A roundup of St. Joseph County sheriff, county assessor and other South Bend races

SOUTH BEND — Two key county government offices flipped parties as an incumbent and three new officeholders won their races in Tuesday's election

Because one incumbent was term-limited and two chose not to run for reelection, the makeup of county government was guaranteed to change going into the election.

Here's what happened Tuesday night:

County Sheriff

With a sea of red for the “red man” behind him, Democratic incumbent Sheriff Bill Redman celebrated his win over Republican challenger Kevin McGowan Tuesday night at American Legion Post 357.

After his reelection was announced, Redman stressed that he had been campaigning for the past four years by making it his goal to be more visible in the community.

“I cannot sit behind the desk and make decisions that affect all of our citizens and not listen to local concerns,” he said.

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Redman was elected sheriff in 2018. He started his career with the St. Joseph County Police Department in 1994 and served as a D.A.R.E. officer for 18 years, beginning in 1997. Since 2008, he has been a public information officer for the department.

His challenger, McGowan, also spent his career with the St. Joseph County police, as an officer for more than 25 years.

In his second term, Redman said, he will continue to prioritize the visibility of his position, in addition to continuing the county’s mental health campaign and advocating for more equipment for local law enforcement, such as body cameras, vehicles, tasers and guns.

When asked what will be the greatest benefit of his reelection for the citizens of St. Joseph County, he emphasized his commitment to productive communication between his office and local police departments, including weekly meetings between his police chief and local department chiefs.

“I've been a member of this department for 28 years, four sheriffs throughout that time, but I think, currently, we have the best relationship we've ever had,” Redman said.

Throughout the night, Redman said, he was nervous, adding, “How could you not be?” But at the end of the night, he said he was grateful — for his family, his support system and his reelection.

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County Assessor

Republican Mike Castellon of Mishawaka beat Democrat Ted Booker of South Bend to succeed Democrat Rosemary Mandrici, who chose not to seek reelection, as the county assessor.

Castellon received 53.1% of the vote to Booker's 46.9%.

"I think we worked really, really, really hard on this campaign, but it's a culmination of 12 years public service," said Castellon, who has served as Penn Township assessor since 2010.

He said he is not surprised by the outcome of the race.

"Again, 12 years of working for the taxpayer really, really came shining through tonight," he said. "Those relationships I built across both sides really, really came through."

Castellon said the first thing he plans to do once he takes office is get familiar with its staff. He said, although he already knows most of the staff, he wants to see who the leaders are and continue to focus on the office's "strong points" while trying to mitigate shortfalls.

Castellon also plans to look at doing a comprehensive audit.

"We want to make sure that we lessen the appeals and make sure that the assessments are fair," he said. "And that's really the true goal."

With 98.6% reporting and more than 70,000 votes tallied in the county, Booker did not want to comment on the results of the election.

“I don't think I can give you a good quote, because I just don't really have one,” he said. “I think the vote totals should be much higher based on what we saw happen during the day.”

Booker has worked as a deputy assessor in the appeals department for the Elkhart County Assessor's Office in Goshen since 2019. He had previously worked as a reporter for the Watertown Daily Times in northern New York for five years and then The Tribune for three years.

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County Clerk

As with the assessor's office, the county clerk's office has flipped parties.

South Bend Republican Amy Rolfes won 52% of the vote to succeed county clerk Rita Glenn, a Democrat who also chose not to run for reelection.

Rolfes beat Granger Democrat Lana Cleary, who received 48% of the vote.

"I am not surprised. I am very happy," Rolfes said. "I am very happy that the voters turned out and chose me."

She said she expected that she would "run a very solid campaign," and she appreciates every voter who voted for her.

Rolfes spent much of Election Day visiting different polling places. She said she did not hand out materials or ask people to vote for her; rather, she was "just saying 'hello' and thanking everyone for voting."

When asked what she first plans to do in office, Rolfes said she plans to "change the locks," a reference, clarified on Wednesday, to the absentee ballot room.

Cleary, a county payroll and accounts payable clerk since 1999, lost her bid for county clerk Tuesday night.

Upon the hearing of the results, Cleary only said that she was “sad for the citizens of St. Joseph County.”

County Auditor

Democrat John Murphy won the close race for auditor.

Murphy, of Osceola, had 50.47% of the votes compared to South Bend Republican Desmont Upchurch's 49.53%, with just 663 votes separating them.

Upchurch said he did not expect the race to be so close.

"I don't know what I was expecting," he said.

Murphy currently serves as chief deputy auditor for St. Joseph County and is a former controller for the city of South Bend. He succeeds Michael J. Hamann, the current auditor, who was term-limited.

Murphy described the win as bittersweet, given the widespread party losses across the county. But still, he said, the win felt pretty good.

“I knew it would be a tough race,” Murphy said, adding that Upchurch had called him earlier in the night to congratulate him.

Upon taking office, his first priority will be hiring a deputy auditor to fill the vacancy left by his promotion and complete his staff in the auditor’s office. After that, he’ll set his sights on setting a high standard for not only St. Joseph County but also for the state.

“I want to have the best auditor’s office in Indiana,” Murphy said.

Democratic incumbents Circuit Judge John Broden and Prosecutor Ken Cotter ran unopposed.

This story has been updated to clarify a quote by Amy Rolfes that was misheard by the reporter, Claire Reid. An earlier version of this story said Rolfes said she intended to "change the laws." She said "locks."

Email Tribune reporter Claire Reid at cereid@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend election results: St. Joseph County sheriff, county assessor