This page provides information about local candidates who are running for their party's nomination for the open mayoral seat in the 2023 Municipal Elections. So far, three Democratic candidates have filed paperwork with Monroe County Election Division to establish their principal committees. To learn more about these candidates, check out their bios below. As we get closer to the primary voting date, May 2nd, 2023, the Chamber will make updates and post its questionnaires and interviews with each of these candidates. Stay tuned!
According to Indiana Code Title 36, the mayor is considered the city executive and has the power to set the city's annual budget, approve or deny city ordinances, and fill vacancies for city boards and commissions among many other functions. Mayors are elected for four-year terms with no limits. |
Don Griffin (D)

Don Griffin was the deputy mayor for the City of Bloomington from April 2021 until recently when he announced his candidacy for mayor. He is a real estate agent and founder of his own small business, Griffin Realty. Don has served as President of the City’s Redevelopment Commission (RDC), President and co-Founder of the Monroe County Black Democratic Caucus, Vice President of the Monroe County Branch of the NAACP, Board Member of the Monroe County History Center, Board Member of the Bloomington Board of Realtors, Board Member of the Eskenazi Museum of Art, and many other nonprofit organizations.
Click HERE to visit his campaign website
Click HERE to visit his campaign Facebook page
Click HERE to view his responses to the Chamber's questionnaire
Click HERE to visit his campaign website
Click HERE to visit his campaign Facebook page
Click HERE to view his responses to the Chamber's questionnaire
Susan Sandberg (D)

Susan Sandberg has been a City Council Representative At Large for 16 years and has served as president for city council for four years. She is a founding member of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, and previously served as Vice Chair of the Monroe County Democratic Party. Susan has a B.A. in psychology and is a former case manager for Child Protective Services. She has also been an advisor for students in the Career Development Office of the IU O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA). Susan served on the Board of the South-Central Community Action Program and volunteered with New Leaf/New Life, teaching classes in the Addicts in Recovery dorm in the Monroe County Correctional Center.
Click HERE to view her responses to the Chamber's questionnaire
- Click HERE to visit her campaign website
Click HERE to view her responses to the Chamber's questionnaire
Kerry Thomson (D) - WINNER

Kerry Thomson is the executive director of the IU Center for Rural Engagement. Throughout her career in executive leadership, Kerry has both managed and transformed large organizations with complex projects, dozens of stakeholders, and multi-million dollar budgets. She served as the CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County from 1997 to 2017. Thomson earned a B.A. in sociology, anthropology and women’s studies from Randolph-Macon College. She has also served on numerous boards in Bloomington's community, such as the Indiana University Credit Union and Tithe Advisory Board.
Click HERE to visit her campaign website
Click HERE to visit her campaign Facebook page
Click HERE to view her responses to the Chamber's questionnaire
Click HERE to visit her campaign website
Click HERE to visit her campaign Facebook page
Click HERE to view her responses to the Chamber's questionnaire