|
This page provides information about candidates running for Monroe County Commissioner on Election Day, November 5th. By Indiana law, a county's Board of Commissioners has three members that represent different geographic districts of where they reside. Their constituency is not limited to their district. Voters within the entire county are able to elect a county commissioner no matter the district.
For 2024, Districts 2 and 3 are up for election. The incumbent for District 2 is Democrat Julie Thomas who is running unopposed. District 3 will see Democrat Jody Madeira face off against Republican Joe VanDeventer. |
County Commissioner District 2
Candidate: Julie Thomas (D) (i)
Commissioner Thomas has served as Monroe County Commissioner since December 2012, following a four-year term on the Monroe County Council (at-large). In her tenure on the Board of Commissioners, Dr. Thomas's key initiatives have included: energy efficiency, engaging Monroe County residents, and managing resources wisely. Julie is an educator (IUPUI, Southern New Hampshire University, and Franklin College) and an active volunteer in the community, currently at Planned Parenthood and Middle Way House. Julie serves as the Chair of the Monroe County Democratic Women's Caucus. She earned five degrees including a Ph.D. in Russian History from IU Bloomington. Julie has lived in Monroe County since 1993.
Link to campaign website
Chamber Question: What does economic development mean to you as a county commissioner candidate?
Answer: Economic development ensures the economic vitality of our entire community and our local economy relies on sound investments.
During the pandemic, we utilized county Food and Beverage tax funds to provide grants (not loans) to small businesses in our area – to ensure that they would continue to thrive after the pandemic. I supported the development of Profile Parkway (a brownfield redevelopment site) to provide space for industrial and commercial development. In addition, I voted in support of the tax abatement for NHanced Semiconductor, which will bring high-paying jobs into our community. One of the largest needs in our community is for childcare services. Utilizing American Rescue Plan Act funding, I supported a $1.2 M investment in providing childcare for the community’s workforce. Other infrastructure investments I have championed have also played a role in economic development – the broadband challenge, paving and drainage, rural housing repair, and protecting our drinking water supply. I have supported a diverse range of housing options, but without sewer access from the city, our opportunities will be limited for a time.
County Commissioner District 3
Candidate: Jody Madeira (D)
Professor Madeira joined the Indiana Law faculty in 2007. She is an internationally recognized expert in fertility fraud, bioethics, and law and medicine, with a focus on reproductive endocrinology. Her research has received profiled in national and international media, including the Netflix documentary “Our Father” (2022) to TED to investigative news programs like “20/20” (2019). Her research interests involve empirical research; the role of emotion in law; the sociology of law; law, medicine, and bioethics; and the Second Amendment.
Link to campaign page
Link to campaign Facebook page
Chamber Question: What does economic development mean to you as a county council candidate?
Answer: As a county commissioner (“CC”) candidate, economic development (“ED”) means collaborating with individuals and organizations to cultivate a community with thriving businesses, ample job opportunities, community partnerships, and quality-of-life/community well-being. ED is accomplished through strategic planning, communication, and transparency. Priorities are a chicken-and-egg question; everything is needed simultaneously.
Growing jobs requires supporting local businesses, attracting new industries, building workforce housing, and investing in workforce development programs with IvyTech and IU to ensure skilled labor.
Growing infrastructure means expanding transportation, broadband access, communication technologies, and utility access (sewer).
Growing business facilitates local businesses, entrepreneurship, and innovation by streamlining regulations and offering financing/technical assistance.
Growing community ensures ED benefits all, remedying socio-economic disparities, promoting affordable/diverse housing, and enhancing quality-of-life through healthcare, education, and recreation.
Growing sustainability involves managing growth’s environmental impacts, promoting renewable energy, conservation, and environmentally responsible practices.
Growing regional collaboration is critical; ED isn’t an isolated phenomenon; collaboration with neighboring communities, businesses, educational institutions, and non-profits is critical for growing together, increasing the collective ED impact.
We need to ensure Monroe County’s economy is vibrant, creative, and resilient to improving all residents’ standard-of-living, while retaining its unique character.
Link to campaign page
Link to campaign Facebook page
Chamber Question: What does economic development mean to you as a county council candidate?
Answer: As a county commissioner (“CC”) candidate, economic development (“ED”) means collaborating with individuals and organizations to cultivate a community with thriving businesses, ample job opportunities, community partnerships, and quality-of-life/community well-being. ED is accomplished through strategic planning, communication, and transparency. Priorities are a chicken-and-egg question; everything is needed simultaneously.
Growing jobs requires supporting local businesses, attracting new industries, building workforce housing, and investing in workforce development programs with IvyTech and IU to ensure skilled labor.
Growing infrastructure means expanding transportation, broadband access, communication technologies, and utility access (sewer).
Growing business facilitates local businesses, entrepreneurship, and innovation by streamlining regulations and offering financing/technical assistance.
Growing community ensures ED benefits all, remedying socio-economic disparities, promoting affordable/diverse housing, and enhancing quality-of-life through healthcare, education, and recreation.
Growing sustainability involves managing growth’s environmental impacts, promoting renewable energy, conservation, and environmentally responsible practices.
Growing regional collaboration is critical; ED isn’t an isolated phenomenon; collaboration with neighboring communities, businesses, educational institutions, and non-profits is critical for growing together, increasing the collective ED impact.
We need to ensure Monroe County’s economy is vibrant, creative, and resilient to improving all residents’ standard-of-living, while retaining its unique character.
Candidate: Joe VanDeventer (R)
Joe VanDeventer is a lifelong Monroe County resident and a graduate of the Bloomington High School North class of 1984. He has made a career in public service working for both the Monroe County Highway Department and the Bloomington Street Department. Joe currently serves as the Assistant Public Works Director and the Director of Street Operations for the City of Bloomington where he manages grant writing, budget creation and execution, daily operations, and long-term planning.
Joe and his wife Kathy have been married for 38 years. Together they have raised four children who attended MCCSC schools from kindergarten to graduation. Joe spent four years coaching football at Tri-North Middle School. In the Monroe County 4-H program Joe volunteered for twenty years as a club leader and served on the 4-H Board of Directors for six years. Joe also currently serves on the Farm Bureau Board of Directors.
Chamber Question: What does economic development look like to you as a county commissioner candidate?
Answer: We should promote Monroe County's access to important local transportation networks. Both I-69 and the Monroe County airport can provide substantial economic development opportunities in a wide range of national industry sectors. Lafayette and West Lafayette are doing this right now and I think we should learn from their programs as we implement our own. Our geographic location and existing infrastructure make Monroe County very marketable both within the Midwest and beyond. Better promotion and enhancement of these valuable resources can help set us apart as a great community for residents, visitors, and industry.
Citizens often have a pre-conceived idea of industrial factories and dirty smokestacks from a bygone era. Fortunately, the manufacturing environment has evolved to be much different in the 21st century. Modern industry has access to innovative technologies that allow for clean operation. Monroe County should welcome industries that will employ people from many different skilled trades and backgrounds and provide opportunities for our citizens that do not have advanced degrees to find rewarding careers. Having employers that can provide good careers will not only improve Monroe County's economy but will also help keep local people involved in our community rather than relocating in pursuit of employment.
Joe and his wife Kathy have been married for 38 years. Together they have raised four children who attended MCCSC schools from kindergarten to graduation. Joe spent four years coaching football at Tri-North Middle School. In the Monroe County 4-H program Joe volunteered for twenty years as a club leader and served on the 4-H Board of Directors for six years. Joe also currently serves on the Farm Bureau Board of Directors.
Chamber Question: What does economic development look like to you as a county commissioner candidate?
Answer: We should promote Monroe County's access to important local transportation networks. Both I-69 and the Monroe County airport can provide substantial economic development opportunities in a wide range of national industry sectors. Lafayette and West Lafayette are doing this right now and I think we should learn from their programs as we implement our own. Our geographic location and existing infrastructure make Monroe County very marketable both within the Midwest and beyond. Better promotion and enhancement of these valuable resources can help set us apart as a great community for residents, visitors, and industry.
Citizens often have a pre-conceived idea of industrial factories and dirty smokestacks from a bygone era. Fortunately, the manufacturing environment has evolved to be much different in the 21st century. Modern industry has access to innovative technologies that allow for clean operation. Monroe County should welcome industries that will employ people from many different skilled trades and backgrounds and provide opportunities for our citizens that do not have advanced degrees to find rewarding careers. Having employers that can provide good careers will not only improve Monroe County's economy but will also help keep local people involved in our community rather than relocating in pursuit of employment.
