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This page provides information about local candidates running for City Common Council seats in the 2023 Municipal Elections. The map to the left shows the results of redistricting that occurs every ten years following the national census. Within this map are six districts for which candidates will be competing with three additional seats not included for at-large members. |
City Council District 1
Isabel Piedmont-Smith (D) - Uncontested
Isabel Piedmont-Smith is a Bloomington native and first-generation American born to German immigrants. She is a graduate of Bloomington High School South and received a BA in History from Oberlin College and an MAT in Social Studies Education from Boston University. From 1998 to 2022, she served as fiscal officer and department administrator in the Department of French & Italian at Indiana University-Bloomington. First elected in 2007, Isabel served one term (2008-11) on the City Council, sat out a term due to family obligations (2012-15), and was elected again in 2015 and in 2019. She lives in the McDoel Gardens neighborhood in a 1925 bungalow with her husband and two cats. Isabel's priorities are to involve more residents in government decision-making (especially those from underserved communities), to enact the city's Climate Action Plan, and to strengthen the local social safety net (especially regarding housing).
Click HERE to visit her campaign website
Click HERE to visit her Facebook page
Click HERE to read her response to the Chamber's Questionnaire
Click HERE to visit her campaign website
Click HERE to visit her Facebook page
Click HERE to read her response to the Chamber's Questionnaire
City Council District 2
Kate Rosenbarger (D) - Uncontested
Kate Rosenbarger has served on Bloomington's City Council since January 2017. She is a graduate of Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, and has made a career in community development and housing affordability. At NeighborWorks America, Rosenbarger worked with residents in neighborhoods across the U.S. to determine their neighborhood strengths, what was missing, and to set goals for improvement. In 2018, she served as Deputy Campaign Manager for Liz Watson for Congress, and is now TEDxBloomington’s first Executive Director.
Click HERE to visit her campaign website
Click HERE to visit her campaign Facebook page
Click HERE to read her response to the Chamber's Questionnaire
Click HERE to visit her campaign website
Click HERE to visit her campaign Facebook page
Click HERE to read her response to the Chamber's Questionnaire
City Council District 3
Brett Heinisch (R) - Republican Nominee
Brett Heinisch grew up in Syracuse, Indiana and moved to Bloomington for college at IU. He said his priorities include addressing crime, especially on campus, reducing drug abuse and making Bloomington a great place to live and work. He went to school from 2013 to 2016 for his bachelor’s in Political Science and received his master’s in Public Affairs at the O'Neill School in 2019. Heinisch lists several internships, including working for then-congressmen Todd Young and Luke Messer and current congressman Larry Buchson, as well as a D.C. internship for Freedomworks. He also lists volunteer and work experience on for campaigns, including State Rep. Curt Nisly, State Rep. Dave Hall, Senators Mike Braun and Todd Young and New England Citizens for Right to Work.
Click HERE to email Brett
Click HERE to read Brett's response to the Chamber questionnaire
Click HERE to email Brett
Click HERE to read Brett's response to the Chamber questionnaire
Hopi Stosberg (D) - Winner
Hopi Stosberg has a background in education, executive-level volunteering, and a plethora of community service experience. She is originally from Vermont, but moved to Richmond, Indiana to study at Earlham College before moving to Bloomington in 2013. Her policy interests include affordable housing, accessibility to city services, safety, education, and childcare.
Click HERE to visit her campaign website.
Click HERE to visit her campaign Facebook page.
Click HERE to read her response to the Chamber questionnaire
Click HERE to visit her campaign website.
Click HERE to visit her campaign Facebook page.
Click HERE to read her response to the Chamber questionnaire
City Council District 4
Dave Rollo (D) - Uncontested
Dave Rollo has 24 years of public service and have served on 15 boards, commissions, committees and task forces (see details below). He has served 16 years on City Council, including three terms as president. Dave worked as a research scientist at Indiana University in micro-molecular biology in a variety of laboratories. Dave has been an active Democratic Party member for the Monroe County Democrats for nearly 30 years. He has worked on a number of local and regional campaigns including Congressional campaigns for Frank McCloskey, Baron Hill and Jim Jontz.
Click HERE to visit his campaign website.
Campaign endorsement HERE from the Dissident Democrat
Click HERE to visit his campaign website.
Campaign endorsement HERE from the Dissident Democrat
City Council District 5
Shruti Rana (D) - Uncontested
Shruti Rana is a mother, lawyer, community leader and professor. At IU, she works as senior assistant dean and is also a faculty member specializing in international law and human rights. Rana is running for city council to promote inclusion and expansion of access to childcare and healthcare. Rana has previously served as the Chair of the Monroe County Election Board and is a member of the City of Bloomington Board of Public Safety and the Bloomington Commission on the Status of Women. She is also a board member for the nonprofits All-Options Pregnancy Resource Center and Exodus Refugee Immigration, a founding member and previous co-chair of the Indiana Chapter of National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum.
Click HERE to email her campaign
Click HERE to read her response to the Chamber questionnaire
Click HERE to email her campaign
Click HERE to read her response to the Chamber questionnaire
City Council District 6
Sydney Zulich (D) - Uncontested
Sydney Zulich completed her undergraduate degree at Indiana University, graduating in May 2023 with a degree in International Law and Russian. Zulich was unanimously elected to fill a vacancy for Democratic candidacy of City Council District 6. According to Indiana Public Media, Zulich is the youngest person to be nominated for a city council seat this election cycle. Sydney's passion for democracy and policy started in high school when she joined the Junior State of America--a student-run organization dedicated to student involvement. Since then, Sydney has been working towards getting young people more involved in politics and finding ways to amplify young voices and is committed to serving the community in which she has lived her entire adult life.
Click HERE to visit her campaign website.
Responses to Chamber questionnaire coming soon.
Click HERE to visit her campaign website.
Responses to Chamber questionnaire coming soon.
City Council At-Large
Isak Asare (D) - Uncontested
Isak Asare is a faculty member at Indiana University where he serves as co-director of the Cybersecurity and Global Policy Program and the executive director of the IU Cybersecurity Clinic. He also serves as a member of the Bloomington Board of Public Safety. His work has been at the intersection of technology and policy. He has advised national and local governments and other organizations on the strategic, cultural, and leadership opportunities from digital transformation and emerging technologies. Isak also co-founded FairFrame, a startup that uses Artificial Intelligence and data analytics to identify implicit bias in text which was acquired in 2022. He has lived and worked in 10 countries and speaks five languages. He lives on the Eastside of Town with his wife, Mariah and their son, Theodore.
Click HERE to visit his campaign webpage
Click HERE to visit his campaign Facebook page
Click HERE to read his response to the Chamber questionnaire
Click HERE to visit his campaign webpage
Click HERE to visit his campaign Facebook page
Click HERE to read his response to the Chamber questionnaire
Matt Flaherty (D) - Uncontested
Matt Flaherty has served on Bloomington's City Council since January 2020. He is a Senior Associate with the nonprofit organization Clean Energy Works, where he works on inclusive green energy financing solutions for residential energy efficiency and renewable energy. He holds a law degree from the IU Maurer School of Law and master's degrees in public affairs and environmental science from the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Flaherty will continue prioritize equitable and inclusive transportation and housing policies; local leadership on climate change, including addressing its causes while building resilience to its impacts; and improvements to the council's work processes, including inclusive public engagement and a more collaborative and productive working relationships with the mayor and county government.
Click HERE to visit his campaign website.
Click HERE to visit his Facebook page.
Click HERE to read his response to the Chamber questionnaire
Click HERE to visit his campaign website.
Click HERE to visit his Facebook page.
Click HERE to read his response to the Chamber questionnaire
Andy Ruff (D) - Uncontested
Andy Ruff served on the Bloomington City Council for five terms. Ruff graduated with a Masters in Public Affairs from the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. He has taught both high school and at the Bedford Branch of Oakland City College, worked for Monroe County Government, served several terms on the Bloomington City Council, and worked as an outreach specialist on the Indiana staff for Congressman Baron Hill when he served as our 9th District representative. For more than a decade, he has been an academic advisor at Indiana University.
Click HERE to visit his campaign website.
Click HERE to read his response to the Chamber questionnaire
Click HERE to visit his campaign website.
Click HERE to read his response to the Chamber questionnaire
