TERRE HAUTE — The general election’s most competitive Terre Haute City Council district race will not have a Republican challenging the Democrat in the contest.
Two independent candidates will run in the council’s 6th district race in November instead. Independents Margaret Lockard and Lonnie M. Moody II filed the necessary documentation to run for city office by the July 2 deadline. They also were required to submit a petition with signatures for review. The Democratic candidate is John Mullican.
Libertarian Kevin S. Ward, who was nominated in a party convention, was the only other summer candidate to file for the general election. A document he submitted to county officials states that the deadline for Libertarian Party officials to certify each candidate to the county election board was by noon July 3.
The Vigo County Republican Party did not fill any of the four City Council candidate vacancies, or for the city judge and city clerk openings, in its ballot for the upcoming election.
The party only has one candidate for the City Council at-large seats. Two more at-large hopefuls could’ve been nominated since voters will elect three of the candidates to the City Council.
Republican Party chairman Bill Treadway especially wanted to fill the slots in the 6th District and city judge races since no incumbents were running, but ultimately couldn’t find people to fill the ticket.
“We want to make sure that every [candidate] we have that runs is really interested in doing it and work really hard during the campaign,” Treadway said.
Ward believes “that there needs to be an infusion of new blood into any political system,” and thought this year was good to run because he wants to see a change in city government.
The lecturer at Indiana State University wants to see the city government become less dependent on taxes.
“Another thing, I would like to see everyone in Terre Haute be represented, and that’s part of the reason I decided to run at large, is because I want to be a people’s candidate,” Ward said. “I want to be a voice for everyone, not just certain individuals in town, which I think sometimes happens all too often.”
Lockard and Moody said the Democratic caucus that nominated Mullican as the party’s 6th District candidate for the election served as a catalyst in their decision to run for office.
Incumbent Democrat Chuck Miles died April 18, but his name remained on the ballot for the May 8 primary. His name beat challenger Dan “Buford” Lockard, which led the Vigo County Democratic Party to conduct a caucus to fill the vacancy.
Dan Lockard has since challenged the election results in court, which is an ongoing case.
Margaret Lockard, his wife, said the caucus was an example of “the corruption in this city.”
The nurse at Terre Haute Regional Hospital wants to improve the parks system to give children more options, and improve sidewalks. She also said that the street she lives on “hasn’t been paved in more than 30 years.”
“There’s just a lot that needs to be done in this district,” she said.
Moody decided to run to give voters an option. He disagreed with keeping Miles on the primary ballot and then conducting a caucus instead of just letting voters decide.
Had Miles been removed from the ballot, Dan Lockard would have run uncontested and would be the Democratic candidate in the November election.
Moody plans to start campaigning in August. He will go “old school,” he said, by putting a sign on his van and walking door to door to meet constituents. He also wants to host block parties so that people have the opportunity to meet him.
“You’re just kind of throwing your vote away if you don’t know your candidates,” Moody said.
Vigo County Green Party candidate Sarah Dillon wanted to run in the council’s 2nd District race and had submitted a petition, but did not have enough signatures to run.
The deadline for candidates to file a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate lapsed July 3.
Potential independent or minor party candidates still have until Monday to submit documentation to run for office, although they needed to submit a petition with signatures for review to the voter registration office by the July 2 deadline.
With Margaret Lockard and Moody challenging Mullican, the race has the most competition of any district council contest.
Since Republicans failed to nominate any additional candidates for the election, incumbent councilman Todd Nation, D-4th, is slated to be unopposed in his re-election campaign.
Austin Arceo can be reached at (812) 231-4214 or austin.arceo@tribstar.com.
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