Here are 4 more races Vanderburgh County voters should know about before Election Day

EVANSVILLE — With both Vanderburgh County prosecutor and sheriff up for election this year, some other races may be getting less of a spotlight.

But in local elections, all races have an impact on residents.

As Nov. 8 approaches, here is a reminder of four races voters may not have on their minds and what those holders of those offices do.

Vanderburgh County Council

It's no one's idea of glamorous, but the seven-member Vanderburgh County Council is the budget-writing fiscal body of county government. In other words, it holds the purse strings.

And this corner of county government is the battleground for one of the most dramatic stylistic contrasts between candidates anywhere on the ballot.

It’s been 32 years since Republican James Raben was elected to the council at age 28, serving much of that time as the body’s finance chairman. Raben argues that his longevity in office is the result of his careful attention to spending priorities and frugality with public money that his constituents still value.

“You don’t get re-elected because you’re doing a poor job,” he said. “Most people in Vanderburgh County, I don’t think their principles have changed. I think they still want to feel safe. They want public safety. I think they still want to drive good roads. They want good bridges. They want high quality, good-paying jobs.”

But one man’s steady hand at the helm is another woman’s stodgy, unimaginative and hesitant leadership.

Democratic challenger Karen Reising, 65, argues that it’s time for Raben to be retired with honors. It’s been too difficult and too long a road to get funding for jail expansion and other forward-thinking initiatives under Raben's watch, Reising said.

“Throughout most of the last year I’ve been observing the council and talking to people who work for the county and deal with the county, and I think that (Raben’s) leadership is out of touch and outdated, and we need a refresh,” she said. “His default mode when he doesn’t want to deal with an issue is delay and defer, delay and defer. And that’s what happened for years and years and years.”

More:Here's who's running for office in Vanderburgh County in 2022

But Raben argues that Reising makes promises a County Council member can't keep, that she would be too cavalier with public money. And Reising says Raben is inaccessible and of another time entirely. When he joined the council, she quips, iPhones didn't even exist.

It’s not a countywide election. Raben represents Council District 1, home to more than 45,000 people living in the county's entire western half plus some northern areas. Raben estimates the district covers 60% of the total land base of Vanderburgh County.

The part-time job pays $22,853. Members are eligible for Vanderburgh County's health insurance coverage.

U.S. House of Representatives, Indiana's 8th District

Democrats have saddled up to take on 8th District Republican Congressman Larry Bucshon again despite less than stellar results throughout Bucshon’s first six two-year terms. The former heart surgeon, whose 21-county district includes Vanderburgh, Warrick, Posey and Gibson counties, crushed Democrat E. Thomasina Marsili and Libertarian Party nominee James Rodenberger with 67% of the vote to Marsili's 30% and Rodenberger's 3% in 2020.

That followed another string of Bucshon victories since 2012, most of which haven't been particularly close.

But the Democratic nominee this time around, Knox County resident and self-described "4th generation farmer" Ray McCormick, detects that "people are ready for new leadership all over the country, and especially in the 8th District."

McCormick, 69, said he has worked diligently on conservation-related causes for his entire life. But he had to change course in the campaign.

"I initially ran to advocate for those things, but I quickly learned that there are a lot of things that change during the campaign that are a big concern to people," he said. "As I met with them, they wanted more than anything to bring the country together and to protect our democracy, so I changed my platform to reflect what people were telling me all over the 21 counties.

"And so, fighting for women’s rights, honesty, integrity, hard work that usually comes with a farmer as myself — these are the things that really shifted my campaign."

More:Bucshon falls squarely in the middle of Congress | Secrets of the Hill

Bucshon, a member of the influential House Committee on Energy & Commerce, has big plans if he is re-elected and if Republicans take control of the U.S. House of Representatives as most political observers expect. The veteran congressman, a member of the committee's subcommittee on health, is recognized by colleagues as a subject matter expert in health care.

Bucshon said he has several pieces of legislation in the pipeline — and expectations that they would be better received in a Republican-controlled House next year. He cited the Supporting Medicare Providers Act of 2022, which he introduced with Democratic California Rep. Ami Bera, an internal medicine doctor. Bera says the bill "would ensure payments to these providers are kept stable and extend certain increases in payments for physicians’ services under the Medicare program through 2023."

McCormick? He's a good man, Bucshon said, but his views are too far to the left for the 8th District.

"We just have sharp disagreements on policy. He basically is from the – in my view, the AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democratic congresswoman from New York City) wing of the Democratic Party. He’s very progressive on a lot of issues," Bucshon said.

McCormick countered that Bucshon has voted against many good pieces of legislation that don't advance far left principles.

"He voted against birth control, women’s rights, reducing health care, Social Security," McCormick said. "I think the main reason he voted against them is they were Democrat bills and not Republicans bills. I feel like he should vote for what’s best for the community, not what is the party line."

Bucshon and McCormick disagree not only on issues, but on the campaign itself.

"My wife and I had a pretty strong discussion about running this time," said Bucshon, 60. "I want to do something after Congress and make sure that I can do that before, basically, I age out on future opportunities."

But McCormick, who said he campaigns across the district's 21 counties virtually non-stop, questioned how badly Bucshon wants to stay in Congress. After all, he said, the congressman doesn't meet him in campaign forums.

"He essentially is doing nothing to try to get re-elected, so I don’t really think he wants to be re-elected. He’s had enough," McCormick said.

Libertarians are trying again this year, too. Andy Horning, a 64-year-old Owen County resident who has mounted at least three campaigns for congressional seats, is on the ballot.

Horning's message is that "the inherently divisive, corrupt and unconstitutional 'two-party system' our founders warned us against is tearing us apart."

"Yes, we have serious foreign threats. China has been waging a clever, patient war against us since at least 2012, and we’re losing," Horning says on his campaign website. "But we have no external threats as great as this one:

"Our government is corrupt and out of control."

Vanderburgh County Assessor

The Vanderburgh County assessor is an office residents may not think of until property tax time.

Tasked with providing assessments for all taxable property in the county, the assessor impacts each property owner in the county.

The office is currently held by Republican Bill Fluty, who is seeking reelection. His challenger is a newcomer to local politics, Democrat Matt Smith. Neither had a primary opponent.

Fluty first took office as assessor in 2011.

He previously worked in the county auditors office for 15 years, including two elected terms as auditor.

According to a voter survey sent out by the League of Women Voters, Fluty said his first priority it to continue to meet deadlines while giving "fair and accurate" assessments to county taxpayers.

"We accomplish this with higher levels of employee training and education," he said.

Smith, an Army veteran, worked as a recruiter in Evansville until 2021 before finding a job in the private sector.

He told potential voters at a United Neighborhood of Evansville forum that he started looking for ways to give back to the community, and he saw the assessor position was up for election this year.

In the army, Smith worked in supply and logistics.

"I thought, 'oh, well, (assessor) sounds like something I could be good at,'" he said. "The more I looked into the more I'm excited to try and be your next assessor."

Vanderburgh County property owners saw the importance of the auditor position this year, when many homeowners saw significant jumps in assessed values.

Vanderburgh County Auditor

The auditor is essentially the bookkeeper for county government, overseeing payroll and working hand-in-hand with the assessor’s office to track property taxes.

It’s a job Brian Gerth has held since 2015, when he was caucused into the role after former auditor Joe Gries stepped down to lead the Vanderburgh County Health Department.

Gerth is facing a challenge from Democrat Erik Hurt. Both candidate are Evansville natives.

Gerth graduated from Mater Dei High School and University of Southern Indiana. He worked for Old National Bank before joining the auditor's office, he wrote in a questionnaire for the League of Women Voters.

In his campaign announcement published in the City-County Observer in February, Hurt said he graduated from Central High School and attended the University of Evansville, where he studied political science. He's spent the last five years working as a manager for AMC Theatres.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Vanderburgh County assessor, auditor, county council races on ballot