The Nuts and Bolts of a Political Caucus.

      In the State of Indiana, when an elected official leaves their seat after being elected by a major political party, that party has a caucus to replace that person.  The official can retire, resign, die, or whatever the reason has caused them to leave, it doesn't matter.  All that matters is that the major party that they represented when they were elected basically 'owns' that seat and they have the right to fill it if it is emptied.  Again, that is done by caucusing the party's precinct committeemen and going through a process to fill the seat.

     What are precinct committeemen?  Every county has them.  Some have a large number, and some have smaller numbers.  Carroll County has 19 total representatives.  Most townships have one apiece and some have two or even three, depending on factors to determine the numbers.  You will see each precinct have candidates on your ballots every four years.  If the elected official leaving represents the entire county, like a recorder, all committeemen are invited to attend the caucus.  If, for instance, the seat is for a county council position, like the one that will come up at the end of this year, and they were voted in by a district and not at large, only a handful will vote on the filling.

     Last week two caucuses were held.  The first one was held because of the Recorder leaving for a state job and her seat needing to be filled.  The second one, which was held right after the first on the same night, was to place a candidate on the ballot for November.  Penny Titus is our current elected official for that seat and this is her second term.  Generally, these positions are two terms and done.  So, she was 'termed out' and couldn't run again.  

     These caucuses were held in the Delphi Community Center on North Washington Street, and, like all caucuses, they were open to the public.  At most of the caucuses I've been to over the years, there is usually about 15 or so who show up to vote.  Tonight, there were all 19!  I was impressed.  Couple that with the four members of the central committee, nine vice precinct committeemen, and the members of the public that showed up and there were 51 people present.  That's quite a number and an attendance number that I haven't seen before.

     The meeting was brought to order by Republican Chair Beth Myers and the rules for the event were discussed and voted on.  These 10 rules cover who qualifies to vote, who can speak during the presentation and interviews, and how the ballot(s) will be handled and tabulated.  After all of these ten rules were discussed and gone over there was a vote to accept the rules.  Bill Brown suggested that the candidates be given three minutes to speak instead of two and the entire rules passed.

     With all the administrative information and policies and rules out of the way, the caucus moved on to the five candidates who put in for the spot.  There were, in no particular order: Brandi Rough; Patricia Cole; Tera German; Tracy Stonebraker; and Kathryn O'Farrell.  Each candidate's voting record is supposed to be reviewed by the county chair to make sure they qualify.  The candidates should also be looked into, to see if they are 'Republicans in good standing.'

     As stated earlier, each candidate had three minutes to make a presentation and then there could be a follow-up for questions from the precinct committeemen, but not the public as per the rules.  We basically heard five different life and experience stories from each candidate.  Some had experience in a related field, and some had none.  Some had solid Republican voting records, and some didn't have any voting record.  Some were ready to start the next day, and some needed a couple weeks to get everything lined up in their lives.  When the five candidates were asked why they hadn't signed up to run in the primary for this position, four of them indicated that they had not heard about the open position.  That told me that the party needs to better communicate with the citizens.  Presentations were made and questions were asked and answered, including from central committee member, Scott Ayres.  After this was all said and done the public was made to leave the room to go outside for the voting to take place for each caucus.

     After a little bit of time passed, we were called back into the room and informed that O'Farrell was voted the winner in both the caucuses.  It made a lot of sense for the same person to be voted in for both.  Certainly, less confusion for the voters in November.  

    The caucus ended and there was a brief discussion by Myers about upcoming fair events happening in about three weeks.  This discussion included the fair parade, the Republican dinner, and the fair booth.  Oddly, no details were settled on, so I have nothing to report as far as details for any of these events.  There was also discussion and pleas for party unity from Beth Myers and two others on the central committee.  That was great to hear after the last several years of the situation being quite the opposite.  We will see how that pans out.