Blackford County Council, District 3

What this office does

The county council is the county's fiscal body: it sets the county property tax rate, appropriates the money the county spends and fixes the pay and number of county employees ^{[1, 2, 3]}. Most councils have seven members, four elected from districts and three elected countywide (at large), though some larger counties elect all members by district ^{[1, 4]}. The board of commissioners runs county government day to day, while the council controls the money ^{[5, 6]}. Marion County has no separate county council; the 25-member Indianapolis City-County Council serves as the legislative body for the consolidated city-county government ^{[7, 8]}.

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; district seats and at-large seats are filled at alternating general elections ^[9]

Elected

On the partisan general-election ballot; in most counties four members are elected by district voters and three at large by the whole county, while counties of 400,000–700,000 residents elect seven members by district and opt-in counties of 185,000–300,000 elect nine by district ^{[4, 1]}. Every county council race on the 2026 state candidate list is a district seat ^[10]

At-large races

All three at-large seats are filled at the same election, so voters may choose up to three candidates and the top three vote-getters win; straight-ticket votes do not count in these multi-seat races ^{[4, 11]}

Term limit

None stated; the statute that sets the four-year term does not limit how many terms a member may serve ^[9]

Qualifications

Must have lived in the county at least one year, and in the district (for a district seat) 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 ^{[12, 13]}

Pay

Set locally in the council's annual ordinance fixing the compensation of county officers and employees ^{[3, 14]}

On the 2026 ballot

368 races; 147 contested ^[10]

What has changed in this job lately

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

1. 2023

   State law gave counties with 185,000 to 300,000 residents until September 1, 2023, to opt in to a nine-member council elected entirely from single-member districts ^{[1, 4, 19]}.

2. 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) called it a lose-lose and said it would cost local governments and schools up to $1.8 billion over three years ^[20].

3. 2025

   SEA 1 rewrote county local income taxes: existing rates were set to be replaced by a new structure, local income tax councils were to be eliminated with the county fiscal body becoming the adopting body, the total county expenditure rate was capped at 2.9%, and cities and towns with at least 3,500 residents gained the power to adopt their own rate ^[16].

4. March 12, 2026

   House Enrolled Act 1210 delayed the local income tax overhaul by one year; current ordinances now expire January 1, 2029, the repeal of local income tax councils and the levy freeze is also delayed a year, and counties may form a Municipal Unit Strategic Taskforce with city and town representatives to negotiate revenue sharing ^{[17, 21]}.

5. 2026

   Senate tax committee chair Travis Holdman (R-Markle) said the delay aims for a more streamlined, tailored plan because counties are not all alike, while Amy Krieg of the organization representing cities and towns said the issue will be a multi-year discussion ^[21].

Blackford 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.

Also on the record for this office

• SEA 1 estimated county-unit revenue change in 2028 vs prior law: $-398,110 (LSA)
• MUST taskforce (LIT distribution talks): none found
• wheel tax: none found
• fiscal consultant named in records: none found

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

• Blackford County (county seat: Hartford City) has a seven-member county council. Members serve four-year terms with no term limits, and the council approves the annual budget, sets salaries for county officials and employees, and authorizes department spending. It meets at 6 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month, with two extra August meetings for the budget ^[22].
• The county's legal notice of the Nov. 3, 2026 general election, dated Sept. 17, 2026, lists Republican Deb Grider and Democrat John Velasquez for County Council District 3. District 3 is one of four district seats on the 2026 ballot (Districts 1–4) ^[24].
• This is an open seat. Council member Patrick Cale ran in the May 5, 2026 Republican primary for District 3 and lost to Grider, 237 votes to 170 (58.23% to 41.77%) in certified results ^{[28, 23, 22]}. No Democrat appeared on the May primary ballot for this seat ^[28].
• Recent council business includes courthouse renovation (a commissioner reported a final walk-through of courthouse construction in May 2025), court and probation staffing, a state request that counties fund 30% of the IRACS program for the rest of 2025 (about $107,236 a year, payable from opioid settlement funds), and the fairgrounds Extension office. In May 2025 the council's economic development liaison reported that construction on four renewable-energy projects should start by 2026, and a resident offered during public comment to serve on a committee about spending the money from wind and solar projects ^{[26, 27]}.
• No candidate forums, debates, campaign websites or news coverage of this race were found in sources reviewed. Coverage is very thin for both candidates.

Who holds this seat now

Patrick Cale (Republican) — not on this ballot.

Republican Patrick Cale is listed on Blackford County's website as a member of the seven-member county council. He ran for the District 3 nomination in the May 2026 Republican primary and lost to Deb Grider, so he is not on the November ballot. Sources reviewed do not state which seat Cale holds; that he holds District 3 is inferred from his primary run and still needs confirmation ^{[22, 23, 24]}.

Cale's record in the job

• January 8, 2025: At the council's regular meeting, Cale seconded Ryan Goodspeed's election as vice president (5-0); moved to keep Gary Glancy on the ABC board and Judy Affolder on the PTBOA board (6-0) and to keep Kyle Lechien on the Community Corrections committee (5-1); and seconded a motion to start a third probation officer the next day, which passed 4-2. He was listed as the council's Blackford Development liaison ^[25].
• May 7, 2025: Cale attended the council meeting by Zoom. The council voted 2-4 against a motion, made by Jim Weiseman and seconded by Fred Tobey, to reinstate a third probation officer for the rest of 2025; the minutes do not record how each member voted. Judge Brian Bade told the council that not reinstating the already-budgeted position was unconstitutional and suggested it consult its attorney ^[26].
• May 7, 2025: Cale signed the minutes of a joint commissioners-council special meeting at which both bodies voted 7-0 to pay $1,000 a month toward utilities for the Purdue Extension/4-H office at the new fairgrounds building ^[27].
• May 5, 2026: Lost the Republican primary for County Council District 3 to Deb Grider, 170 votes (41.77%) to 237 (58.23%) ^{[28, 23]}.

Candidates on the ballot

Key points

• Blackford County (county seat: Hartford City) has a seven-member county council. (Blackford County, Indiana)
• Blackford County government adopted a $17.4 million budget for 2026, about $1,481 per resident; that is +17.0% compared with 2023. (Indiana Gateway for Government Units)
• Legislative Services Agency estimate: the 2025 property tax law (SEA 1) changes the county government's net property tax levy by -6.7% versus prior law once fully in effect (2028, since delayed to 2029 by HEA 1210). (Indiana Legislative Services Agency)

Sources