Support for this edition comes from Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA), helping Greater Lafayette businesses successfully transition to their next generation of ownership. Through two program tracks, ETA helps aspiring business owners explore the purchase of an existing business while helping current owners plan thoughtfully for an eventual transition. Participants gain practical education, resources, and connections to help them make informed decisions about what comes next. ETA is a collaboration between Greater Lafayette Commerce, MatchBOX Coworking Studio, and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. Learn more about the program and Oct. 14 kickoff sessions at https://mbxax.studio/upcomingcohorts
WILL ALTING KEEP HIS NAME ON BALLOTS, EVEN AS HE BACKS OFF CAMPAIGN? ‘ABSOLUTELY’
Ron Alting’s announcement Wednesday that he was backing away from his campaign for an eighth term in the Indiana Senate fell short of withdrawing from the race.
Asked if he planned to keep his name on the ballot – even as he says he’s seeking medical help for what he described as “concerning changes in my judgment and cognitive functioning” in the face of recent theft investigations – Alting told Based in Lafayette Thursday: “Absolutely.”
But in the hours that followed Alting’s announcement and revelations that a special prosecutor had been assigned to a case in Tippecanoe County, the Senate Majority Campaign Committee was reeling in ads streaming on social media and mailers scheduled to go out to voters in Indiana Senate District 22.
At least one more mailer aimed at Alting’s Democratic opponent, Natasha Baker, had been processed and headed to some voters in a Senate district that includes Lafayette, the eastern portion of Tippecanoe County and all of Carroll County, the campaign arm of Indiana State Senate Republican caucus said.
“We’ve pulled our stuff,” Matt Zapfe, executive director of the Indiana Senate Campaign Committee, said Wednesday afternoon, a few hours after Alting’s announcement. “I had a call with our vendors. Anything that was either up or that had SMCC’s name on it that we were doing to support him, we’ve suspended and pulled. … We acted as soon as I saw the statement.”
Ads for Alting that started running this week on Lafayette-based TV, featuring endorsements from Monticello Mayor Aaron Sims, Lyn Treece Boys and Girls Club director Barry Richard and others, continued to appear during noon news broadcasts Thursday. Zapfe said efforts to get those pulled would happen, too.
Wednesday afternoon, Alting responded to reports about alleged thefts at Walmart stores in Lafayette and near his home in Monticello, saying: “I have been experiencing concerning changes in my judgment and cognitive functioning. Those changes have become serious enough that I have sought medical help and am now undergoing further evaluation, testing and treatment. During this time, I did things that were wrong and completely out of character for me. I take responsibility for my actions and apologize to my family, my constituents and the store employees involved.”
Alting said he planned to “focus on my health and getting answers about what is happening to me.” He said: “I am stepping back from actively campaigning while I continue my medical evaluation and treatment.”
Karen Tallian, Indiana Democratic Party chair, on Wednesday criticized a move that “the Senate Republican caucus lost no time in putting out negative ads about the Democratic candidate Natasha Baker” after Alting sent out his statement.
In recent weeks on social media, Baker has played up the negative mailers, calling out what she calls “smears” in the depictions they give of her stances on health care, education, tax policy and more, as she adds them to what she’s dubbed the “Ron Alting Pen Pal Hall of Fame” in her laundry room.
In one social media reel, posted earlier this week and ahead of news about Alting’s campaign and alleged theft investigation, a sad-faced Baker begins smiling and dancing while taping a mailer authorized by the Senate Republican Campaign Committee to the wall over a snippet of Olivia Rodrigo’s “Favorite Crime:” “… then you remember the last time one went out about you, you had your best fundraising week EVER.”
Wednesday evening, Baker said she was “deeply saddened by the reports regarding Sen. Ron Alting and incidents of shoplifting.”
Baker, a teacher who lives near Battle Ground and who won a Democratic primary for the nomination in Senate District 22, issued a statement that said she’d continue to campaign as she had been:
“For nearly three decades, our community has trusted Sen. Alting to represent us. Public service requires honesty, accountability, sound judgment and the ability to consistently show up and make decisions on behalf of the people you represent.
“In 27 days, Hoosiers will go to the polls, where we have the opportunity to decide what kind of future we want for District 22. Moving forward, I will keep showing up for our community, listening to neighbors, and inspiring everyday people to get involved with the politics that shape their lives.
“I will keep fighting to protect our communities from poorly regulated data center development, to strengthen our public schools, to support our first responders, and to make sure working families can afford to live, work, and raise their children here in Tippecanoe and Carroll counties.
“I wish Sen. Alting and his family well as they navigate these difficult times and the next chapter in their lives.”
Tallian was blunt in a statement posted Wednesday evening: “We can all recognize when it is time for change. Sen. Ron Alting let down his community when he voted yes on Trump-pushed gerrymandering that would have split Greater Lafayette into two districts. This latest story about theft and shoplifting further accentuates the need for change. Was it deliberate or was it dementia? These actions may have been deliberate criminal thefts or the results of some ‘concerning changes in my judgment and cognitive functioning.’ In either case, it is time to change and move forward.”
Tracy Brown, Tippecanoe County commissioner and chair of the Tippecanoe County Republican Party, said Wednesday that he was in shock by Alting’s situation.
“I tend to wait for the whole story to come out, but I’m just in shock and numb over the whole thing,” Brown, who also is the Republican challenger to Democratic state Rep. Sheila Klinker in Indiana House District 27. “It’s not something that I would have ever expected. I’ve known him for a long time. … I would just say that we’ll see what happens as things unfold and facts become known.”
Even if Alting wanted to withdraw from the race, the options to remove his name from the ballot are limited, according to Angie Nussmeyer, a co-director of the Indiana Election Division. She said that after a July 15 deadline, a candidate would have to move out of the election district; take a job that would make running for office impermissible, such as the Hatch Act; or be convicted of a felony; or die to open the door for a process to replace that person on the ballot.
“None of those circumstances appears to apply to Sen. Alting, so his name would remain on the ballot even if he tried to withdraw,” Tippecanoe County Clerk Julie Roush said.
If Alting wins the election and later resigns, the vacancy would be filled through a districtwide party caucus called by the state party, Nussmeyer said.
Roush pointed to a 2003 West Lafayette City Council race, when Republican candidate Sonya Basaran withdrew too late to get her name off ballots. In that case, Gerry Keen, a council member who was not seeking re-election before that, campaigned as the Republican candidate, with party assurances to voters that he would be appointed during a caucus if Basaran won – which she did.
THIS AND THAT …
AN EARLY, EARLY VOTING RECAP: How were things going on the first days of early voting in Tippecanoe County? The in-person numbers at the Tippecanoe County Office Building, the only site open in the opening weeks ahead of the Nov. 3 general election, were 1,042 voters, as of the end of Wednesday’s second day of voting, according to the county election office.
That was up 42% over the 732 people who turned out for the first two days of the 2022 midterm election, according to county figures. (The same two-day opening figure during the 2024 presidential year general election: 1,675.)
The Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St. in Lafayette, will be open weekdays from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., including this Thursday and Friday, for the first in-person ballots. Additional early voting sites will open starting Oct. 17. For a full schedule, through Nov. 2, here’s a list of early voting sites and times.
To check your voter registration and to see candidates who will be on your ballot, go to the Secretary of State’s portal at www.indianavoters.com.
NEW VISITORS BUREAU LEADER PICKED: Tim Crouson will join Visit Lafayette-West Lafayette, Greater Lafayette’s visitors and tourism bureau, Dec. 1 as its new president and CEO, the nonprofit organization announced this week. Crouson will come from Destination Ann Arbor, a similar organization in the Big Ten community in Michigan.
He will replace Jo Wade, who retired July 1 after more than 40 years with the organization. Visit Lafayette-West Lafayette reported that the post drew more than 80 applicants.
“Tim brings a fresh perspective and strong enthusiasm to Visit Lafayette-West Lafayette,” David Byers, a Tippecanoe County commissioner and Visit Lafayette-West Lafayette board chair, said in a release this week. “His experience working in another Big Ten community gives him a valuable understanding of the opportunities that come with being a university destination.”
OTHER READS …
The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles reported this week that the state sold more than 300,000 of its “black out” license plates since they were introduced a year ago. Drivers pay $45 extra for the privilege of not having the sketch of a covered bridge or In God We Trust designs on one of the state’s standard plates. Indiana Capital Chronicle reporter Leslie Bonilla Muñiz had more here: “Indiana tallies $13M boost off ‘blackout’ license plate sales, invests in BMV modernization.”
Indiana Capital Chronicle reporter Tom Davies had a good recap of Wednesday night’s debate between Indiana secretary of state candidates – Democrat Beau Bayh, Republican Max Engling, Libertarian Lauri Shillings and Lincoln Party candidate Greg Ballard – running to replace Diego Morales. Read it here: “Sharp divides in Indiana secretary of state debate over noncitizen vote, spending audit.”
Thanks, again, for support for this edition from Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA), helping Greater Lafayette businesses successfully transition to their next generation of ownership. ETA is a collaboration between Greater Lafayette Commerce, MatchBOX Coworking Studio, and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. Learn more about the program and Oct. 14 kickoff sessions at https://mbxax.studio/upcomingcohorts
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Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.
Curious: a prior report said Alting lives in Monticello, which surprised me. It surprises me more now that you describe District 22 as not including any part of White County. Does Ron not live in his District?