Bartholomew County Commissioner, District 2

What this office does

In 91 of Indiana's 92 counties, a three-member board of commissioners is the county executive and conducts the county's business in the board's name ^{[1, 2]}. Commissioners administer county government affairs that state law does not assign to a separately elected officer, while the county council, a separate elected body, controls budgets, tax rates and salaries ^{[2, 3, 4]}. Marion County is the exception: under the consolidated Indianapolis–Marion County government (Unigov), the mayor holds most executive power, and the elected county assessor, auditor and treasurer serve as the county commissioners, with duties that mostly concern county finances ^{[5, 2, 6]}.

The job in full — the duties the Indiana Code puts in it, the term, what it pays and who sets that, and what to ask a candidate.

Term

4 years, starting January 1 after the election; seats are staggered, so one or two of the three seats are filled at each general election ^[7]

Elected

On the partisan general-election ballot; each commissioner represents a district and must live in it, but in every county except Lake and St. Joseph the whole county votes on every commissioner seat; in Lake and St. Joseph counties only the district's voters choose ^{[8, 9]}

Term limit

None stated; the statute that sets the four-year term does not limit how many terms a commissioner may serve ^[7]

Qualifications

Must have lived in the county at least one year and in the commissioner district at least six months before the election, and be registered to vote in the election district; a county employee who is elected must leave that county job on taking office ^{[10, 9]}

Pay

Set locally: the county council fixes the compensation of county officers in its annual salary ordinance ^{[4, 11]}

On the 2026 ballot

94 races; 41 contested ^[12]

What has changed in this job lately

Changes in the law the next officeholder will work under, most distant first.

1. 2023

   Under Senate Enrolled Act 4, the Health First Indiana public health fund required counties to opt in; Huntington County's commissioners, for example, voted to opt in in June 2023, and 86 counties covering about 96% of Hoosiers received funding while Whitley, Wells, Fountain, Johnson, Crawford and Harrison counties did not opt in ^{[17, 18]}.

2. 2023

   State law gave counties with 185,000 to 300,000 residents until September 1, 2023, to opt in to electing commissioners from three single-member districts with a nine-member council elected entirely by district ^{[15, 8, 19, 16]}.

3. 2025

   Commissioners in several counties faced data center rezoning requests; in Kosciusko County, commissioners did not approve a rezoning for a proposed Prologis data center after opposition from residents, and the Indianapolis Business Journal reported that a 2019 state law offers qualified data center operators tax breaks of up to 50 years ^[14].

4. April 15, 2025

   Gov. Mike Braun signed Senate Enrolled Act 1, a property tax law he called historic tax relief; Rep. Greg Porter (D-Indianapolis) said it would cost local governments and schools up to $1.8 billion over three years, and the law also gives local governments new income tax tools ^[20].

5. March 12, 2026

   House Enrolled Act 1210 delayed SEA 1's local income tax overhaul by one year, so current county income tax ordinances now expire January 1, 2029, and it lets counties create a Municipal Unit Strategic Taskforce of county and city representatives to negotiate how income tax revenue is shared ^{[21, 22]}.

Bartholomew County's numbers for this office

Legal Insights county office research (Oct. 13, 2026): Indiana Gateway budgets 2019-2026 and the indicator sources linked on each line.

• In most counties this department also holds countywide costs such as group and liability insurance, contracts and some capital projects. It is the department total, not the cost of the board of commissioners.

Also on the record for this office

• SEA 1 estimated county-unit revenue change in 2028 vs prior law: $-1,228,840 (LSA)
• MUST taskforce (LIT distribution talks): discussed
• wheel tax: declined
• fiscal consultant named in records: Reedy

Measured, for this county

A position compares this county with counties of similar size. It is not a grade: for most measures a higher or lower number is neither good nor bad on its own.

About this race

• District 2 is the only Bartholomew County commissioner seat on the 2026 ballot; the other two commissioners (Larry S. Kleinhenz and Tony London) serve terms ending in 2028. All three are Republicans ^[23].
• Whether voters countywide or only District 2 voters elect this seat is not stated on the county's pages. Primary vote totals (5,977 Republican and 2,169 Democratic votes for commissioner versus 1,569 and 1,729 total Republican votes in Council Districts 1 and 2) are consistent with a countywide vote ^[27].
• May 5, 2026 primary: Lienhoop (R, 5,977 votes) and Grant Hale (D, 2,169 votes) were each unopposed ^[27]. Both are on the county's final general-election filing list ^[28].
• Wheel tax and road funding: the county does not have a wheel tax; one report says a decision was delayed until 2027 ^[29].
• No candidate forum, debate or detailed policy statement from either candidate was found as of October 11, 2026.

Who holds this seat now

Carl H. Lienhoop (Republican) — on this ballot, standing again.

Lienhoop's record in the job

• GoodParty.org lists him as District 2 commissioner for the 2019–2022 and 2023–2026 terms ^[26].
• Role of the office: the board audits and approves claims, awards contracts, oversees county property including the courthouse and jail, supervises roads, bridges and county buildings, and makes appointments; commissioners also sit on the County Drainage Board ^[25].
• May 5, 2026: Unopposed in the Republican primary with 5,977 votes ^[27].

Candidates on the ballot

Key points

• Wheel tax and road funding: the county does not have a wheel tax; one report says a decision was delayed until 2027. (Indiana Insight)
• The county was not on the BMV wheel tax list behind the Comptroller's June 26, 2026 lane-mile distribution. It received no first-round FY2026 Community Crossings award (Dec 2025); the council later approved $1.5 million for roads. (in.gov)

  Worth asking: Bartholomew has no wheel tax, which kept it out of the June 2026 state lane-mile road payment, and the council put off a decision to 2027. Will you support a wheel tax, and if not, how should roads be paid for?

• Bartholomew County government adopted a $68.7 million budget for 2026, about $801 per resident; that is +16.3% compared with 2023. (Indiana Gateway for Government Units)

Sources