The only competitive primary race on Tuesday will be among the four Democrats running for three seats on the West Lafayette City Council.
Three Democratic candidates hope to keep their positions against one new challenger.
Iris O'Donnell Bellisario hopes to take one of the three at-large city council seats from current councilors David Sanders, James Blanco, or Gerald Thomas.
The race marks the first potential shift in the makeup of the city council over the coming year.
Council president Peter Bunder, who represents District 2, has announced his plans to step down. His seat will likely be filled by Michelle Dennis – daughter of West Lafayette Mayor John Dennis – who is currently running unopposed in the Democratic primary.
There are also a number of general election races slated for the end of the year, with a Republican set to challenge current councilor Kathy Parker and a Democrat challenging councilor Jeff Brown.
During a debate last month, at-large candidates emphasized that they were mostly in agreement across a wide range of issues – including city housing, Purdue campus safety, and the possibility of a pipeline carrying water from the Greater Lafayette region to Boone County for an industrial park.
But Bellisario said when she meets with constituents, there’s one message she’s hearing a lot.
“I think the first thing that I’m hearing is that people are really excited about having a woman – having a second woman on council, and having more representation and having a more diverse council moving forward,” she said.
Sanders said he feels safe given his track record within the city.
“I feel like I have been a very committed public servant. I have been an active city councilor making sure the city council is an independent voice,” he said.
James Blanco said housing is a key issue during this election – which he thinks gives him an edge.
“I’m the only renter among the at-large candidates,” he said. “That’s one of the big things, especially with the housing issue being one of the leading issues of this campaign.”
Gerald Thomas did not respond to our request for comment.
The early voting turnout for the primary has been low so far, according to the Tippecanoe County Board of Elections.
Polls will be open Tuesday from 6 a.m to 6 p.m.
Democrats expected to caucus in two candidates ahead of general election
West Lafayette City Council member Ted Hardesty announced his departure from the council during Monday’s meeting.
Hardesty is the council member for District 3, which is represented by Purdue students.
During brief comments, Hardesty said because of his pending graduation and some family medical issues he will be vacating the seat - with the May meeting being his last one.
“I just want to thank everyone on council, everyone on city government that has been so kind to me,” he said.
Hardesty also took pains to call out Purdue University, pointing to a Title IX lawsuit against the school. He argued it had created a bad campus culture for victims of sexual assault, and noted that many women had come to him saying they did not feel safe reporting any potential assaults to Purdue’s administration.
“My ask of all of you is to make sure that when you are talking to others in the community, you make sure they know what Purdue has done to students on campus,” he said.
Purdue has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in its handling of sexual assault reporting on campus, and is currently appealing a lower court’s findings against them to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Democrats will have to caucus in a replacement for Hardesty ahead of the upcoming November election.
Democratic councilor Nick DeBoer, who represents District 1, will also potentially need a replacement. Deboer hasn’t filed to run for reelection, and said he hopes to step away from the seat.
When pressed about whether he would run if no replacement could be found, DeBoer said he would consider it. A Republican has filed to run in DeBoer’s district.