LaGrange County Council, District 1

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].

LaGrange 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: $-875,210 (LSA)
• MUST taskforce (LIT distribution talks): none found
• wheel tax: none found
• fiscal consultant named in records: Peters Franklin

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

• The LaGrange County Council has seven members — four elected from districts and three at large — and is the county's fiscal body ^[22]. This race is a single district seat.
• Open seat: incumbent Jeff Campos is running for county commissioner instead, and the Republican nominee is sitting Commissioner Terry Martin ^{[32, 25]}.
• Primary: Martin was unopposed for the Republican nomination with 497 votes; Mark Ulrich was unopposed for the Democratic nomination with 95 votes ^{[25, 26]}.
• Issues before the council and commissioners in 2026 include financing a new county highway garage with Major Moves money, a design contract for the highway facility ($1,346,500), property-tax abatements for business expansions, a data-center moratorium adopted by the commissioners in July 2026, and road-resurfacing grants ^{[29, 33, 34, 30, 31]}.
• No candidate forum, debate, questionnaire or campaign website for this race was found.

Who holds this seat now

Jeff Campos (Republican) — not on this ballot.

Jeff Campos (Republican), a former county sheriff, holds the District 1 seat on the seven-member LaGrange County Council and serves as council vice president ^{[22, 23, 24]}. He is not seeking re-election; he is the Republican nominee for County Commissioner, District 1 ^{[25, 26]}.

Campos's record in the job

• January 12, 2026: Retained as council vice president by unanimous vote; 2026 appointments include the Plan Commission, the Council on Aging board and the EDIT committee ^[23].
• February 9, 2026: Moved approval of sheriff's requests to replace jail intercoms and dryers from the jail commissary account (unanimous) ^[27].
• March 9, 2026: Seconded a motion approving additional appropriations, including $1 million for county health insurance and $125,429 in LIT public-safety money for volunteer fire department pagers, while holding a $10,344,952 highway-garage request for a joint session (unanimous) ^[28]. At the joint session that day he seconded the motion to reserve all remaining Major Moves Construction Fund money for a new highway garage (unanimous roll call) ^[29].
• May 11, 2026: Presided as vice president when the council unanimously approved a 10-year real property tax abatement for a Postle Operating expansion projected to create 88 jobs ^[30].
• June 8, 2026: Seconded approval of a 10-year real property tax abatement agreement and resolution for FenZim Holdings and moved adoption of an updated multi-hazard mitigation plan (all unanimous) ^[31].

Candidates on the ballot

Key points

• The LaGrange County Council has seven members — four elected from districts and three at large — and is the county's fiscal body. This race is a single district seat. (LaGrange County, Indiana)
• LaGrange County government adopted a $45.0 million budget for 2026, about $1,090 per resident; that is +28.7% 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 -8.7% versus prior law once fully in effect (2028, since delayed to 2029 by HEA 1210). (Indiana Legislative Services Agency)

Sources