Election updates: Gentry, Stehr win Boone County primaries

9 p.m.: Gentry, Stehr win Boone County primaries

Lebanon Mayor Matt Gentry defeated Republican challenger Kevin Van Horn in his bid for a third term in office.

With all precincts reporting, Gentry received 59% of the GOP primary vote to 41% for Van Horn.

In Zionsville, John Stehr defeated Jane Burgess, 55.2% to 44.8% in the Republican mayoral primary.

No Democrats have filed to run for mayor in either Boone County community.

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8:49 p.m.: Finkam wins in Carmel; Willis wins in Westfield

8:45 p.m.: Sue Finkam in Carmel and Scott Willis in Westfield have won their Republican mayoral primary elections.

With all precincts reporting, Finkam received 36.1% of the vote to 32.1% for Kevin “Woody” Rider and 31.8% for Fred Glynn.

Finkam will face Democrat Miles Nelson in the November general election.

In Westfield, Willis received 45.2% of the vote to 42.1% for Jake Gilbert and 12.8% for Kristen Burkman.

No Democrats have filed to run for mayor in Westfield. If none run in November, Willis will become Westfield’s second-ever mayor on Jan. 1, succeeding four-term Mayor Andy Cook.

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8:43 p.m.: Shreve, Hogsett win

Jefferson Shreve has declared victory in the GOP primary. With 75% of vote centers counted, Shreve had 66% to Abdul-Hakim Shabazz’s 26%.

Teresa Lubbers, former Indiana higher education commissioner, introduced Shreve as the winner.

In the Democratic primary, Mayor Joe Hogsett won with 59% over challenger Robin Shackleford with 37%.

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8:36 p.m.: Yes votes ahead on all three Marion County school referendums

With 62% of vote centers counted, here are the results so far in the three school referendum questions in Marion County:

IPS, which is asking for $410 million to fund improvements at nearly two dozen buildings

Yes: 58% | No: 42%

Warren Township Schools, which is seeking $88 million for educator and staff salaries

Yes: 53% | No: 47%

Speedway Schools, which is seeking to continue a levy rate first approved in 2010 to generate about $5.8 million a year

Yes: 82% | No: 18%

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8:32 p.m.: City-County Council race updates

In two open seats for Indianapolis City-County Council, Carlos Perkins and Ron Gibson are ahead with 62% of vote centers reporting.

Perkins leads the three-way Democratic primary for Council District 6 at 54%, while Gibson has 55% of votes to Danita Hoskin’s 45% for Council District 8. Neither seat has a Republican candidate.

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8:30 p.m.: State Sen. J.D. Ford, D-Indianapolis, makes an appearance at incumbent Mayor Joe Hogsett’s watch party to show support for Kristin Jones, who is running for re-election in City-County Council District 16

8:27 p.m.: Hogsett, Shreve have commanding leads

With 62% of vote centers reporting, incumbent Mayor Joe Hogsett has 59% of votes compared to challenger Robin Shackleford’s 36% in the Democratic primary.

In the GOP mayoral primary, Jefferson Shreve had 66% of votes to Abdul-Hakim Shabazz’s 26%.

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8:09 p.m.: Democratic councilors trailing challengers in Indy

With 40% of the vote centers reporting, three Democratic incumbents on the City-County Council were trailing their challengers.

Brienne Delaney had 63% of the vote to 37% for 30-year Councilor Monroe Gray. Council vice president Zach Adamson was trailing Jesse Brown by 12 percentage points.

Also, Democratic Councilor David Ray is trailing Andy Nielsen by 7 percentage points.

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8:05 p.m.: Hogsett, Shreve hold their leads

With 40% of vote centers reporting, incumbent Mayor Joe Hogsett has secured 61% of the votes to challenger Robin Shackleford’s 35% in the Democratic primary.

In the GOP primary, Jefferson Shreve has secured 67% of the vote over Abdul Hakim-Shabazz’s 25%. Two other candidates are far behind.

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8:02 p.m.: Westfield council incumbents in trouble

Two incumbent members of the Westfield City Council are in danger of losing their seats.

With 179 of 205 precincts counted, Republican challenger Patrick Tamm holds a 52.9% to 47.1% lead over District 4 Councilor Scott Frei.

In District 5, Noah Herron leads Council President Mike Johns 64.5% to 47.2%.

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7:58 p.m.: Finkam continues leading in Carmel GOP race

Republican Sue Finkam maintains a lead over her two competitors in the Carmel mayoral primary as vote counting continues in Hamilton County.

With 179 of 205 precincts counted, Finkam has 36.9% of the vote, while Kevin “Woody” Rider has 32% and Fred Glynn has 31.2%.

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7:50 p.m.: Yes votes leading no votes in IPS referendum

Indianapolis Public Schools’ efforts to raise $410 million to upgrade to 23 school campuses was winning support with ballots tallied from about 40% of vote centers.

About 79% of the votes counted were yes votes for the proposal.

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7:42 p.m.: Hogsett, Shreve have big leads in Indy primary

With 31% of vote centers reporting, incumbent Mayor Joe Hogsett is leading the Democratic primary with 62% of the vote.

Marion County Election Board totals have Hogsett at 11,803 votes to challenger Robin Shackleford’s 6,546 votes.

In the Republican primary, with 31% of vote centers reporting, Jefferson Shreve is leading with 8,302 votes to Abdul-Hakim Shabazz’s 2,986 votes. That gives Shreve, a businessman who previously served on the City-County Council, 68% of the vote.

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7:35 p.m.: Finkam leads in Carmel, Willis in Westfield

Republicans Sue Finkam in Carmel and Scott Willis in Westfield are maintaining leads in their mayoral primary elections as counting continues in Hamilton County.

With 123 of 205 precincts counted, Finkam has 2,781 votes to Kevin “Woody” Rider’s 2,348 and Fred Glynn’s 2,091.

Willis holds a slight 2,148 to 1,913 vote lead over Jake Gilbert, while Kristen Burkman has recorded 520 votes.

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6:42 p.m.: Stehr up early in Zionsville

Former television journalist John Stehr is leading the Republican mayoral primary election in Zionsville with about 10% of the vote counted.

Stehr has recorded 55.4% of the vote to 44.6% for Jane Burgess, a former member of the Zionsville school board.

Stehr has 1,449 votes to 1,165 for Burgess.

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6:40 p.m.: Gentry leading early in Lebanon

Incumbent Lebanon Mayor Matt Gentry holds an early lead over Boone County Councilor Kevin Van Horn in the city’s Republican mayoral primary.

With about 10% of the vote counted, Gentry has recorded 57.9% of the vote to 42.1% for Van Horn.

Gentry has 745 votes to Van Horn’s 541.
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6:30 p.m.: Willis takes early lead in Westfield

6:25 p.m.: Finkam takes early lead in Carmel

With only absentee and early votes counted, Carmel City Councilor Sue Finkam holds a slim lead in the race for the Republican nomination for mayor.

Finkam, a Republican, has 38.6% of the vote in the GOP primary race against fellow Councilor Kevin “Woody” Rider (31.3%) and former Hamilton County Councilor Fred Glynn (30.1%).

Finkam recorded 1,165 votes among absentee and early ballots to 944 for Rider and 910 for Glynn.

The winner will face Democrat Miles Nelson in the November general election.

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6 p.m.: The polls for the municipal primary election are now closed. Now county officials throughout the region will begin the task of counting the votes.

Stay to tuned to our blog for up-to-the-minute results in the primary contests for mayor and council in Indianapolis, Carmel, Westfield, Zionsville, Lebanon and elsewhere.

4:27 p.m.: The lockdown at IPS Clarence Farrington School #61 has ended, the Marion County Election Board announced on Twitter. The vote center inside the school just north of Speedway at 4326 Patricia St. has reopened and will remain open until 6 p.m.

2:15 p.m.: IPS Clarence Farrington School #61, a vote center, is on lockdown, the Marion County Election Board announced on Twitter. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police said the lockdown was caused by a nearby domestic disturbance investigation near the school.

“It is not in any way associated with the school or voting center,” the department tweeted.

The election board encouraged voters in the area to instead cast ballots at the International Marketplace Coalition, Indianapolis Fire Department Station 30, and Northwest Middle School.

The Marion County Election Board will release a statement when it’s safe to return to the voting site.

Initially, IMPD said the incident could involve a barricaded person. At 3:40, it said SWAT had searched the premises and did not find the individual.

11:45 a.m.: Voting at the City-County Building was a steady trickle throughout the morning, with about 240 people casting ballots just before noon.

Poll worker Mike Crawford said that’s already more than was recorded at that site the whole day of municipal primary voting four years ago, when there were far fewer contested races for city-county offices.

Timothy Pritts, 68, said he came to the City-County Building to vote for Republican Jefferson Shreve because he believes the city needs a new mayor, someone other than incumbent Democrat Joe Hogsett. The east side resident said he’s concerned about the city’s crime problem.

Shreve’s main competitor for the Republican nomination for mayor is political commentator Abdul-Hakim Shabazz.

9:45 a.m.: State Rep. Robin Shackleford is battling incumbent Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett for Democratic mayoral nomination, but they had a friendly encounter at the vote center at the MSD Lawrence Education and Community Center. They just both happened to be there at the same time greeting voters.

Campaign signs greeted voters at the Garfield Park Burrello Family and Aquatic Center. (IBJ photo/Taylor Wooten)

9:15 a.m.: Nearly 90 voters have cast ballots at the Garfield Park Burrello Family and Aquatic Center.

Tom Engel, 80, came to cast his vote for incumbent Mayor Joe Hogsett in the Democratic primary. Engel said the two-term mayor is experienced.

“They want all this change, but look around the country, it’s all the same. It’s not him,” Engel told IBJ.

Another Democratic voter, Nick Zuckerman, told IBJ that he voted to keep incumbents like the mayor in office partially due to the people within their administrations and campaign.

Allisa Frazier and Fred Miller III voted in the Democratic primary but said they wished they had been more aware of mayoral candidates besides the incumbent.

“I wish I was more passionate, but it didn’t feel like I had any other knowledge of who other mayoral candidates were,” Miller said.

Miller said he’s volunteered for City-County Council candidate Andy Nielsen’s campaign on the east-side, but that he doesn’t live in the district. He said he wished someone like Nielsen was running for mayor.

Ultimately, Miller said he voted for State Rep. Robin Shackleford as a “protest vote.” He saidl Hogsett feels more like a figurehead.

“I think that we need to be having a little bit of a stronger voice saying that… we are the engine that keeps [the state] moving,” Miller added.

Frazier said she voted for Hogsett because it felt like a “safe” choice.

8:45 a.m.: The voting machine at the Irvington Presbyterian Church was down for about 90 minutes early this morning, according to a poll worker. Residents who showed up to vote during that time were directed to the nearest voting center at Irvington Preparatory Academy.

8:20 a.m.: Nick Roberts, a Democratic City-County Council candidate, says on Twitter that he’ll be greeting voters at the Geist Christian Church voting center all day. He faces no opposition in the Democratic primary but will be opposed by Republican Natalie Goodwin in November.

7:45 a.m.: Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett’s campaign Twitter account reports that he was the 8th voter to check in at the poll early this morning at the Nora branch of the Indianapolis Public Library. Hogsett is seeking a third term and is facing a spirited challenge from State Rep. Robin Shackleford for the Democratic nomination.

6 a.m.: Polls opened for today’s municipal primary elections across Indiana. Follow our blog throughout the day for the latest developments and results. If you need to check on your voting status or find the address of the nearest voting location, go to indianavoters.in.gov.

So what races are on the ballot?

In Indianapolis, two-term incumbent Mayor Joe Hogsett is facing a spirited challenge from State Rep. Robin Shackleford in the race for the Democratic nomination. On the Republican side, political commentator and attorney Abdul-Hakim Shabazz is facing off against businessman and former City-County Council member Jefferson Shreve and others.

The north-side suburbs also are seeing spirited contests with a field consisting of mostly Republicans fighting for the party nomination to succeed Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard and Westfield Mayor Andy Cook, who both decided not to seek re-election after lengthy tenures.

Cities across the region also are holding primary elections for city council posts. On the Indianapolis City-County Council, retirements and newly-redrawn districts are also leading to some lively election battles. Three Democratic incumbents aren’t seeking reelection, while several incumbent councilors on both sides are facing spirited challenges.

Three school districts in the Indianapolis area also are asking for voter approval to raise property taxes.

Indianapolis Public Schools is asking for a $410 million to fund improvements at nearly two dozen buildings.

Warren Township schools are seeking $88 million for educator and staff salaries, replacing a tax levy approved in 2018. Speedway schools are asking voters to continue a levy rate first approved in 2010, which would generate around $5.8 million a year.