Last-minute Voter Guide: Polls are open
Last-minute Voter Guide: Polls are open
The polls are open for Lafayette, West Lafayette, Dayton and Clarks Hill. West Lafayette schools have a referendum, too. Here’s a quick guide to your ballot, candidate Q&As and when/where to vote
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POLLS ARE OPEN: A LAST-MINUTE VOTER GUIDE
The polls opened for today’s municipal Election Day at 6 a.m. and will stay open until 6 p.m.
Heading into Tuesday’s election, voting had been light, with 2,210 of the 65,171 eligible voters in Lafayette, West Lafayette, Dayton and Clarks Hill getting to the polls before a noon Monday cutoff, according to the Tippecanoe County election office.
That’s a 3.4% turnout. In 2019, the most recent municipal election, early turnout was 3%, Mike Smith with the election office staff said. That election drew roughly 12% of the registered voters.
Election Day for Greater Lafayette municipalities includes races for city council and town council seats, clerks, a city judge and a request to renew a property tax referendum for the West Lafayette Community School Corp.
Before you head to the polls, here’s a voter guide on where to vote, who will be on ballots, candidate Q&As and a primer on the West Lafayette school referendum.
ON THE BALLOTS
IN LAFAYETTE: Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski, looking for his record-setting sixth term, faces Libertarian Benji Milanowski, a public health nurse and doctoral student at Purdue who has concentrated more on educating voters about third-party candidacies than about realistic expectations of winning the race. Here’s what they had to say in extended interviews with Based in Lafayette.
Election Q&A: Tony Roswarski aims for record sixth term as Lafayette mayor
Election Q&A: Benji Milanowski’s third-party bid for Lafayette mayor
On the rest of the Lafayette ballot, three of nine city council seats have contested races. The other six council incumbents, plus City Clerk Cindy Murray, are running unopposed.
Here’s the rest of the ballot in Lafayette. Incumbents are noted with an asterisk. Candidate Q&As, when available, are linked to the name of the position on the ballot.
Clerk: Cindy Murray*, D.
Council District 1: Jerry Reynolds*, R.
Council District 2: Eileen Hession Weiss*, D; Mary Fisher, R.
Council District 3: Perry Brown*, D.
Council District 4: Lauren Ahlersmeyer*, D; Josiah Eller, Libertarian
Council District 5: Melissa Weast Williamson*, D.
Council District 6: Bob Downing*, D; Perry Barbee, R
Council at-large (3 seats): Kevin Klinker*, D; Nancy Nargi*, D; Steve Snyder*, D.
IN WEST LAFAYETTE: Not long after West Lafayette Mayor John Dennis, a Republican first elected in 2007, announced he didn’t plan to seek a fifth term, he endorsed Erin Easter, the city’s development director, for the position. Easter, a Democrat seeking her first elected office, is on the ballot unopposed. Here’s her interview with Based in Lafayette.
On the rest of the West Lafayette ballot, incumbent City Clerk Sana Booker and City Judge Lori Stein Sabol are unopposed, as are three of nine city council seats.
Here’s the rest of the ballot in West Lafayette. Incumbents are noted with an asterisk. Candidate Q&As, when available, are linked to the name of the position on the ballot.
Clerk: Sana Booker*, D.
City Judge: Lori Sabol*, D.
Council District 1: Aaron Abell, R; Laila Veidemanis, D.
Council District 2: Michelle Dennis, D.
Council District 3: Colin Lee*, D.
Council District 4: Larry Leverenz*, D.
Council District 5: Kathy Parker*, D; James Waters, R.
Council District 6: Jeff Brown*, R; Stacey Baitinger Burr, D.
Council at-large (3 seats): James Blanco*, D; Iris O’Donnell Bellisario, D; David Sanders*, D; Brian Russell, R; Patrick Flannelly, R.
Dayton
Town Council (choose five, all independent): Vickie Beavers, Marc Buhrmester*, Leah Copas, Ron Koehler*, Jen Manago*, Rocky Richards, Carla Snodgrass*, Joy Tischer
Clerk-Treasurer: Bridget Cadwallader
Clarks Hill
Clerk-Treasurer (all independent): Carolyn Houchens and Diana Luper
WEST LAFAYETTE COMMUNITY SCHOOL CORP. REFERENDUM: If there’s organized opposition to the renewal of a 37-cent property tax referendum for West Lafayette schools – up for approval after wide-margin victories in 2010 and 2017 – it hasn’t been obvious.
“It’s one of the really nice things about living in this community,” said David Purpura, a father of four West Lafayette students and who co-chairs a Vote Yes for our West Lafayette Schools committee with Tanya Finkbiner.
“We all recognize the importance of providing our schools with the resources they need to support our students, the teachers and staff,” Purpura said Sunday. “The biggest thing we want our community to know is that we cannot be complacent. We need to make sure we go out and vote yes for the referendum on Tuesday.”
The proposed 37-cent referendum would raise a bit more than $7 million a year – roughly 18% of the district’s overall budget – for the next eight years, stating its purpose as “retaining and attracting teachers and staff and funding academic programming and operating expenditures.”
Similar questions, passed on a seven-year basis each time, received 65% of the vote in May 2010 and 94% in May 2017. This year’s referendum essentially would extend the property tax for another eight years at the same rate.
A survey commissioned by the school board this summer suggested that 76% of the 400 registered voters asked were in favor of passing the referendum again.
The West Lafayette school board decided this spring to push the question out a year ahead of schedule, a move that would let the district avoid the fray of the 2024 presidential year primary or general election. It also would give the school district another attempt in 2024 if this one fails.
Purpura said the committee’s focus has been in trying to decipher the actual ballot question, which follows a state-mandated format.
Here’s the question, as it appears on ballots:
“Shall West Lafayette Community School Corporation continue to impose increased property taxes paid to the school corporation by homeowners and businesses for eight (8) years immediately following the holding of the referendum for the purpose of retaining and attracting teachers and staff and funding academic programming and operating expenditures with the renewal of the current maximum referendum property tax rate of $0.37? The property tax increase requested in this referendum was originally approved by the voters in 2017 and if extended will increase the average property tax paid to the school corporation per year on a residence within the school corporation by 46.2% and if extended will increase the average property tax paid to the school corporation per year on a business property within the school corporation by 41.8%.”
“The required language that was used can be confusing,” Purpura said. “We broke down the referendum language on our website – www.VoteYesWL.com – to show that it is a continuation of existing tax rate – not a new tax.”
LAST CALL FOR EARLY VOTING
Early polls are open 8 a.m.-noon Monday, Nov. 6, Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St., Lafayette.
ELECTION DAY POLLING PLACES
Polls will be open 6 a.m-6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7. Registered voters in Tippecanoe County may use any vote center. Eligible voters may cast a ballot at any of these vote center sites, regardless of where they live. Voters should bring a valid ID.
West Lafayette Wellness Center, 1101 Kalberer Road
Faith West Community Center, 1920 Northwestern Ave.
West Lafayette City Hall, 222 N. Chauncey Ave.
Evangelical Covenant Church, 3600 S. Ninth St., Lafayette
Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds, 1406 Teal Road, Lafayette
Northend Community Center, 2000 Elmwood Ave., Lafayette
Christ United Methodist Church, 3610 S. 18th St., Lafayette
First Church of the Nazarene, 3801 Union St., Lafayette
Gathering Point Church, 7201 Wesleyan Drive, Dayton
CHECK YOUR VOTER REGISTRATION STATUS AND THE CANDIDATES ON YOUR SPECIFIC BALLOT
Go to the Secretary of State’s portal at www.indianavoters.com.
Thanks, again, to sponsor Purdue Convocations, presenting Grammy Award winner Kronos Quartet, Thursday, Nov. 9, at Loeb Playhouse. Get tickets here.
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