New Palestine Town Council secretary Bill Niemier is the only current council member running for re-election in 2024. The deadline for entering the race is Tuesday, Aug. 1.
NEW PALESTINE — The 2024 New Palestine Town Council will have a vastly different look from the one that has been in office over the past four years. All five seats on the council are up for grabs in the Nov. 7 general election and nearly all of the current council members are on record saying they will not run again.
Tuesday is the deadline for candidates from small towns to file or withdraw their candidacy from a race.
According to Indiana official election records and official paperwork with the Hancock County Election Office, there are currently six candidates on the list to run for the New Palestine Town Council.
The list includes five new comers: Adam Axthelm, Independent, New Palestine Town Council Member, At Large; Ryan Hartley, Independent, New Palestine Town Council Member, At Large; Robert (Rocky) Cooper, Republican, New Palestine Town Council Member, At Large; Ethan L Maple, Republican, New Palestine Town Council Member, At Large; and Teri Reed, Republican, New Palestine Town Council Member, At Large.
Bill Niemier, Republican, New Palestine Town Council Member, At Large, is the only incumbent running for reelection. As a current council member, Niemier said he’s proud of having been able to help the town navigate through growing pains, including dealing with massive project proposals such as bringing in a multi-million apartment complex.
“I’m looking forward to doing some positive things for the community in the next few years as we continue to grow, if I’m reelected,” Niemier said.
Niemier, who is currently the New Palestine council secretary, also served two years as the council president during his first term. Current council president, Clint Bledsoe, said several months ago he will not run for another term, and neither will council members Chris Lytle or Angie Fahrnow.
Council vice president Brandee Bastin had been contemplating another term but told the Daily Reporter this week she has decided not to run again. With two children in college and the need to spend more time with her family, Bastin said it’s time for a change.
“I’ve served for seven years and I feel like that’s a good amount of time,” Bastin said. “I think it’s time to give someone else a chance to do that, and I just have some family things I need to spend more time on.”
Both Bledsoe and Fahrnow are finishing up terms after being appointed to the council by the three other council members after it was determined by voters during a referendum in November 2019 that the town needed to expand the council from three to five members.
Bledsoe and Fahrnow both lost out on bids to win one of three seats outright in 2020 after Niemier, Jan Jarson and Bastin gathered the most votes. Shortly after, the council expanded to five seats, adding Bledsoe and Fahrnow. However, Jarson stepped down in Sept. 2020, saying she no longer had the time to serve, and Lytle was appointed by the county’s Republican Party to finish her term.
New Palestine, due to its size, operates a little differently when it comes to primary elections in that they did not have one in the spring because there are less than 3,500 residents in the town. If more candidates from one political party file than there are seats available, then a town convention will be held by that political party.
The rules of a town convention are outside the purview of the Hancock County Election Board, meaning if a town convention is needed, the Town of New Palestine will have to handle it.
