The 2015 Elections ?

There was a municipal election in 2015.

You may have missed it. Most people did.

There are 42,000 people in West Lafayette. At the top of the ballot, Mayor Dennis, running unopposed, received 2,000 votes. Folks must have been happy with the Mayor’s performance over the last four years. Our city government was reconstructed by and for that 5%.

There are 7,000 people in West Lafayette’s District #2, which generally, much like the city’s population after annexation, moved south and west and added students. Running unopposed, I received 85 votes. That’s about 1%. Folks must have been REALLY happy with my work.

The biggest challenge in the election campaign was counting the votes. The Democrats complained from October 15^th until the eve of the election that people were getting the wrong ballots. Most often, voters in District #2 found themselves voting for Democrat Larry Leverenz in District #4. They were happy to do so; Larry needed their votes more than I did. But not until my wife got a bad ballot the Sunday before the election did the County Clerk take our complaints seriously. Then Christa Coffey and the election board had the gall to file a report with the state saying that the election had “no problems”. Seriously.

There were issues we might have talked about this election cycle; annexation, State St., and the location of city hall. I did in the League of Women Voter’s pre-election questionnaire. http://wldistrict2.blogspot.com/2015/09/league-of-women-voters-q-2015.html.

But it was no small feat to find the candidates responses on the League’s website. Local media was little help. It is much reduced over the last eight years. The city council meetings are off cable. There are no microphones from WBAA or WASK. There is no longer a “beat” reporter for the City of West Lafayette at what remains of the Journal and Courier. TV-18 is still at our West Lafayette council meetings, but the constant turnover there and elsewhere means no one really even knows what to ask elected officials.

Because of annexation a whole host of new players will appear in West Lafayette city government. There is a new clerk. A new CFO hired by the mayor. There are four new councilors. There will be a new chair at council meetings; the council president. The city changed.

There was a municipal election in 2015.