- All right. Welcome to the public forum for candidates for county clerk. I'm your moderator,
- Alana Stonebreaker, from Indiana University Libraries Bloomington and former county council member in
- Tippecano. This is hosted by the League of Women Voters of Bloomington Monroe County. We are pleased
- to have co-sponsors of IU Pace, Political and Civic Engagement,
- Kappa Tau Omega, Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Monroe County Branch NAACP, the Monroe County NOW, and
- the South Central Indiana Citizens' Climate Lobby. And let's just give our sponsors and co-sponsors
- a round of applause. Yeah, very important to have forums and so happy that we're able to have this.
- And also wanted to thank Katz
- who is up in the top bleachers recording our event. So after this event, you should be able to access
- the recording. I will take a moment to review the ground rules which each of the candidates have accepted.
- Candidates respond in turn to questions posed by me, the moderator, rotating which candidate will answer
- first. Responses are limited to 90 seconds unless I specify a different time.
- Audience members are invited to submit questions on the cards provided. And I believe that we want to
- raise the hands of the cards. So there's your card first, so raise your hand if you're interested in
- a card in terms of it. Just to give you an idea, as moderator I have about six questions and then we
- switch over to questions from the audience. Please raise your hand if you need a card or can direct
- one from the stage.
- Each candidate will then be asked to make a closing statement of one minute. The candidates have agreed
- to a civil discourse. I'd like to introduce our three candidates on the stage. There's Tanner Branham,
- Joe Davis, and Tree Martin Lewis. Tree Martin Lewis, excuse me. Lucas. Lucas, Lucas, oh my goodness.
- I get extra points already.
- That was the first question, no I'm just kidding. So Lucas, so I'm going to start the first, oh so we're
- gonna start with opening statements and we will go in order starting with Tanner. Great. Hi everyone,
- so I just wanna start off by thanking the League of Women Voters for hosting this event and thank you
- to Alana for moderating.
- My name is Tanner Branham and I'm running to be your next county clerk. I am experienced and eager to
- take on this role. I have been a lifelong resident of southern Indiana, lifelong Hoosier. I got my first
- look at what public service looks like through my father who was a, he was a public office holder so
- I spent my childhood going out knocking doors with him and getting involved with politics.
- And then I went off to college and that led to me to seek a degree in political science and legal studies.
- In my 20s, I spent a couple years interning and working at the prosecutor's office and the public defender's
- office in Lawrence County. After that, I substitute taught middle school and high school for a couple
- years while also managing the bookstore, Inkling's bookstore down in Lawrence County.
- For the past seven years I've been an employee at IU. I started out as a tech professional working in
- web services support for IU, so maintaining the IU's web presence. That gave me a lot of skills
- in technology. After that I went to the Office of Enrollment Management where I was an executive assistant.
- And I am now currently, I've left IU and I am the chief deputy of the county clerk's office.
- I've been a dedicated Democrat my entire life and I'm very excited to ensure that we have the best elections
- possible and protect our vote. Thank you Good evening, my name is Joe Davis and I wish to be your Monroe
- County clerk to make better of Bloomington and Monroe County to serve the people it is time to
- for service, a political service. Just let's get it done. I want to thank all of you, the League of
- Women Voters, those in attendance, the administration and staff who set up for this event tonight, and
- all of you at home who are watching on Facebook Live or watching later on CATS TV, the proceedings of
- tonight's forum.
- elections need to be trusted, accurate, and accessible for all. The other roles of the clerk, administration
- of the courts, producing and managing records, and serving the people are the other areas that we need
- to have the best we can have. And I thank you for listening to
- all of our candidacy statements and please join me in electing myself, Monroe County Clerk. Thank you.
- Good evening. I'd like to thank the League of Women Voters for putting this on tonight. My name is Tree
- Martin Lucas and I'm running for Monroe County Clerk. I'm not asking you to take
- Oh fudge. Can you hear me now? Very good. I'm not asking you to take a chance on me. I've done this
- work. I've served as both the election supervisor and chief deputy and at times I've done both jobs
- simultaneously. I know this office inside and out and at times
- I've carried the responsibility that would be beyond my years. The clerk's office isn't political. It's
- personal. Let me say that again. The clerk's office is not political. It's personal. It's about people.
- Every person who walks through those doors deserves respect, kindness, and professionalism. I believe strongly
- in voting and voter participation. Why? Because every voice matters. I've built strong relationships
- across our courts and our counties. And I know how to lead a team and get the job done. Experience matters.
- I'm ready on day one. I appreciate your support.
- All right, this first question, and we're gonna rotate who goes first, so this first question will be
- Joe. The County Clerk's webpage lists several functions. How do you anticipate allocating your time
- and effort among court case filings and status reports, traffic violations, child support, protective
- orders, record requests, and marriage licenses and elections? And there are 90 seconds for each question.
- I'm sorry, could you repeat that question? Oh yes, I'm happy to repeat, hang on. The county clerk's
- webpage lists several functions. How do you anticipate allocating your effort among court case filings
- and status reports, traffic violations, child support, protection orders, records requests,
- marriage licenses, and, one of the important ones for us, elections?
- I have the full faith and confidence of the existing staff in the voter registration office, in the
- general clerks area where people file, be it to the courts or for a marriage certificate or a death
- certificate is filed. Or if a person needs to address something, a civil matter or even a defense, a
- criminal defense matter,
- The clerk is the gatekeeper to the accurate filings of all of these documents and acknowledgments. The
- clerk's office already is staffed with people who are doing a great job, but together we will improve
- that job and we will provide even more clarity in what one must do in order to achieve their action
- goal. This is what I will do
- and my direct experience over the course of my life through being a practicing jurist, making many,
- many legal filings over the past three to four years full-time, my past experience as a contractor when
- I've had to seek redress through a property loan, lien, or getting married and eventually divorced.
- through the clerk's office. Please, together we will improve and build upon the best system that we
- can do as a community. Thank you. Tre, same question. When you look at the website, it is daunting.
- We do so much in the department. Not only do we have all the legal aspects, but throw on top of that
- elections.
- How the office runs now is very efficient. The employees are wonderful. We also have technology that
- helps us. We have technology such as Odyssey e-filing. It takes your, the person can file it home in
- their pajamas. If they're pro se, they don't need an attorney, they can file themselves. And then that
- filing goes to different areas of the department. If you're in small claims, you handle all the small
- claims issues.
- If you're in the divorce, you handle those. Protective orders, we've got that department too. The office
- runs smoothly because we have good people. My goal is to communicate with my people, but also listen
- to the people that come into the office. They're not in familiar territory, we are. And the main goal
- I have is to listen, and I mean truly listen,
- Sometimes you're so busy trying to figure out the answer that you don't listen. If I don't know the
- answer, I'll find it. My goal is simple, to treat everyone with respect, dignity, and professionalism.
- Tanner, same question. So yeah, the clerk's office has a lot of different responsibilities and I feel
- like I would handle those equally.
- Going back to the exact question, see, I would use my time equally among the various responsibilities
- within the office. I have a lot of great experience working at IU, doing project management and working
- with a variety of different departments to handle different issues. And that's the kind of experience
- I want to bring into the clerk's office. Awesome, thank you. All right, our next starting question is Tree.
- Do you support or oppose having vote centers in Monroe County? And what would you do to promote your
- position? Vote centers, I love them. For the simple reason, on provisional day, we have to cast out
- so many votes because people went to the wrong precinct. Can you vote? Absolutely you can vote. You
- can vote anywhere you show up. Will your vote count? No, it won't.
- the board will not accept your vote, and it's thrown out. If we had vote centers, all of those votes
- would matter. Everyone would still have that voice. I totally support vote centers. Now, to
- get it accomplished, we would have to get another party to agree with us. How do we get them to agree
- with us? Well, we don't shove things down people's throat. We listen.
- Oh, there's that word again, listen. Listen to what they have against vote centers and see if we can
- change it. Sometimes it may just be the location of the vote center. We have to meet everybody's needs,
- can we? I don't know, but we can make compromises, but we won't even know about these compromises unless
- we have those honest conversations with both sides' listenings, both sides' giving, and both sides'
- Compromising. Vote centers are a great thing. Location is a great thing. The cost on the county, it
- will be better for that too, because we don't have to buy all those ballots. All those ballots that
- we shred after the election. So it's cost saving too in the long term. Do I have the money in equipment?
- Yes, we do. Tanner, same question.
- Yes, I am an extremely strong supporter of vote centers. When we had the vote center referendum last
- year, I left public comment to the elections board in support of vote centers. I've been a strong advocate
- for vote centers in the county. As for bringing them to the county, it's all about collaboration and
- compromise, as Tree just said. Unfortunately, we live in a Republican-dominated state. We do have an
- elections board that has
- a Republican member, and we need to work with them in order to bring vote centers to the county. Joe,
- same question. I agree with my colleagues. I think that vote centers are a way of the future, but it
- comes down to a question of convenience versus efficiency. If they're vote centers, that probably means
- that it's going to be necessary to close some of the existing precincts
- Some of those are very disparate from the center of Blooming or the center of Monroe County.
- So those folks, those very rural locations, they will need to be able to have other convenient means
- of getting registered to vote or voting on the ballot. That means an increased outreach with mail-in
- voting. That means trying to enable the most
- opportunity for early voting so that people can early vote when they come into Bloomington.
- So vote centers, yes, but we have to consider that with vote centers, probably they'll be closing the
- closing of many of our more rural precincts. And that is hard on the elderly. It's hard on the student
- who might be going to Ivy Tech
- who lives out almost at the reaches of one of our neighboring counties. So let's continue to have this
- discussion, make sure that it's transparent, and bring the most logical way for us to have everyone
- be able to access the ballot equally with equity. Thank you very much.
- Next question, I think we're starting next with Tanner. Okay, so this position is a department head
- who manages a staff of people. What experiences do you bring to that part of the role and what is your
- approach and philosophy to managing people? Yeah, so I've been very lucky throughout my career to have
- a lot of really great managers and I hope to just bring their spirit to the office.
- I also have a bit of experience managing people myself. I've been a campaign manager here locally, so
- I've had a lot of experience managing volunteers for multiple campaigns. I also, as I mentioned earlier,
- I worked briefly as a manager of a small bookstore, which is a great experience, you know. So I have
- a lot of experience managing people there. And then during my time at IU, in the Office of Enrollment
- Management, I was not exactly a manager,
- I was an executive assistant for someone who was a manager and I worked very closely with them with
- managing their multiple groups and departments. So yeah, I bring a lot of good management experience
- and I just wanna bring a spirit of collaboration and understanding to the office to work with my colleagues.
- Thank you, Joe, same question. Growing up,
- I have had to manage farm operations. In my longest career as a natural builder, a designer and builder,
- I needed to manage my crews and bring on new crews often seasonally. And the thing that I have learned
- over all these years is that people have their own strength and confidence in their abilities and if
- one fosters
- independence and gives them some leeway such that they can be the captain to make decisions appropriate
- to them but verified by myself, then I can guarantee a very successful team, a collaborative team where
- everyone looks to push the team in general towards success. I see no reason
- to believe that that's not already in existence in our Monroe County clerk operations. I believe though,
- however, that there is always opportunity for improvement. And that means from the newest clerk who
- was just hired on and in training to the most experienced other staff members, everyone should be feel
- free to make
- contact with the boss and My door will always be open because that's what is necessary for the best
- of Service to the people. Thank you sure you same question Supervising of people does it come naturally?
- I think it does when I was chief deputy I supervised about 40 people in the office and
- as election supervisor during the election cycle, that number would rise from 250 to 300. Did I have
- a personal relationship with the 300? No, I did not. But they knew what they could expect from me. I
- had their backs. When that phone rang, I answered it. When they had a problem, I sought a solution.
- People are not disposable. If they have a bad day, we all have bad days, don't we?
- And we don't do our jobs as wonderfully as we did the day before. And that's understandable.
- If it's a habit, it's one thing. If it's standard procedure, it's another. Corrective training is the
- answer. Not firing someone. When someone walks out that door, you've invested time in them, you've invested
- money in them, there goes knowledge. Institutional,
- Knowledge. You can't replace institutional knowledge. So if you have a problem with an employee, you
- speak to that employee. You make a plan for corrective training. You communicate. You might find out
- that the person hates their job and would rather do protective orders. Then that's where you should
- move them. Everyone has a personality. Everyone has a life. Work is only part of that life. There has
- to be a balance between work and home.
- And I think Joe is next. And the question that we have is one submitted from the audience that I wanted
- to put in here, which is, do you see it as the clerk's role to increase voter registration and voter
- turnout? And if so, how would you do this? Do you need me to repeat it? Yeah, Joe. Could you please
- repeat it? Yeah. Do you see it as the clerk's role to increase voter registration and voter turnout?
- And if so, how would you do this? Yes.
- It is the clerk's role to provide accessibility. However, the clerk has to operate within the bounds
- of statutory and rule of law when it comes to the election rules in the state of Indiana.
- Now, some of these things are constantly changing. That means that the clerk needs to be abreast of
- what lawsuits are happening and where they might be going because when they take effect, one must be
- able to turn on a dime. Democracy requires the maximum accessibility to every voter. That is where the
- power is that
- can unlock that individual and turn them from a victim who thinks that they have no control over their
- life to the point where they are powerful. And maybe it starts with only one vote, but that could be
- the launch pad for them to do other things. And all of a sudden, if we become a community of powerful
- people, then we can change our community for the better
- much more easily because especially when this happens, partisan politics all fall away because it's
- who you, is your neighbor, your friend, and your family member that is important. Thank you very much.
- All right, Trudy, next question. Same question. This question matters a lot to me, and I've put some
- research in it, so I'm gonna tell you what I feel.
- I believe the clerk's office plays a critical role in making voting accessible while always remaining
- nonpartisan. There's that word again, nonpartisan. And if we're serious about strengthening voter engagement,
- we have to focus on four things. Clear information, accessibility, smart technology, and real community
- outreach. First, engagement starts with understanding.
- Voters deserve clear, consistent information about registration deadlines, early voting, and where to
- vote. And we have to do a better job of reaching younger people, meeting them in schools and on the
- digital platforms they use every day. Second, accessibility matters. Voting location and hours must
- be convenient, well publicized, and supported by real people
- who can answer questions and help voters when they need it. Third, technology should make things easier,
- not harder. I will continue improving online tools so voters can quickly check their registrations,
- understand their options, and feel confident walking into the process. And finally, true engagement.
- What does that mean? It means showing up, partnering with schools,
- local offices and community organizations. Thanks. Tanner, same question. Yeah. Yes. Getting people
- registered to vote and to participate in our electoral process is something I'm deeply passionate about.
- I am currently the chair of the Monroe County Young Democrats. And in that role, I've been tabling at
- every possible event we can to get young people engaged with politics and registered to vote.
- So I'm very passionate about that. And in the office, I hope to do a lot more voter outreach, especially
- using modern tools, modern technology. Social media, obviously, that's where people are, and that's
- how you have to reach them these days if you want to get people involved. So yeah, thank you.
- Thank you all. My next question is going to be for Tree. And the question kind of relates to that same question.
- How will you approach ethics, transparency, and conflicts of interest so people can trust the decisions
- that you make? Let me know if you need me to repeat that. Ethics. That's a big word in itself with a
- lot of meaning. I think I'm a very ethical person, and I hope that my life that I've lived has shown
- of my ethics. When I go into the office, I view it as nonpartisan.
- There's that word again. Meaning everybody can walk in and we help everybody regardless of their party
- affiliation. Conflict of interest. At this time there is no conflict of interest with me. I believe
- that the office is nonpartisan. People are people wherever they go. If you walk in that door I'm gonna
- help you. Try to meet your need. Answer your questions. Listen to your concerns.
- and provide help if I need to. There's a big difference between giving legal advice and trying to steer
- people in the right direction. The clerk's office cannot give legal advice, but we can steer them in
- the right directions. I can give them the number to Middle Way House. I can give them the number to
- the shelter, the Shalom Center. I can suggest the rise. So ethics, integrity,
- Conflict of interest, I'm good with those. Thank you. All right, so we loop over to Tanner, and I'm
- gonna repeat the question again in terms of it. How will you approach ethics, transparency, and conflicts
- of interest so people can trust the decisions you make? Well, I of course wanna bring a non-partisan
- attitude to the office. I wanna work bipartisan with our
- you know, Republicans, I want them to feel welcome in the office. I want to treat my personal political
- views as separate, right? Tanner, the political activist, the campaign manager is different from Tanner,
- the clerk's employee, the clerk, potential future clerk. So yeah, that's how I want to approach the
- office and ensure that there is no ethical concerns there.
- Transparency, I want the office to be as transparent as possible. I want our data to be accessible online,
- easy for people to find whenever they need it. Thank you. Joe, same question. When it comes to gaining
- the trust of the public, it is based on the ethics of the office, the office staff,
- the ability for the office to be transparent in how they conduct their role according to the law, and
- should there ever be any sort of problem or issue that it's quickly revealed and there are measures
- taken to correct that oversight or whatever the issue might be. That's how one gains trust, the trust
- of their peers. So obviously,
- We know that the office is all about service. There is no partisanship at all that should be found there,
- even though some of the staff have to be Republican or they have to be Democrat in order to be able
- to check each other in the voter registration office where people visit the people who come in to be
- candidates or register to vote. There can be always improvements
- and tools that can be created to help individuals better understand what their options are. And these
- self-help tools can help that individual decide for themselves. It doesn't mean that the clerk is providing
- legal advice. Providing the many options that are available so people can serve themselves is always
- the way that we should be heading toward a better, efficient,
- system for us all. Thank you. All right. My next question is for Tanner in terms of it. And it is, what
- is your top priority to support women, LGBTQ plus folks, and marginalized genders in Monroe County?
- Great. So for protecting LGBTQ folks, continuing to be an advocate for LGBTQ rights, and particularly
- same sex marriage, and respectively, clerk's office, right?
- Of course, a lot of that is dependent on state law, state and federal law, but remaining to be compliant
- with those and continuing to support same-sex marriage is top priority. Supporting women, I have been
- very lucky to have so many amazing women that I've worked with throughout my career and in the office.
- There are so many amazing women who work there and I want to continue to support those employees
- in the office. Also doing a lot more voter outreach to those communities. So as I had said previously,
- in my personal capacity camp tabled at different events throughout the county and just encouraging voter
- registration among those groups to support them. Thank you. I'm just going to pause and say, if you
- have any questions, we're nearly to the end of our questions. So put your hand up high.
- Ralph or someone else can come and get them if you have them in terms of it. So Joe, same question.
- And would you mind repeating that again? Oh yeah. What is your top priority to support women, LGBTQ
- plus folks and marginalized genders in Monroe County? My top priority to support women, the LGBTQ community
- and other minorities
- Be they trans or even they just be black and brown people who are very vulnerable these days in our
- community. One of those ways to support them is to keep the clerk's office and the courts and the jail
- downtown where they belong. They have been here for over 100 years ever since the inception of Monroe County.
- It needs to stay here. This is where the population center is. This is where people's, the groups that
- serve the communities who need the most assistance are located. Moving the jail and the courts and the
- clerk's office out to the North Park area makes no sense whatsoever. Providing more free legal, Indiana
- free legal help kiosks around
- the city of Bloomington besides just the public library and the Charlotte T. Zitlow Justice Center would
- help. We need to have some of these in other towns and also in the courthouse itself and city hall here
- in Bloomington. People can help themselves. They just need to be able to see some tools that can show them
- The way forward, that is well how I will help the women, the LGBT community and those minorities that
- need the best support here in town. Thank you. Same question. My top priority for women is basically
- keep marching forward. We've gained ground, but there's more to do. As for the LGBTQ plus community,
- My advice is if you need someone to stand with you, I will. If you want to get married, I do those marriages.
- Why? Because everybody has a life. Everybody needs to be a part of our society. We can't branch off
- into different sections of the world. We have to work together. We have to be a part of the team. I
- don't like how we always find differences in each other. I would rather we find what we have in common.
- Common ground so we can discuss things and we can work on things together. Collaboration, that's wonderful.
- If the county opens back up and there would be jobs again, because you know we're in a freeze right
- now, I would hire anyone that applied. If they could do the job and they show up for work, we've got
- a good start. Thank you. So this next question is for Joe.
- Under current laws, ballots cast during early voting cannot be scanned until election day. Do you think
- earlier scanning should be allowed, and what concerns or benefits might this introduce? And for this
- one, I'm just going to give people a minute, because I think it's a little bit more straightforward
- of a question. So, okay, go ahead. Oh, yeah, I can totally, I guess it's not a straightforward question.
- Under current laws, ballots cast during early voting cannot be scanned until election day. Do you think
- earlier scanning should be allowed, and what concerns or benefits might this introduce? So earlier scanning
- of early voting ballots and mail-in ballots. My position on the scanning of early voting ballots is
- no way, no how,
- scan them on election day. There are too many risks. If there was scanning before that time, it puts
- the anonymous secret ballot component at risk. People are supposed to be able to cast their ballot without
- anyone else knowing who they have cast their, you know,
- office holder ballot choices. It's important that everybody feel confident that their vote is accurate,
- but yet it must remain secret. Otherwise, we stand a chance of losing the public's trust. Just think
- how often we get information that our data has been compromised. We must protect this at all costs.
- Thank you. So Tre, same question. And I'm just going to read it. Under current laws, ballots cast during
- early voting cannot be scanned until election day. Do you think earlier scanning should be allowed?
- And what benefit and concerns might this introduce? OK. I'm almost squirming to answer this question.
- I've worked early voting. I do believe we should scan early. There is no way to connect the ballot to
- the voter. They walk up to the scanner, and they put it in.
- Boom, it's gone. There's 100 other ballots there. I don't know which one is yours. It's a great thing.
- On election day, all we have to do is pull that V drive, and that's what it's called, a V drive, put
- it into tally, and then the ballot is totaled. It's not totaled when it is put into the scanner. That
- doesn't take place until we put it into a system called tally. Oh, the dead voter law. How could we
- get around that?
- Your vote doesn't count if you vote early and you die on the way home. Your vote only counts on election
- day. So what do we do about that? Oh, we can go in and do a, what's the word? A trunfication of the
- number. I don't know how you voted, but I can find your ballot and I don't know, I can't see it,
- but I could actually take that ballot out of the V drive. So that vote is not counted. Dead voter laws.
- You have to live in the state of Indiana to vote. And if you're dead, you're not living. I can't take
- credit for that. Someone told me that and it was like, oh, it's that light bulb moment. I understood.
- So am I in favor of early voting scanning? Absolutely, I am.
- All right, let's move on to Tanner now. I would request it, yeah. So yeah, I would say that I would
- support it, yes, as well. It is an issue that I want to do more research on, just on kind of the pros
- and cons. Obviously, the big pro is that we get the election results faster, which who can argue with
- that, right? We get to count votes faster. So yeah, I think overall, I would support it. Awesome. So
- a question from the audience, and I think
- Who are we at? Oh, we're at Tree. So why did you feel the need to run for county clerk? And is there
- a specific opportunity or problem that we need to address that motivated you? My decision to run for
- the clerk comes from something simple but powerful. I have a deep commitment to public service and a
- belief that experience accuracy and integrity truly matter.
- Public service is not new to me. It's who I am. It's been the center of my career and my connection
- to the community. I'm running for clerk because this office matters. It's essential to making sure our
- courts run efficiently, transparently, and correctly every single day. I've spent years working inside
- the systems that make Monroe County move. 12 years at the Monroe County Sheriff's Office,
- in the administration side and eight years in the clerk's office as the election supervisor and the
- chief deputy. I've done the work. I've seen firsthand how critical organization is, communication and
- attention to detail. We have to earn and keep the public trust. What I would change or make better,
- communications within our department and the courts. That relationship is hand and glove.
- When we look good, they look good. When they look good, we look good. If we get along, we talk, we know
- what's going on, we can do a better job for our community. And that's what it's all about, making our
- community a better place. Thank you. So same question to Tanner. Why did you feel the need to run and
- is there a specific opportunity or problem that we need to address? Yeah.
- I decided, well, as I started out saying earlier, I've just kind of always been involved with public
- service, right? I saw public service firsthand through my dad, and that kind of just always felt like
- a natural path to me to seek public service. I've been a dedicated member of our Democratic Party, and
- I've always been a little back and forth on whether I wanted to run for office myself, but back in last
- summer, Nicole, our current clerk, is of course term-limited, and we needed somebody to run for clerk,
- I was asking around the party and there was just nobody else who really seemed like they were gonna
- step up. And so I thought, you know, I have a background that fits this role. I've been passionate about
- public service. I think it's finally time that maybe I give it a shot and try running for office.
- And so, you know, as I said earlier, I also, you know, I've been very passionate about like bringing
- vote centers to the county and that's something I really wanna get done in the office. So yeah, that's
- why I'm running, hopefully to serve my community and hopefully bring vote centers to the county.
- So thank you.
- Joe, same question, why did you feel the need to run and is there a specific opportunity or problem
- we need to address? Friends, the reason that I am running for Monroe County Clerk is because of the
- core values that I was taught growing up on the farm in our small rural community. All the farm families
- we hung out with,
- just believed in serving each other. And so it comes naturally. My mom was a trustee for our township
- for over 40 years. This is just what people do when they care about each other. Why Monroe County Clerk?
- Well, honestly, when I first registered for office as a candidate, I registered for Monroe County Council
- District 2.
- But then I saw that clerk was also too a position that was going to be open. And I thought about it
- and I realized I truly have a depth of experience of interacting with the clerk's office as a user,
- as a client, as a community member. And I have seen ways in which the interaction between the courts
- and the clerk's office can be improved. I personally have experienced
- degradation of evidence because of mistakes that have happened between that relationship. And now I
- have to dig myself out of a matter before the appellate court which was unnecessary. But that is why
- I know that I will be able to provide better tools to the existing system and I thank you.
- All right, this is gonna be my final question before closing statement. And since we've been talking
- about coordination with the courts, it's about the courts. So what do you believe is the, what do you
- believe, sorry, how do you believe it's important to work in coordination with other offices? And what
- do you do to help facilitate the relationship with those offices, i.e. the courts? And then the second
- part about this is,
- which I think is related, but if it's not, I'm very sorry. How would you handle petitions for orders
- of protection, meaning domestic violence in terms of it? And I'm gonna start with, I think we start
- with Tanner. So hey, so I've been, I have a lot of experience collaborating with different departments
- at IU. That's kind of the energy that I wanna bring to the office, right? I wanna collaborate with the
- different,
- courts, all of their offices and ensure that everybody feels heard, that we're not like, you know, taking
- a stern stance and saying my way or the highway to all these other people, right? We want to
- work collaboratively. We're all on the same team. We're all trying to just, you know, accomplish our
- given responsibilities.
- Can you repeat that second part? The second? All right, so good working relationship with those offices
- is the first part. And then the third part is, how would you handle petitions for orders of protection?
- How would I handle petitions for orders of protection? I'm going to say that that's an issue I need
- to look more into. Again, I would just kind of bring that collaborative energy and work with my fellow
- colleagues to accomplish those. Thank you. Joe, same question.
- Collaboration is what makes work get done. Many hands make light work. I can speak to you specifically
- about one instance in which I was seeking a protective order from an unhoused gentleman who was repeatedly
- trespassing and vandalizing my front porch and my curiosities. Eventually, the gentleman was caught.
- I filed for an order of protection with the protective order project in the clerk's office. And their
- assistance was so valuable to help me get this PO filed. Unfortunately, the gentleman could not be found,
- so he could not be served. And therefore, my time was running out to be able to have the court issue
- this order of protection. On the 31st day,
- One day after the order or the process expired, the gentleman was picked up by BPD. I immediately got
- a call from the victim assistance staff member and she told me that he was shortly to be arraigned before
- the judge. And so I hurriedly ran down to the clerk's office and I filed a notice with the court to
- ensure that
- that he would be able to be served with this PO. And it was able to happen because of the collaboration
- that took place. And that is what I'm talking about. That is how justice is served. Thank you. Chi,
- same question. Why do you believe it is important to work in coordination with other offices? And how
- would you help facilitate a good working relationship with specifically the courts? And then the second,
- The second kind of question is how would you handle petitions for orders of protection, which I'm gonna
- look at my judges in the room and I think the two are connected. So working with the courts is imperative
- with the clerk's office. We are handing love. If we don't function, they don't function. Think of the
- clerk's office as the hub and the courts going out as the wheel. It starts with us, but it goes out.
- In the spring of 2026, which is now,
- The state is taking over Odyssey. It goes from Odyssey e-filing to Odyssey IN filing. This is supposed
- to be easier for the pro se litigants to file and also easier for them to look it up on their iPhone
- or their iPad. And I'm gonna brag on our courts. Our courts now send out text message reminders. Mind blown.
- I don't know about you, but I would never make my dental appointments if it wasn't for text reminders.
- They send out the text message that says when your court date is. It's a reminder. They are the pilot
- county. As for protective orders, our office does a fabulous job. We have two dedicated women that listen,
- understand, and help the victim through the process. Then from us, it goes to the judges. The judges
- are phenomenal.
- They keep everything confidential, they do the best that they can in the situation, and they give the
- help that the person needs. In that respect, we are so blessed to live in Monroe County. We are a county
- that cares. Thank you. All right, thank you everyone, and thank you everyone for your questions. We're
- gonna now move into a closing statement, and we are gonna start with Joe.
- Thank you all for coming tonight and listening to our respective messages. I believe that each of us
- would do a fantastic job as a Monroe County clerk. The question is, do we want to have our systems improved?
- Every one of us is going to be operating from day one getting the job done because we're just all those
- type of individuals where we're going to prepare.
- and we are going to hit the ground running. So the question becomes, who will bring you the
- pro se individual, the individual who's not an attorney, the ability to find your power, to take your
- action, to get it filed? I am the one who is going to bring that to you. And this will ensure that not only
- We find the best clerk interconnection between our government, but also to our best service for all
- the people. Vote Joe Davis for Monroe County Clerk. Thank you. Tree was next for closing statements.
- I'm next? Yeah. We can barely hear you on this end. Oh, I'm so sorry. I'll be more in the microphone. OK.
- I've done the job. I understand the responsibility and I know what it takes to keep this office running
- smoothly for our courts, for our voters and our community. I'm ready to step in and lead from day one,
- not with a learning curve, but with experience, steady leadership and a commitment to doing the work
- the right way.
- Monroe County deserves a clerk with dedication, transparency, and a clear vision for the future. And
- I'm ready to deliver that every single day. This office is elected for a purpose. Not appointed, the
- clerk is elected. And why is that? Because I won't have a boss to have to reckon with. My boss is the
- citizens of Monroe County, and that's why it's elected.
- I would be honored to earn your vote, your trust, and the opportunity to serve. Again, my name is Tree
- Martin Lucas, and I'm running for clerk. All right. Thank you all so much for coming out tonight. I'm
- running for clerk because I am a qualified individual. I've been passionate, a passionate supporter
- of our Democratic Party, and I will be an amazing clerk for the county.
- I am currently the chief deputy clerk in the office. So I am currently doing the job and I'll be able
- to ensure that there'll be a smooth transition if I am to be your next clerk. I have a lot of experience
- working with technology and technology is more important now than ever. And that's kind of experience
- that we need in the clerk's office. So I hope that you will support me to be your next clerk and I hope
- that I can win your vote for Tana Branham for clerk. Thank you very much.
- All right, so first let's thank all the candidates for a lively discussion. Okay, on behalf of the forum
- sponsors, remember to vote. Election day is Tuesday, May 5th. Early voting begins Tuesday, April 7th.
- And for those that are sticking around, we'll next be doing our county prosecutor. And I'm just gonna
- say that we're gonna start that at
- 703, so we're gonna give us 10 minutes in between. So 703 is when we're gonna start that. So thank you
- everybody for coming. This forum is hosted by the League of Women Voters of Monroe County and we're
- also pleased to have our co-sponsors IU Pace, Kappa Tau Omega, Chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha. Monroe County
- Monroe County Branch NAACP, Monroe County NOW, and the South Central Indiana Citizens' Climate Lobby.
- And thanks to CATS for recording the event. And let's give our sponsors and co-sponsors a round of applause.
- I'm just gonna go through the ground rules, which the candidates have accepted.
- Each candidate has one minute to make an opening statement. Candidates respond in turn to questions
- posed by me, the moderator, rotating which candidate will answer first. Responses are limited to 90
- seconds unless I specify a different time. Audience members are invited to submit questions on the cards
- provided, and we have some cards over here in terms of it. We have, like I said, seven questions prepared today.
- Each candidate will then be asked to make a closing statement and the candidates have agreed to a civil
- discourse. So I'd like to introduce our two candidates, Benjamin T. Arianton and Erica Oliphant in terms
- of it. And I just really give them a round of applause. This is hard, for sure. And so without further
- ado, we're going to start with opening statements starting with
- Ben. Good evening. I want to start out by commending prosecutor Erica Oliphant for breaking barriers.
- Breaking barriers matters and her election as the first woman to hold the office as the elected prosecutor
- is an important milestone. And it's wonderful that she's going to be a senior prosecutor having served
- two terms. But if elected.
- I will be your first black prosecutor in Monroe County and only the third ever black person elected
- as your chief law enforcement officer for the county. For a black person to serve as a chief law enforcement
- officer in a judicial district carries profound weight. Considering the darkest chapters of our nation's history,
- and the long struggle for equal justice in the law. Every single time we see a Confederate flag flying
- in 2026. But stepping into this role isn't just about history, it's about serving our future. Your time's
- up. And I thank you for considering voting for me. Awesome. Erica. Thank you.
- Thank you to our forum hosts and to our moderator, Alana Stonebreaker, today. I appreciate the time.
- My name is Erica Oliphant, and I am running for re-election as your prosecuting attorney. I have proven
- my dedication since my election in 2018 to community service, compassionate justice, and constitutional values.
- My activities in office have earned awards, including the 2019 Haynes Turner Peacemaker Award from CGM,
- the 2022 Women Excel Bloomington Award from the Chamber of Commerce, and the 2023 John L. Kraus Award
- for Public Policy Innovation from IU's Public Policy Institute.
- If retained in office, I will continue to partner with organizations who support those with mental health,
- substance use, housing, and other critical needs, continue to expand diversion opportunities, and dedicate
- most of our resources to those repeat and violent offenders who cause the most harm in our community.
- Please vote for me in the Democratic primary on May 5th. Thank you both. Let's give them a round of applause.
- All right, so my first question is for Erica. How should our prosecutor prioritize potential cases to
- take to trial? So we tend to take cases to trial when we can't come to a plea agreement. 97 some percent
- of our cases are resolved by plea agreement. But traditionally, those who go to trial are those who
- have the least to lose.
- Those tend to be homicides, child molests, those very serious felonies that...
- that really did a lot of harm in our community. And so you have to make sure that deputy prosecutors
- have those trial skills. I have personally tried every kind of case from the lowest misdemeanor through
- murder, including a couple of murders and one attempted murder as the elected prosecuting attorney.
- And I can tell you it's no small feat in today's
- You know, in today's world, we have about 60 hours of digital evidence in about every major felony case.
- And so it's a lot to manage. And you want to make sure that we have the skills necessary to be able
- to bring those over the finish line.
- When we're talking about less serious offenses such as possession of drugs or nuisance crimes like criminal
- trespass, it's much better to work with community partners on diversion efforts to try to connect people
- with resources that they need so that they don't come back into the criminal justice system.
- I have a lot of experience and education in reducing recidivism, and I like to make evidence-based decisions.
- Thank you. Ben, same question. Could you repeat the question, please? Yeah. How should our prosecutor
- prioritize potential cases to take to trial? Thank you. The prosecutor should prioritize violent cases
- to take to trial. The answer is abundantly clear.
- Violence belongs in prison and does not belong in our community. And as the proud father of a four-year-old,
- child violence is particularly appalling. And make no mistake, by electing me, you will be electing
- a very tough prosecutor when it comes to crime, when it comes to violence in our community. When I learn
- about the prosecutor's office taking what would appear to be
- a lenient stance of someone charged with having material that is harmful to children, I get very concerned.
- I want the position of the state to be tough when it comes to that type of material. And so that is
- why I implore you to elect a prosecutor who is going to take the violent cases to trial. We will be
- actually going to jury trial and not dancing around.
- We will not be delaying cases. And so that's why it's important that we prioritize violence. And that's
- why it's my platform. Thank you. All right, so this next question, we are starting with Ben. What are
- the potential consequences of the recent transfer of the state's adult protective services from prosecuting
- attorneys to a state contract with PCG Indiana Incorporated?
- There's a lot of potential harm in the fact that adult protective services housed within the Monroe
- County Prosecutor's Office allows us to have our own control and our own imprint on what we determine
- is going to be abuse of elderly folks and adults that need protection. So when we have a super majority
- Republican state that we currently live in is very alarming and it's concerning that we're going to farm out
- some of our most vulnerable community members. It's really disheartening and it's concerning to me.
- However, there are only limits on what we can do. And so as your prosecutor, I'm going to stand for
- what's right and to do the best that I can to serve the people in the community of Monroe County.
- Thank you. Would you like me to repeat it?
- I think I've got it, thank you. We did have adult protective services in 17 different prosecutor's offices
- across the state of Indiana up until July of last year. Monroe County was a hub and we served Morgan
- County and Owen County in addition to Morgan County. I was really heartbroken when the state of Indiana
- elected to take the lowest bidder to provide this vital service to our elder community.
- Essentially, they have now broken it down. We had 17 hubs that serve the state of Indiana. Now we have
- five regions. I'm very concerned that doing so means that it is less personal, that there aren't people.
- We had investigators that went to people's houses and laid eyes on people when there were reports of
- endangered adults to make sure that they were okay, that they had supports, food,
- shelter, electricity, things like that and that their emergency needs were met.
- and then provided more thorough investigations. And we had, you know, as prosecutor's offices, we have
- attorneys on staff by nature of our work. And so we were able to quickly file emergency protective orders
- for endangered adults, and we were able to file guardianships where necessary. And in this privatized
- situation, they don't have attorneys on staff. So I'm really not sure how they're handling some of those
- legal matters nowadays. But I am gravely concerned that our endangered
- are not being served as well as they were by prosecutors, but I hope that I'm proven to be wrong about
- that. So then my next question is for Erica, and I'm gonna choose one from the audience to mix it up.
- What can be done to improve protecting all victims of domestic violence cases? So the question is, what
- can be done to improve protecting all victims of domestic violence cases?
- Thank you. So a few years ago, actually I think it was during my first term, we were able to get additional
- Victims of Crime Act funds for our victim assistance program, adding an additional victim assistance.
- We now have a total of four. And the reason we did that is so that we would have more people in our
- office who can meet with victims, make referrals to outside services such as
- middle way house or sometimes even beacons, sometimes food pantries, sometimes protective order project
- or POAP. And so we have those, somebody who can really establish a good rapport with victims, make sure
- that they're informed of the rights of the process and what's going on in their cases.
- We do also belong to the Domestic Violence, Monroe County Domestic Violence Coalition. We attend meetings
- and collaborate with others who serve this population here in Monroe County, working to make sure that
- our local advocates are well trained, that they understand how the criminal justice system works, and
- that they also understand the civil remedies that are available to them to help protect them from violence.
- Thank you.
- I have the question. I appreciate it. Thank you. So what can be done to protect victims is to increase
- victim services, make it far more robust by increasing advocating for grants to victim of crime at VOCA
- to increase federal funding to assist victims. We need to
- ensure that victims know that the Monroe County Prosecutor's Office is going to stand for you and not
- allow the ball to get dropped. And then you're going to have a feeling that we don't protect victims.
- So what that's going to take is a whole shift in the system. What we need to do is be active when it
- comes to protecting victims of domestic violence. And how we do that is assigning a prosecutor that's
- going to make sure that the victim is addressed, talked to, and made heard.
- And we do that by ensuring that the victim has access to the needs that they need by providing them
- with great resources. And we can do that by being a better prosecutor's office that works toward helping
- victims and not allowing things to slip through the cracks by missing deadlines and filing deadlines.
- It's super important that we work to help victims.
- Because victims need to know that they're not gonna be left alone, they're not gonna be fallen behind,
- and they're gonna be helped. And that's why I wanna serve as your prosecutor. Thank you. So our next
- question is going to be about child support. And so the next, so this question for Ben.
- How is the prosecutor's office involved in child support, and how do you see collaborations with other
- agencies in this work? So the prosecutor's, and I'm sorry, is this for us or for me? That's for you.
- The prosecutor's office has a 4D agency called the 4D prosecutor's office, which handles child support.
- It's an entire division within the prosecutor's office, which has its own separate deputy prosecutors
- that prosecute child support. It's imperative that we help parents
- get child support. Child support works to make sure that children get the support that they need so
- that children can thrive. Children are our future. And so we need to make sure that child support is
- paid, that parents that have been awarded child support have a prosecutor's office that's willing to
- ensure that child support payments are made. And so we're going to work with other agencies in the state
- to make sure that child support is paid
- And we will make sure that our Child Support 40 office is robust and works collaboratively with the
- community to ensure that child support payments are made to the parents that need them so that the children
- can get the support that they need. Thank you.
- Thank you. Yep. So the child support division in my office, as I mentioned, did win the 2019 Haynes
- Turner Peacemaker Award, and part of that was because of a cultural shift. Traditionally, in child support,
- you know, the theory was you get the highest possible child support order, and then you really go after it hard.
- But we have found over time that when the custodial parent and the non-custodial parent feel that the
- order is fair, that we have greater compliance. And not only that, we have better joint partnership
- in parenting those children. So we have used a lot of services from Centerstone for those parents whose
- barrier to payment is
- related to mental health or substance use. We've worked with Work One to help people become employed,
- if that is their barrier to payment. And then we do have to very judiciously use some of our administrative
- sanctions that we have. So if people are willfully failing to pay their child support as ordered, we
- can use things like suspending their driver's licenses, suspending their professional licenses. Believe
- it or not, we sometimes have medical doctors who make a lot of money who don't
- to pay child support, and so sometimes we do have to resort to some of those significant sanctions.
- But overall, I think it's going very well. Anyone can come to the prosecutor's office who has a child
- and needs to establish paternity or establish a child support order, but we are required to do it in
- TANF cases where people are getting welfare.
- And just a reminder that if you have any cards in the audience that you can raise your hand and we'll
- come around and pick them up if anyone has any cards for that. All right, so this next question is for
- Erica. How would you approach ethics, transparency, and conflicts of interest so people trust the decisions
- that you make? Yeah, so as the chief law enforcement officer
- for the county and also as someone who manages essentially a large law firm with 18 deputy prosecutors.
- It's imperative that our attorneys and staff
- operate at the highest ethical standard. So I do make sure that my attorneys receive proper ethics training,
- and it's been made very clear to them that unethical behavior is not going to be tolerated. When we
- have conflicts of interest, whether it be somebody on our staff has allegedly been a victim of an offense,
- or a law enforcement officer is
- you know, alleged to have committed a crime. We look at those very closely to make sure we don't have
- a conflict of interest if we handle the case. When we do, we do file for a special prosecutor as is
- provided by Indiana code, but we try not to go to that well very often because there's very limited
- resources for senior and special prosecution in the state of Indiana. And so we try to be very judicious
- with those.
- those requests. As for transparency, I am working on releasing a data dashboard. We expect that it will
- be live in June, but the point of this data dashboard are we public facing and it will provide statistics
- in terms of what cases we receive from what agencies, how many are filed, how many are declined, how
- long it takes to dispose of them, and what the demographic information is on those cases. My time is
- up. Thank you.
- Same question, how would you approach ethics, transparency, and conflicts of interest? I would approach
- those topics with great care and concern. When we consider ethics, it is absolutely imperative that
- the prosecuting attorney's office is considered ethical, and all of the deputy prosecuting attorneys
- are ethical in the way that they prosecute, in the way that they handle themselves. It's super important.
- Conflicts of interest.
- As an attorney, conflict of interest is super important to make sure that we don't have inherent conflicts
- of interest. And so as your prosecutor, I will make sure that we don't have conflicts of interest. And
- if we do, we will use a special prosecutor when necessary. But we're not just gonna farm out a case
- to a special prosecutor just because it's a hairy topic or something. There needs to be a truly
- legitimate conflict of interest. And so if something were to occur at Lake Monroe, I'm not just going
- to punt the ball and ask for a special prosecutor. No, that's a waste of resources. You're electing
- me to make difficult decisions, and I'm willing to make those difficult decisions as your chief law
- enforcement officer. My office will not be punting when the situation gets difficult.
- And so therefore, we will do the right thing. We will be ethical. We will address conflict of interest.
- And when it comes to transparency, obviously there will be matters when it comes to law enforcement
- that we're not able to share with the community. But everything that my office is capable of sharing,
- you better believe the door will always be open. And I will answer any questions when it comes to how
- the office operates.
- and how we prosecute. Thank you. I'm going to take this moment to allow candidates to respond to the
- statements that the others have made until this point in terms of it. So we'll start with Erica. Did
- you want to respond? Yeah. You know, one thing I want to respond to is just now Mr. Arrington referred
- to a situation with a big high profile case in 2020 that took place out at Lake Monroe. And I did not.
- petition for a special prosecutor in that case. In fact, I did file criminal charges and sign them.
- However, the defense attorneys did file a seven-page petition for a special prosecutor, and that ultimately
- is how that got disposed. It did go to a special prosecutor. I think another thing that Mr. Arrington
- seems to imply is that we are not supporting victims, that we are
- I think falling short in our prosecutions. And though I will admit that we sometimes do have cases that
- fall apart, we do sometimes have bad outcomes. Overall, we do serve our constituents very well. And
- we get convictions when we need to get convictions.
- And we have excellent trial attorneys in our office who do a great job of making sure that we're proving
- homicides. We just recently had a case where someone was convicted of several counts, including child
- molest. And those are some of the hardest cases that there are to prove. When it comes to deadlines,
- we share responsibility with the courts. We're not the only party in a case. It's the courts, it's the
- defense attorneys, and it's us.
- My time is up. All right, any response as well from Ben? Yes, absolutely. I'm so glad that Erica wanted
- to bring up these things. And I failed to mention the sexual assault response team, SART team, that
- was not mentioned at all, that my prosecutor's office will certainly be robust again. You know, when
- we talk about
- cases falling through the cracks and things of that nature. What I'm particularly talking about is when
- criminal rule 4C runs in a speedy trial and a case is dismissed with prejudice, which then double jeopardy
- attaches and the persons being prosecuted can never face prosecution. And then the victims can never
- have their day in court. I believe Erica referred to as a tragic result. It's disgusting.
- and should never have occurred and will not occur under my administration. I have already spoken with
- a seasoned trial attorney, felony trial attorney prosecutor who will be my chief deputy. We're going
- to bring talent to the prosecutor's office. It's going to be phenomenal. It's going to be wonderful
- and it's going to be great for our community. We're going to turn things around. We're going to right
- the ship and the prosecutor's office is going to have a positive view
- from the community, not a negative one. We're gonna be better. We're gonna change things. I have a meeting
- with Ryan Mears, and I'm looking forward to it, and I'm gonna look to him as a mentor. So thank you
- so much. Ben, so this next question is, which leads really well from the last one, which is, this position
- is the department head who manages the staff of people. What experiences do you bring to that part of
- the role, and what is your approach and philosophy to managing people? Thank you so much.
- Yes, I piggybacked on my meeting with prosecutor Ryan Mears, who is the Marion County prosecuting attorney.
- One hundred and eighty eight deputy prosecuting attorneys in the county of Marion, who we are going
- to be partnering with as far as stopping the prosecution of simple possession of cannabis marijuana.
- Ryan Mears stopped prosecuting marijuana in 2019, had the courage to do what's right. I just met
- an IU student suffering from chemotherapy, very young. And she shared with me that cannabis was helping
- restore her appetite. And so it's just, I have to tell you. So as far as managing an office, I will
- be looking at Ryan to be a mentor to me, because I'm certainly new in so far as being your
- elected prosecutor, but I have experience. And if that experience is being a manager at Pizza Hut, as
- well as other various jobs,
- That is what I have as far as significant experience in life. I've been a truck driver, over the road
- 18-wheeler. I've had various jobs. I've been an administrative law judge presiding over cases for four
- years. So I bring a wealth of experience, and I implore you to look at my resume. I have had nothing
- but service my entire career, and that's why I'm here to serve you. And I thank you so much. Erica,
- I'm going to repeat the question.
- This position is department head who manages the staff of people. What experiences do you bring to that
- role and what is your approach and philosophy to managing people? Thank you. So I have been managing
- the office for over seven years now. We have a total staff of about 50 people. 18 are deputy prosecutors.
- The rest of them are support staff such as investigators, case managers, legal secretaries, victim assistants
- and investigators.
- I might have said investigator twice. I like to lead from the front. So I always tell my staff I will
- never tell them to do something I'm not willing to do myself. I go to court. I cover for people when
- they're sick or on vacation. I can try a case. I try to make sure that my people are well trained, that
- they feel like they have the support that they need in terms of resources.
- I like to make sure that they see that I'm there for them. But I also like to set expectations and make
- sure that they understand that I expect professionalism and excellence in the courtroom. You know, there's
- a big difference between the Marion County Prosecutor's Office and the Monroe County Prosecutor's Office.
- For those 180 people that Mr. Arrington mentioned, Mr. Mears has several supervisors.
- I have a supervisory committee that's just myself, my chief deputy Jeff Kerr, and my first deputy Chris
- Pierce, executive director Beth Hamlin. And we have a very collaborative approach where we're always
- kind of staffing matters together to make sure that we're coming to the best decision for our people.
- Time is up. So my next question since it's come up is cannabis prosecution.
- So what role should the prosecutor take in terms of prosecuting cannabis related cases? And Erica will
- start. Oh, sorry. Cannabis prosecution. So what role should the prosecutor take or approach should the
- prosecutor take in terms of cannabis prosecution writ large? And we'll start with Erica. Is that better?
- Yes. Okay, thank you. I'll try and be closer. Thank you.
- So when I became an attorney and then again when I was elected prosecutor in assumed office in 2019,
- I took an oath to uphold the constitution of the state of Indiana, which vests the responsibility for
- making passing criminal laws to the Indiana General Assembly. I have a great amount of discretion when
- it comes to making decisions for charging and prosecuting individual cases based on the evidence that's
- presented to me by law enforcement.
- But it is illegal to make a categorical declaration that you will not prosecute a criminal law. There
- was a non-compliant prosecutor statute passed in 2024 that makes that illegal. However, I think it is
- better to place all of our resources, the majority of our resources, on making sure that we are focused
- on those repeat and violent offenders who cause the most harm in our community. When you look at our,
- Marijuana prosecutions from 2025 of those cases that were filed 38 of those cases were dismissed 21
- of those cases did pretrial diversion and only two resulted in conviction All of those cases that were
- dismissed or diverted Those cases are automatically expunged from people's criminal records after 60 days so
- Making a public declaration does nothing but aggravate those people at the state of Indiana who make
- our laws, including the governor and Todd Rakita. Thank you. Cannabis is legal in Illinois for recreational
- use, in Michigan for recreational use, now in Ohio for recreational use. In Kentucky, I believe they
- have medicinal marijuana.
- Again, I met that patient, and this is not just the first patient that I've met that discussed the fact
- that cannabis helps them. When Ryan Mears, the Marion County prosecutor, had the courage to stop prosecuting
- simple possession in 2019, that is the same year that Erica took office. We know what's possible. Erica
- discussed this at its illegal. 80 prosecutors across the every region of this country signed a pledge
- not to prosecute doctors, women and nurses.
- I will not surprise you that you'll find that the only prosecutor in Indiana to sign that pledge was
- Ryan Mears. I will be prosecutor number two to sign that pledge. There is a nonprofit fair and just
- prosecution that 80 prosecutors signed the pledge that specifically discusses that prosecutors have
- immense discretion that we
- With that discretion comes the obligation to seek justice. I assure you that it is not justice to prosecute
- someone for marijuana and simple possession. 21 pretrial diversions would be some $11,500 extracted
- from poor people. Who gets pulled over for marijuana odor from the vehicle? The person with the tail
- light out in a broke down car or the rich kid in a Mercedes. We need to address what's right.
- My next question is for Ben, which is kind of related. So we're talking about marginalized groups. So
- what is your top priority to support women, LGBTQ folks and marginalized genders in Monroe County?
- Thank you. And I'm fingers crossed I have applied for the Stonewall Democrats endorsement.
- So we'll see. But and I said I'm going to proudly display that because LGBTQ plus needs support. They
- need to know that hate does not belong in our community.
- And that means that hate includes violence because violence is broad spectrum. When I explain to people,
- when I go knocking on doors canvassing, which is so wonderful, meeting constituents in Monroe County,
- I explained that when somebody busts out your car window, that's violence because of the cost to the
- person and all that we was rifling around looking for something to steal from your car. That's violence
- and we're going to prosecute it tough. Violence does not belong in our community and I'm going to be
- very tough when it comes to that.
- But marginalized communities, LGBTQ+, black, brown, when we have ICE coming to town, we need a prosecutor
- like the Philadelphia District Attorney who says, ICE, you come to town, we're going to prosecute you.
- Use your bully pulpit. And I implore our prosecutor to do that while she's still in office, because
- you're going to have a new prosecutor.
- Your first black prosecutor, it's going to be wonderful and I really appreciate everyone's support.
- It's so exciting meeting constituents. All the yard signs you see around for Benjamin Arrington, it's
- wonderful and I really appreciate it. So thank you. I'm going to repeat the question for Erica. What
- is your top priority to support women, LGBTQ plus folks and marginalized genders in Monroe County?
- Yep, so it has been my goal since assuming office in 2019, but even before that, for the nine years
- that I was a deputy prosecutor in the office, to make sure that we live up to our constitutional values
- of fairness and equality for all people. And that includes women, that includes LGBTQIA+, and that includes
- all marginalized genders in our community.
- I have made efforts in, like I said, in research for identifying and reducing racial and ethnic disparities.
- And by working on those race disparities, unfortunately we don't have good data collection modalities
- for these LGBTQ plus and other types of genders with Indiana's record keeping or ID laws and things
- like that.
- But I can say that we do try to approach these cases, these people as individuals, considering all of
- the circumstances in their lives. I've had occasions to prosecute transgender individuals. I've had
- occasion to have victims of crime who were transgender individuals. And it was my goal and my approach to treat
- those people with compassion and dignity focusing on the very real experiences that they were having.
- And so we will continue to have that kind of care in our office. Thank you. Thank you, Erica. The next
- question is for Erica. Have you had experience with the high tech crime unit? Can you give examples
- of the kind of cases where it would be or has been used to the court?
- Yep, so in 2022, I applied for and received a grant from the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council to
- establish and maintain the Monroe County High Tech Crime Unit. It's currently operated in partnership
- with the Ellisville Police Department, and the unit is used to process digital forensic evidence, including
- cell phones, laptops, sometimes things like Fitbits, DVRs, the little computers in our cars, all manner of,
- digital devices. And I have had occasion to introduce this kind of evidence in a homicide case, but
- I can say that the cases that we're seeing most frequently recently are those involving child sex abuse
- material, unfortunately.
- we are getting very good at detecting those crimes. The High Tech Crime Unit has at all times been affiliated
- with law enforcement that is a member of the Indiana Crimes Against Children Task Force, but my office
- became a member of the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in 2025. And so through that,
- we have partnerships and relationships, including training to make sure that we can really
- aggressively prosecute those really horrible exploitative crimes. The high-tech crime unit recently
- received an electronic sniffing dog who also doubles as a therapy dog. His name is Frank and he is a
- very beautiful Labrador. Thank you. Oh yeah. Have you had experience with the high-tech crime unit?
- Can you give examples of the kind of cases where it has been or would be of use to the court? So I have
- not had experience with the high tech crime unit. I'm not a prosecutor and so I do not have access to
- that. However, I can envision how it would be utilized in so far as in cases developing evidence regarding
- child sex material could potentially, I could see that also with gathering evidence regarding other
- digital forensics. However, when I hear high tech crime unit, I am certainly a little concerned though
- that we do need to get the flock out of Bloomington. And so if there's any connection, which again,
- I do not know the high tech crime unit, I'm not involved. And so I haven't been, you don't know what
- you don't know.
- But I will tell you that I will be looking into it once elected and I don't want to see a partnership
- with FLOC because we don't need to have a supervisory state that every time you step out of your home
- that you're under supervision. Benjamin Franklin said it best, those who are willing to sacrifice their
- liberty and freedom for a little security deserve neither. And so I do believe in that and so,
- I want to look into and learn more about the high-tech crime unit. Thank you. Just a final reminder,
- we're reaching the end of our prepared questions. So if you haven't submitted your question, make sure
- to hand it over to our lovely volunteers here. So this question is next going to Ben, a question from
- the audience.
- How much leeway do you have before instituting the habitual offender statute? With the jail crowding,
- how can you defer nonviolent offenders and impose stricter penalties? So the specific leeway that you're
- in reference to is
- Statutory and would need me to have a book in front of me which is impossible to do so I don't know
- why But what I will tell you is that of course things will be reviewed again I'm gonna have an excellent
- chief deputy prosecuting attorney who have already discussed with who's a seasoned felony prosecuting
- attorney from a very red County, however, he lives here in Bloomington and so is a great person and but
- we're going to be tough on crime if it's a habitual offender statute or a habitual substance offender
- for a vehicle because OWI and getting people off of the road driving drunk is a passion of mine because
- we don't need, again, violent people, people that are operating a vehicle under the influence, people
- that want to do harm to our community. And so habitual substance offender, habitual crime, all of that
- will be looked at with great detail and care
- Following the statutory guidelines that are placed by the General Assembly, you know there When it comes
- to sentence things in that nature that also primarily is going to go along with the judge plea deals
- depended on situations But one quintessential thing is that my office will be working excellently with
- a public defender We're gonna have a cooperative working relationship to help reduce jail population
- only for those violent offenders that belong behind bars Thank you. My time is up
- I'm going to repeat the question for Erica. How much leeway do you have before instituting the habitual
- offender statute? And with the jail overcrowding, how can you defer nonviolent offenders and impose
- stricter penalties? Yep. So as with any
- charging decision, we have a lot of discretion in individual cases, including whether to file habitual
- offender or habitual substance offender petitions for those who are eligible. Now those, you know, in
- other states sometimes they're colloquially known as like three strikes laws or something like that,
- but essentially a habitual offender petition is an opportunity to add an enhancement
- to a felony offense when somebody has a prior, two or more prior convictions for felonies. You know,
- we tend to reserve those for people who have more recent or more serious violent criminal history rather
- than using that for, say, like driving status offenses like habitual traffic violator or something along
- those lines.
- You know, we do try to defer nonviolent offenses and not use our limited jail resources on those. As
- you have probably heard, we have a crowded jail. It's overburdened. So we do try to avoid putting people
- in jail who do not belong there. Make sure that we're making liberal use of our pretrial release program
- and to alternatives in the community.
- But when it comes to those who are habitual offenders, you know, we do reserve those for those violent
- crimes and make sure that those are the people that we are trying to use prison for. Thank you.
- My time is up. We had a question from the audience about jury trial and prosecutal, prosecutional experience
- in terms of it.
- So the question was how many jury trials have you done? How many years of prosecutor experience do you
- have? And I'm gonna extend it to what is your general approach from your time as a working in prosecutors
- or otherwise? And we'll start with Erica. Thank you.
- So I have been a prosecutor since I took the bar exam in 2009. I started out in misdemeanors and traffic
- infractions under Chris Gull back in 2009. I worked my way up. I started handling about two and a half
- years in. I started handling felony drug cases for Monroe County.
- At that time, I became a member of the Monroe County Drug Treatment Court Team. I also have served on
- the Monroe County Veterans Court Team, the Monroe County Mental Health Court Team, and the Monroe County
- Reentry Court Program. I then moved up to general felonies, so handling everything from a felony operating
- while intoxicated or a theft, a burglary, robbery, to murder cases.
- I have had over 20 jury trials. I actually am not exactly certain of the number. Again, I've tried everything
- from a Class C misdemeanor operating while intoxicated successfully to conviction to I think my most
- recent murder trial that I was lead counsel on was in 2021 where I secured a conviction in a case where
- a man stabbed his girlfriend 157 times.
- You know, generally I do try to have a problem solving approach in my work. I try to make sure that
- we can prevent people from coming back into the criminal justice system over and over. And I do try
- to make sure that we focus those trial resources, our incarceration on those repeat and violent offenders
- who cause the greatest harm in our community. Thank you. Thank you. I'm gonna be direct.
- My jury trial experience is limited, but let's be absolutely clear about what the elected prosecutor
- actually does. This is not a line attorney position. It is an executive, administrative, and policy
- making role. Monroe County has an office of 18 deputy prosecutors handling a daily docket. The elected
- prosecutor is the CEO of that office.
- I have extensive, varied court experience. My job won't be monopolized at the council table. That's
- not my job. Now, I'm going to have a very hands-on approach when I first get elected. You're going to
- see me at initial hearings. You're going to see me all over because I want to make sure that my deputies
- are going to be doing consistent with my policy and my approach to have a positive working relationship
- with the public defender's office.
- where the vast majority of the cases are processed through. My job is to bring a battle-tested chief
- deputy to lead our trial teams while I focus on the structural policies that actually keep our county
- safe. Right now, we have an administration that fails to maintain its own docket and lets violent predators
- walk free on missed deadlines.
- I will manage the policies, clear the docket of victimless crimes, and give our trial attorneys the
- support they need to achieve an 80% conviction rates that we see in places like Marion County. You're
- out of time. That's what executive leadership looks like. Thank you. OK. And that's the end of our prepared
- questions. So now we're going to move into closing statements. So we're going to start with Ben.
- I want to thank the League of Women Voters for bringing us here. This was amazing. And having the League
- of Women Voters host this event is so wonderful. So thank you so much to the League of Women Voters
- and to all the audience members that took time out of your busy lives to come and listen to somebody
- who wants to run for office and ask for your vote. Thank you so much for coming here tonight.
- Tonight you've heard two very different versions of the Monroe County Prosecutor's Office visions. You
- can choose the status quo, an office that relies on unwritten rules and plays statistical shell games
- with victimless crimes and tragically drops the ball on severe violent felonies because of administrative
- fatigue. Or you can choose a principled transparent leadership
- I have told you exactly what I plan to do. We will stop wasting taxpayer dollars and police resources
- on simple possession of marijuana. We will join other prosecutors, 80 other prosecutors in every region
- of this country, and pledge to protect the reproductive rights of women, doctors, and nurses not to
- face prosecution.
- And so thank you, please vote Arrington for prosecutor.com. Thank you. Erica. Thank you. I have the
- experience, leadership skills, and temperament to effectively seek justice and ensure community safety
- in Monroe County. I have far more trial experience and administrative experience than my opponent.
- You may think it's not a line deputy position, but in times of staffing shortages, I handled a major
- felony caseload for six months, competently, while also running the office. We are facing state and
- federal attacks on home governance, including direct threats to prosecutorial discretion and changes
- to tax codes and grant funding programs that limit resources. Monroe County will not be served by strident
- proclamations,
- What we need instead is deliberative collaboration and problem solving to improve justice in our community.
- I have spent years developing and maintaining relationships in our community to meet critical needs
- of justice involved individuals. I ask for your vote to retain me in office in the Democratic primary
- on May 5th. Thank you. All right, so thank our candidates for a lively discussion.
- On behalf of all the forum sponsors, remember to vote. Election day is Tuesday, May 5th. Early voting
- begins Tuesday, April 7th. Thank you all for coming.