The Democratic Women's Caucus endorsed the following candidates in the 2014 election:
Monroe County Offices
Valeri Haughton, Judge - Monroe Circuit Court VIII
Val received her BA and JD from the University of Iowa and had many years' experience in mental health counseling before she began to practice law. She served as Deputy Prosecutor in Marion County (1993-97) and in Monroe County (1997-2005), as a consultant to Indiana University (2005-06), and as Deputy Public Defender in Monroe County (2007-08). She has served on the Bloomington Human Rights Commission, the board of Bloomington's Community Justice and Mediation (CJAM), and the board of Monroe County Community Kitchen. She has been in office as judge since January 1, 2009 and has received excellent reviews from those who have interacted with her professionally.
Linda K. Robbins, Monroe County Clerk
Committed to fair and accurate elections, professionally serving the public and courts, and instituting secure records-management systems for the community, Linda Robbins is seeking re-election as Clerk of the Courts in Monroe County. Robbins has been a dynamic influence in several innovative projects, using local partnerships to address important public concerns, and ushered in the modernization of the office as well as elections. Linda Robbins effectively brought the Clerk's office into the 21st Century while taking care to preserve our delicate history and past records for future generations. Working together with key personnel from local, county, and state government, records in peril have been cleaned, inventoried, and prepared for long-term archives. Additionally, Robbins led efforts in the Justice system to digitize current records for easy, reliable retrieval for the public and for businesses.
Email: [email protected]
Website
Facebook
Judy Sharp, Monroe County Assessor
Judy served as Bloomington Township Assessor 1986-1991 and since 1991 has served as Monroe County Assessor. She was president of the Indaian County Assessor's Association, 1999-2002 and again 2004 to the present. In 2001 she was selected as Indiana County Assessor of the Year. Her community involvement has included service on the YMCA board of directors, the United Way board, the board of the American Red Cross, and the board of the Monroe County Cancer Society. She has been involved in Democratic campaigns in Monroe County for a long time, including Charlotte Zietlow's two campaigns for mayor.
Shelli Yoder, County Council, Dist. 1
Shelli Yoder was selected by caucus in January 2013 to fill the first district seat on the Monroe County Council. She is an instructor at the IU Kelley School of Business and is well-known in Bloomington as the 2012 Democratic candidate for US Congress in the 9th Congressional district. Yoder is focused on road safety and trail access in District 1, fair-wage jobs, and solutions to address homelessness.
Email: [email protected]
Website
Facebook
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Monroe County Township Offices
Michelle Bright, Benton Township Trustee
Michelle Bright was selected by caucus in March 2012 to fill the Benton Township Trustee position. She has been a Benton Township resident for over 17 years, and has volunteered for many youth and educational organizations during that time. She is an Accounting Associate at Indiana University and a part-time graduate student in Information Science. Bright is dedicated to improving the lives of Township residents by continuing to expand the Township Assistance program and securing long term funding for the Fire Department.
Email: [email protected]
Website
Facebook
Lillian Henegar, Bloomington Township Trustee
Lillian Henegar was selected by caucus in March 2013 to fill the Bloomington Township Trustee position. She moved back to her Indiana home in 2012 after several years in California, where she served as Director of Policy and Outreach for the California Redevelopment Association, a state association serving local government entities. Prior to that, she served the Governor's Commission on a Drug-Free Indiana in Indianapolis for 7 years. She has a long experience dealing with budgets in the public sector and holds a Master's in Public Administration.
Email: [email protected]
Website
Facebook
Mary McInerney, Benton Township Board
Mary is trained as a Funeral Director and is a member of the Funeral Consumers Alliance. She is self-employed as a gardener and caregiver for elderly residents in Monroe County. She is a first-time candidate who wants to step up and participate in local government, and she is particularly concerned with funding fire protection and maintaining the cemeteries in Benton Township. She sees this race as an opportunity to inform voters in Benton township and to get them involved with their local government. Mary is one of three Democrats running for the three board seats in Benton township. She plans to coordinate with the other two board candidates and with the trustee candidate, Michelle Bright.
Vicky Sorensen, Indian Creek Township Trustee
Vicky Sorensen is running for a second term as Indian Creek Township Trustee. She has shown a high level of competence and diligence in managing the township's funds, and she maintains an open-door policy to stay in touch with township residents. She has been a respected leader in dealing with the Indian Creek fire department, which is governed by a separate board, in a fair and professional manner. Her past experience includes program manager of the Monroe County Healthy Families program and educator at Highland Park elementary school.
Email: [email protected]
Website
Patricia Slabach, Washington Township Board
Pat holds a BA in Communications from IU and works as a systems consultant supporting higher education research administration systems here in Bloomington. She and her husband bought property in Washington township in 2007, built a house, and moved here in 2008. She worked for the Obama campaign in Plainfield, IN in 2008 and worked at IU 2009-2011. She is a first-time candidate who wants to make a positive difference in her community. She is the only Democrat running in Washington township, with three Republicans running against her for the three board seats. The trustee is also a Republican. She sees the impact of I-69 construction as the most important issue currently facing the township.
Barb Sturbaum, Perry Township Board
Barb Sturbaum is running for re-election to the Perry Township Board, a position she has held since 1987. She was born in Bloomington, and earned a degree in history and political science from IU as well as an LPN degree from Ivy Tech. She has a long history as a leader in social services, particularly medical service for low-income individuals, working 29 years with Planned Parenthood of Indiana. She currently manages a low-income family planning clinic (Futures Family Planning, funded through the Monroe County Government), and she loves the social service aspect of both her “day job” and her service on the Perry Township Advisory Board.
Contact: [email protected]
Facebook
Amy Swain, Indian Creek Township Board
Amy Swain is running for re-election to Indian Creek Township Board, where she is finishing her first term. She is a former EMT, and is therefore particularly concerned about issues of public safety such as emergency medical services and fire protection. She has worked for both for-profit as well as non-profit organizations, most recently as Director of Member Services for both branches of the Monroe County YMCA. Swain has served on numerous boards of directors, and has extensive experience with budgets. She has lived in Monroe County 36 years, 20 of which have been in Indian Creek.
Contact: [email protected]
Website
Meri Reinhold, Indian Creek Township Board
Meri Reinhold has served as executive director of Monroe County United Ministries for 30 years, leading this nonprofit to help needy families in our community. She was selected by Democratic Party caucus to fill a vacancy on the Indian Creek board three years ago, and has been working with board member Amy Swain and trustee Vicky Sorensen to plan for a very different financial future for the township. Many properties in Indian Creek township have been bought by the state for I-69, and there will be a significant impact on tax income. She is dedicated to helping the township through this difficult financial period, and her experience in non-profit management will help!
Contact: [email protected]
Website