Republicans appear to gain a seat in Fishers City Council elections
Republicans dominated Fishers City Council races Tuesday after a contentious campaign season.
In close races, two incumbent Democrats, Crystal Neumann and Jocelyn Vare, appeared to lose their seats, according to final, unofficial results Tuesday evening. However, Republican incumbent David Giffel lagged challenger Bill Stuart, who could be the lone Democrat on council for the next four years.
Incumbent Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness was unopposed in his reelection bid.
At-large seats (3)
The top vote-getters for the three at-large seats were Republican incumbents Cecelia Coble with 22.2% of the vote and Todd Zimmerman with 21.5%, and Republican newcomer Tiffanie Ditlevson with 19.1%.
Democratic incumbent Jocelyn Vare got 18.6% of the vote and Democratic newcomer Howard Stevenson brought up the rear with 18.5%.
Coble has served on the Fishers City Council since 2015. She was the first woman to serve as president of the council in 2020.
Zimmerman, who was also first elected in 2015, is a commercial insurance adviser.
Ditlevson is a real estate agent and a few months ago was appointed president of the Hamilton East Public Library Board of Trustees, which has recently been under fire for its controversial book review policy that moved books out of the teen section if they contained "explicit" content. Ditlevson supported the book review policy, which has since been suspended.
From election 2022: Despite bitter state election loss, Fishers city councilor Vare says she's sticking around
Vare lost her bid for a second term after being elected in 2019. She ran for state Senate seat in 2022 but lost to Republican incumbent Kyle Walker. She was the first Democrat elected to Fishers City Council and is founder and owner of Propeller Marketing LLC, an advertising agency.
Stevenson is the president of the Fishers Plan Commission and vice president of the Fishers Board of Zoning Appeals.
North central district (District 3)
Republican challenger John Delucia took 50.8% of the vote against Democratic incumbent Crystal Neumann, who received 49.1% of the vote.
Delucia is chief lending officer at Citizens State Bank.
Neumann is a higher education administrator and has served on the council since 2021, when she won a special election among Democratic Party officials to fill an open seat.
Northeast district (District 6)
Final, unofficial results showed incumbent Republican Brad DeReamer winning reelection with 57.4% of the vote. Democratic challenger Samantha Chapman had 42.6% of the vote.
DeReamer, who has served on the council since 2015, was previously mayor of Greenfield and Hancock County surveyor.
His Democratic challenger, Chapman, is Indiana state director of the Humane Society.
Northwest district (District 2)
Incumbent Republican Selina Stoller won reelection with 52% of the vote. Democrat Bill McLellan took 48% of the vote in the race for the northwest district seat.
Stoller, an investment banker, was elected in 2015. McLellan works as a solutions architect for phData, a data consulting firm.
South central district (District 4)
Incumbent Republican John W. Weingardt won reelection with 57.5% of the vote in his bid for reelection. Democrat Lane Skeeters had 42.5% of the vote.
Weingardt has been in office since 2011, when he was first elected to what was then the Fishers Town Council. He is currently the council president and a partner in the local accounting firm of Peachin, Schwartz and Weingardt.
Professionally, Skeeters is a designer. He is also the president of the Fishers Democratic Club,
Southeast district (District 1)
Pete Peterson, a Republican incumbent, is the lone uncontested candidate for Fishers City Council.
Peterson, director of sales and marketing at Fishers-based architecture and engineering firm RQAW, was first elected in 2014.
Southwest district (District 5)
Democrat Bill Stuart led Republican incumbent David Giffel, 50.8% to 49.2%, Tuesday night.
Stuart, a longtime Fishers resident, serves on the city's planning commission and the Fire Merit Board.
Giffel, a plastics industry executive, was selected by the Hamilton County GOP to fill a vacant seat in 2021.
Contact business reporter Claire Rafford at crafford@gannett.com or call 317-617-3402.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Republicans appear to gain a seat in Fishers City Council elections
