by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton County Democrats are seeking, and in some cases reviewing prospective candidates, to fill their largely empty November election ballot. The party has a caucus scheduled for June 27th in which candidates will be chosen for positions not filled in the May primary.

County Chairman Joe Weingarten said, “It’s hard. We want to make sure we have candidates who have the qualifications for the job” they will be seeking. And, it’s always been tough filling the Democratic ticket in heavily Republican Hamilton County.

The party is expected to field candidates for a number of township positions and a few county jobs, but probably not for major county offices like judge, sheriff, prosecutor and clerk of the courts. The candidates the party fields for vacant spots on the ticket will be chosen in the June caucus to be held at the Fishers branch of the Hamilton East Library.

As chairman, Weingarten has been trying to put life into the party after years of being virtually non-competitive. The last Democrat to win countywide office, Circuit Judge Charles Ardery, was elected 60 years ago, and the last to win a major city office was Noblesville Mayor Robert Wical, elected 43 years ago.

Democrats are also gearing up for their annual banquet, formerly called the Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner. That name will be changed this year because both those former presidents were slave owners, and the names are now not considered appropriate in the current race-sensitive environment.

A new name for the dinner party and a principal speaker have not yet been announced. But the event is scheduled for July 21 at the Carmel American Legion Post 155.

Local Democrats are putting their hopes for November on new leadership, reports of more Democrats on the voter rolls and a prediction by some that 2018 will be a big year nationwide for the party.