Who is running for Carmel City Council in 2023? Here is a running list

The 2023 municipal primary elections for Carmel City Council are scheduled in May 2023, and candidates are emerging for the nine seats up for election.

Municipal election filing began Jan. 4 and runs through Feb. 3. Candidates who win the primaries in May could face general election opponents. Winning candidates would receive four-year terms on the council starting in 2024.

One of the most interesting races will likely be District 1. Now named the North Central District, the council seat previously held by Bruce Kimball includes major areas of development such as Carmel City Center and the Carmel Arts & Design District. Kimball died Dec. 30.

Teresa Ayers was elected to the seat via a Republican caucus Jan. 10.

More:Carmel City councilmember will remain in office after vote to declare seat vacant fails

Five additional council seats also open up — two at-large seats and the west and northeast district seats. Councilors Kevin Rider, Miles Nelson and Sue Finkam are running for mayor after Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard announced in September he would not seek reelection.

At-large Councilman Tim Hannon and Laura Campbell, the north district councilor, announced in early January they would not seek reelection.

Here are the current candidates who have announced runs for the Carmel City Council.

This story will be updated as more candidates announce for races. Did we miss someone? Send me an email at brittany.carloni@indystar.com.

District 1 - Carmel’s North Central District

Teresa Ayers - Ayers, a Republican, is the vice chairman of the Hamilton County Republican Party and a board member of the Carmel-Clay Republican Club. She won the Republican caucus in January to replace former Councilman Bruce Kimball. Ayers is a Carmel High School graduate. Her father is Paul Ayers, a former Hamilton County Councilor.

Courtney Culver - Culver, a Democrat, is a 12-year Carmel resident and a leader at a global tech company, according to her campaign website. She grew up in Bedford and graduated from Franklin College with a journalism degree and received a master's degree in organizational leadership from Siena Heights University in Michigan.

Chuck Ford - Ford, a Republican, has lived in Carmel for 40 years. He is a former Carmel Clay Schools teacher where he taught U.S. History and World Geography and served as the varsity wrestling coach. In 1990 he received the Indiana Geography Teacher of the Year award and he served for four years as the Carmel Clay Schools contract negotiator. Ford retired from Carmel Clay Schools in 2006. After retirement, Ford worked as a senior account associate at Keltner Inc. and Miller Auto Care. Ford founded the Carmel Community Drug Task Force and co-chairs the Carmel Clay Schools Drug Task Force. He was the head coach of Indiana's National Wrestling Team for 15 years and started Indiana's International Wrestling Team.

Leah York - York, a Republican, announced in September she would run for the Central District seat. York owns a nonprofit consulting firm, Talbott Talent. She is the chair of OneZone Women’s Network and vice president of The O’Connor House, an organization that provides a “Christian home” to single, pregnant and homeless women. She is a lifelong resident of Carmel, according to a news release announcing her candidacy.

District 2 - Carmel’s Northeast District

Jason Engle - Engle, a Republican, is a 20-year real estate professional. Engle, a Chicago-area native, graduated from Illinois State University in 2002 with a degree in politics and government. In 2010, Engle moved to Carmel with his wife of 17 years, Trisha, a Carmel native. In the real estate industry, Engle was previously part of the MIBOR Real Estate Association's professional standards and grievance committees. He is also a graduate of the Carmel Clay Schools Expeditions Program and a baseball and basketball coach for the Carmel Dad's Club. Engle and his wife have three children: Will, Ethan and June.

Shannon Minnaar - Minnaar, a Republican, is the vice chairman of the Carmel Symphony Orchestra board of directors and leads the group's marketing committee. She serves as a commissioner for the Carmel Cable and Telecommunications Commission. Additionally, Minnaar has served as a PTO president for Mohawk Trails Elementary School and president of the Cool Creek North HOA board, according to a news release from her campaign. She has lived in Carmel for 22 years.

District 3 - Carmel’s Southeast District

Adam Aasen - Aasen, a Republican, is the incumbent for the District 3 seat on the Carmel City Council. Aasen was elected in 2019. Aasen was born in Indianapolis and is a graduate of Indiana University in Bloomington. He has background as a journalist working for the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville and the Current in Carmel. One of Aasen’s accomplishments on the council was authoring legislation to ban the sale of cats and dogs at pet stores in the city, despite no businesses currently doing so. Aasen co-owned Donatello’s Italian Restaurant on Main Street in Carmel for more than a decade.

Jeremy Eltz - Eltz, a Democrat, is the director of rural education at the University of Indianapolis Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning. Eltz worked in research science at IUPUI before becoming a middle school science teacher in Pike Township in Indianapolis. He previously worked for the Indiana Department of Education and created the state's STEM school certification, which adopted science and computer sciences standards for grade schools. Eltz received a PhD in educational leadership in 201 6, according to his campaign bio. Eltz and his wife moved to Carmel in 2015 to raise their two children who attend Woodbrook Elementary School. He ran for Hamilton County Council in 2018.

District 4 - Carmel’s Northwest District

Sheldon Barnes - Barnes, a Republican, is a real estate broker and an associate director at Eli Lilly, according to his LinkedIn profile. Barnes ran for Hamilton County Council in 2018 and in 2022 ran for a seat on the Carmel Clay School Board. Both campaigns were unsuccessful.

Ryan Locke - Locke is running as a Republican.

Danny Niederberger - Niederberger, a Republican, was a former candidate for Indiana's 5th Congressional District in 2020 and filed to run in 2022 against U.S. Sen. Todd Young. Niederberger is an operations analyst for Miami-based Concise Capital Management.

District 5 - Carmel’s South Central District

Tony Green - Green, a Republican, is the incumbent candidate in what is now the Carmel City Council's South Central District. Green was first elected to the council in 2017 via a Republican caucus to fill a vacant seat. He won reelection in 2019. Green is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and spent 11 years on active duty, the majority as a pilot. He is currently the chief legal and compliance officer for the Indiana Public Retirement System and is an adjunct professor of law at Indiana University Law School in Indianapolis. He previously was an attorney for Barnes and Thornburg, according to his biography on Carmel's city website.

Jessica Irvine - Irvine, a Democrat, is a 30-plus-year resident of the Home Place neighborhood in Carmel. Irvine holds a bachelor's degree in public financial management and a master's degree in environmental policy and sustainability from Indiana University's O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Irvine is a senior environmental manager for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. She has been involved with the Hamilton County Young Democrats, the Carmel Democratic Club, Indy Humane and the Humane Society of the United States.

District 6 - Carmel’s West District

Anita Joshi - Joshi, a Democrat, is a pediatrician operating Crawfordsville-based Joshi Pediatrics. She is a member of the Hindu Temple of Central Indiana and serves on boards for the Center for Interfaith Cooperation, the Women's Fund of Central Indiana and the Brebeuf Jesuit Board of Trustees. Joshi and her husband, Arun Jain, have lived in Carmel with their family for 18 years.

Loren Matthes - Matthes, a Republican, is a retired municipal finance expert. She spent 35 years at a public accounting firm working on finance and economic development work. Matthes has lived in Carmel for 20 years with her husband, Don.

Ven Tadikonda - Tadikonda, a Republican, has lived in Carmel with his wife for 20 years. They have four children, three of which currently attend Carmel High School. Tadikonda, who is growing a business per his campaign announcement, has served in several leadership roles for the Indian Association of Indianapolis since 2015.

At-large council seats

The current at-large members of the Carmel City Council include Councilor Kevin Rider, Jeff Worrell and Tim Hannon. Below are the at-large candidates that announced for elections in 2023:

Jonathan Blake - Blake, a Republican, is the previous administration and planning director for Carmel Clay Parks & Recreation. He originally filed to run for the North Central District. Blake grew up in Brownsburg and has served on the Brownsburg Advisory Plan Commission and Redevelopment Commission. Additionally, he serves as a precinct committee person was a delegate to the Indiana Republican Convention. Blake is a member of the Indiana Chapter of the American Planning Association, the American Institute of Certified Planners, Advanced Commercial Advisers and the Indiana Park and Recreation Association's Board of Directors.

Sara Draper - Draper, a Democrat, is a British-born, 15-year resident of Carmel. Draper was born in the suburbs of Manchester and graduated from Oxford University. She moved to the Indianapolis area with her husband in 2000 and gained U.S. citizenship 10 years ago. Draper has been involved in several organizations around Indianapolis, including serving in a volunteer role as a Hamilton County Guardian ad Litem where she is a trained advocate for children in abuse and neglect court cases. Draper and her husband, Bob, have a 21-year-old adopted daughter named Abby.

Jake Madore - Madore, a Democrat, works in corporate taxation. He received a law degree from the Indiana University McKinney School of Law and a Bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan. While in law school, Madore worked as an intern for the Indiana Department of Revenue and for the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. Madore and his wife have lived in Carmel since 2015 where he is the president of the Carmel Democratic Club and helps candidates run for local and state offices. He ran in 2020 for Hamilton County Treasurer.

Matthew Snyder - Snyder, a Republican, is a current Clay Township board member, a role he has held for 12 years. While Snyder has been on the board, Clay Township has made major capital improvements in the community through its Impact Program. Snyder, a lifelong Carmel resident, additionally has served as a past president of Janus Development, a board member of the Carmel Clay Historical Society, a board member of Indiana State Parks and Recreation Association and board president of Carmel Clay GOP.

Rich Taylor - Taylor, a Republican, is a 12-year member of the Carmel Clay Parks and Recreation Board where he has served as president of the Carmel Clay Parks and Recreation Board, a position he has held for the past five years. Taylor previously served as vice president for The National Bank of Indianapolis before transitioning to a career in commercial real estate and construction. Taylor and his wife have two children. The couple have lived in Carmel for 17 years.

Jeff Worrell - Worrell, a Republican, is an incumbent at-large member of the Carmel City Council. Worrell was first elected to the council in 2015 for the Southeast District seat. Worrell won an at-large seat on the council in 2019. Worrell chairs the council’s Finance, Utilities and Rules committee and is a member of the Carmel Redevelopment Commission. He is a board member of the Carmel Christkindlmarkt, CarmelFest, the Rotary Club of Carmel and Good Day Carmel. Worrell is the current vice president of the Carmel City Council and has previously served as council president.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Carmel City Council elections are in 2023. Here's a list of candidates