filed to run for recorder. She said she was ready to try something different after being a township trustee and was interested in running for recorder after working part time in that office for three years.
“I think the office is running very smoothly, and I want to continue it that way,” she said.
Jackson County Assessor Katie Kaufman, who also is seeking election, said she’s excited to campaign and plans to try to go door to door this year.
“I just want to continue the work that we’ve already started over the past seven years,” the Seymour Republican said.
Any candidate planning to run for office in the primary may pick up an application at the county’s voter registration office in the Jackson County Judicial Center, 109 S. Sugar St., Brownstown.
To file for a county office, contact the county clerk’s office of voter registration in the judicial center. The number is 812-358-6120.
If no one runs for an office, a party chairman may appoint someone to fill a vacancy after the filing deadline of noon Feb. 4.