Considerations for Candidates

Election 2018

Offices Up For Election

FEDERAL OFFICES:
United States Senator
U.S. Representative 2^nd District
U.S. Representative 3^rd District
STATEWIDE OFFICES
State Representative 18^th District
State Representative 22^nd District
Secretary of State (General Only)	In Indiana, candidates for Lieutenant governor, Secretary of state, Auditor of state, Treasurer of state, Attorney general, and Superintendent of public instruction are nominated by party conventions. These offices do not appear on the ballot in the state’s primary election.[i]
State Treasurer (General Only)
Auditor of State (General Only)
COUNTY OFFICES:
Judge, Kosciusko Circuit Court	The circuit courts in Indiana are courts of original jurisdiction. They are presided over by judges who serve for a term of six years. Circuit court judges, like judges of all state courts, must be admitted to the practice of law. In addition to the circuit courts, the General Assembly has created superior courts, which in most cases, handle the same types of cases that the circuit courts handle. In some cases, counties have more than one superior court.[ii]
Prosecuting Attorney – 54^th Judicial District	The primary responsibility of the Kosciusko County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is the prosecution of individuals charged with crimes and other violations of state statutes that occur within Kosciusko County. Also, the Prosecutor’s office, in coordination with the Kosciusko County Probation Department-Juvenile Division, prosecutes juveniles who have committed delinquent acts, curfew violations, and school attendance issues. In addition to prosecuting offenses, the office works proactively with law enforcement, community organizations, and neighborhood associations to promote crime prevention and education efforts that enhance public safety. Another function of the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is to work diligently to ensure the enforcement of court-ordered child support through the Title IV-D Child Support Program. Child support services offered through the Kosciusko County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office include the following: locating absent parents, establishing paternity, establishing and enforcing support orders and medical support orders, collecting current and past-due support payments, and reviewing or adjusting of current support orders. Tools available for enforcement include: withholding support payments from paychecks, interception of federal and state tax refunds and lottery winnings, reporting unpaid child support to credit bureaus, placing liens on vehicles, and suspension of driver’s and professional licenses of absent parents who owe child support.[iii]
County Auditor	The Kosciusko County Auditor is responsible for various areas within the County. The auditor serves as a secretary to the board of county commissioners and the county council. The auditor has responsibility for keeping accounts and issuing checks for the county. As a result, the board of commissioners, the council and other officials often look to the auditor for day-to-day operational assistance, information and advice. In keeping accounts and issuing warrants, the auditor must develop financial analysis and cash flow projections and assist with budget preparations. The auditor is the principal financial officer in county government and is the fiscal officer of the county. The county auditor must also prepare and file an annual financial report with the State Board of Accounts. The auditor is directly responsible for preparing tax duplicates that show the value of property and taxes assessed against each taxpayer. As a part of the tax function, the auditor must also prepare plats that show the ownership and assessed valuation of each parcel in each township in the county. The plats much contain information prescribed by the Department of Local Government Finance and must be kept current.[iv]
County Recorder	The county recorder’s function is to maintain permanent public records involving a wide variety of instruments. These documents detail transactions involving real estate, mining, personal property, mortgages, liens, leases, subdivision plats, military discharges, personal bonds, etc. Generally, all of these instruments are recorded either for giving legal public notice of their existence or for safekeeping and future reference.[v]
County Sheriff	The responsibilities of the sheriff include: Serving as conservator of the peace; • Taking care of the county jail and the prisoners confined in the county; Feeding prisoners; Administering work release programs; Serving as an officer of the courts in the county to deliver service of warrants, subpoenas, and other forms of process; Collecting delinquent state income tax or levying on the property of taxpayers for the amount due when a warrant is issued by the Indiana Department of Revenue commanding him or her to do so, and transmitting to the Department of Revenue the amount collected; Selling mortgaged property under foreclosure proceedings and executing real estate deeds of property sold under execution; Conveying prisoners to correctional institutions.[vi]
County Assessor	The County Assessors Office is responsible for assessing all real and personal property within Kosciusko County. The County Assessor shall keep the assessment data and records current by securing the necessary field data and making changes in the assessed value of real property as changes occur in its use. The assessment of property is in accordance with the rules of the State Board of Tax Commissioners. Assessing officials must follow the rules of the State Board of Tax Commissioners in making any assessment or reassessment of real property.[vii]
County Commissioner Southern District	The three commissioners are the custodians of the home rule powers of the county. Counties have 3 commissioners, one from each district in the county. Within the scope of home rule, commissioners may adopt and vest themselves with additional regulatory powers. Click here for more information on the Kosciusko County Board of Commissioners.
County Council District 1, 2, 3, and 4	Terms are four years with the ability to serve an unlimited number of terms. The County Council has the ultimate decision-making power regarding fiscal affairs. The council has authority to view or review fiscal matters, determine proper policy, and set priorities for the allocation and expenditure of county funds. The General Assembly determines the powers of the county council in this area. Click here for more information on the Kosciusko County Council.
TOWNSHIP OFFICES:
Township Trustees	A township trustee administers the civil government of the township. The trustee is elected by the residents of the township to a term of four years. The trustee is responsible for providing fire protection and ambulance service to unincorporated areas, providing for poor relief and burial of the indigent, maintaining cemeteries and burial grounds, resolving fencing disputes between neighbors, investigating claims of livestock killed by dogs, controlling weeds, managing the township budget and financial records, and preparing an annual financial report. The trustee also acts as the property tax assessor. Other public matters in which a trustee may sometimes be involved include zoning, parks, libraries, schools, shelters and community centers.[viii]
Township Advisory Board Members	The trustee is assisted by a three-member Township Board whose members are elected to four-year terms. Duties of the board include adopting the annual budget, serving as a board of finance and approving township contracts. In January of each year, the trustee presents to the board an annual report showing the receipts, expenditures, investments and debts of the township. The approved report is then published in local papers for public inspection.[ix]
Precinct Committeemen Democrat (Primary Only)	(1) Inside his or her precinct, the precinct committeeperson’s duties include: (A) Polling residents; (B) Registering voters; (C) Maintaining a current poll list of voters; (D) Identifying and assisting absentee voters to register; (E) Promoting Party candidates; (F) Operating an election day organization; (G) Encouraging voting by persons preferring Democratic Party candidates; (H) Recommending persons for the precinct election board; (I) Recruiting volunteers for the Party; (J) Attending training and other party-building activities sponsored by State Committee; (K) Reporting periodically on the state of the Party to the county chair or his or her designee. (2) The precinct vice committeeperson shall assist the precinct committeeperson with these duties. (3) The precinct committeeperson is encouraged to appoint chairs for polling, voter registration, social activities, and finance.[x]
State Convention Delegates (Primary Only)	The State Convention shall consist of delegates elected from each county of the state at the primary election on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May in even numbered years. County chairs and members of the State Central Committee are automatic delegates to the State Convention by virtue of their office. The delegates to the State Convention from each congressional district shall caucus at the State Convention at a time and place designated by the Chair and the Secretary of State Committee in the official call for the Convention. The district chair shall preside at such meeting at which delegates will elect the district’s representative on the various Convention committees.
TOWN OFFICES:
Town of Milford – Clerk Treasurer	Indiana towns also elect clerk/treasurers, who manage town finances. As elected officials, clerk/treasurers operate independently of the town council, but within the council-approved budget.[xi]
Town of Milford – Town Council 3 Seats available (At-Large)	The Town Council serves primarily as the legislative function of government. For practical reasons, the Town Council may share in some of the executive functions. However, under statute, the role of the executive officer belongs to the President of the Town Council. The President of the Town Council is an elected member of the town council, selected by his or her fellow town councilors to lead the council. The council may also appoint a non-partisan town manager to oversee the day-to-day operations of the municipal government. The council is responsible for setting the town’s budget and tax rates, and hiring all town employees. Unlike some states, Indiana town council members must declare a political party affiliation when they file to run for office. [xii]
Town of Syracuse – Town Council District 1 & 2
Town of Winona Lake – Town Council District 3 & 5

SCHOOL BOARD
*NON-PARTISAN:*
All voted on during the General Election

Tippecanoe Valley School Board
District 3 Franklin Twp. (Kosciusko Co.)	The qualifications of a Board member shall be: At least twenty-one (21) years of age; a registered voter; a high school graduate; and a resident of the district s/he represents for two (2) years immediately preceding the election.[xiii]
District 4 Henry Twp. (Fulton Co.)
District 5 New Castle Twp. (Fulton Co.)
Wa-Nee Community School Board
Harrison Township (Elkhart Co.)	Candidates for election to the Board of School Trustees in Wa-Nee Community Schools shall be an American citizen, a qualified voter, twenty-one (21) years of age or older, a resident within the School Corporation continuously for more than one (1) year and the State of Indiana for two (2) years prior to the date of the election, a resident in the school district s/he represents for at least one (1) year prior to the election. If a teacher or a noncertified employee (as defined in I.C. 20-29-2-11) of the Board is elected or appointed to the Board, the employee must resign from employment by the Board before serving on the Board. [xiv]
Locke Township (Elkhart Co.)
Union Township (Elkhart Co.)
Whitko Community School Board
District 4 (Jackson Twp., Monroe Twp, Washington Twp, (Kosciusko Co.),	To qualify as a School Board member, the candidate must be a resident in the Residence District to be elected; have resided in the State of Indiana for two (2) years last past; and have resided in the School Corporation for at least one (1) year last past. If a teacher or a noncertified employee (as defined in I.C. 20-29-2-11) of the Board is elected or appointed to the Board, the employee must resign from employment by the Board before serving on the Board. In addition, it would be desirable that members of the Board have a genuine interest in and devotion to public education, a willingness to give time and effort to the work, a capacity for understanding people, and the ability to work cooperatively with others. At least seventy-four (74) days prior to the Primary Election, but not more than 104 days prior to the election, a petition signed by the candidate and ten (10) registered voters residing within the Residence District in which the candidate wishes to run, shall be submitted to each of the Clerks of the Whitley and Kosciusko County Circuit Courts. The petitions declare the candidate’s intention to seek election as a Board member. The petition shall indicate the Electoral District the person is seeking to fill. The names of all candidates certified by the Clerks of the Circuit Courts shall appear on a separate paper or machine ballot in accordance with the requirements of School Board member elections codified under I.C. 20-23-4-27. Nomination forms are on file at the Whitko Administration Office. Nominating petitions must be filed with the clerk’s office of Kosciusko County.[xv]
District 5 (Richland Twp. and Cleveland Twp. (Whitley Co.)
Triton School Board
District 1, Tippecanoe Township (Marshall Co)
District 2, Etna Township (Kosciusko Co)
District 4, Town of Bourbon (Marshall Co)
Wawasee Community School Board
Districts 1, 2, & 3	To be a Candidate must be a registered voter and a resident of the State of Indiana and the Wawasee Community School Corporation for a minimum period of one year immediately prior to the election. The members of the Board of School Trustees shall be persons of good repute, completely cognizant of their responsibility for making the schools within said Wawasee Community School Corporation function so as to meet the highest standards of educational procedure and that their office was created solely for the welfare of the children of the public and not for the purpose of profit or of political or personal gain. Each member of the Board of School Trustees shall be elected for a term of four full years. There is no limitation on the number of terms a person may be elected.[xvi]
Warsaw Community School Board
Districts 1, 2, 5 & 7	To be a Candidate for School Board Election, must be over 21, must have resided in district they wish to represent for 2 years, must be registered to vote in district, must file petition of nomination with Clerk of Circuit Court (petition must have 10 signatures (recommend 12)), must file pre and post campaign financial statements. Each member of the Board of School Trustees shall be elected for a term of four full years. No member of the Board of School Trustees shall serve more than two consecutive four year terms as an elected member. No member of the Board of School Trustees shall be an employee of the school corporation. Any employee elected to serve as a member of the Board of School Trustees shall resign their employment with the school corporation the day following the election. No member of the Board of School Trustees shall hold any other public elective office. [xvii]