Starke County Council, District 2

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].

Starke 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: $-524,650 (LSA)
• MUST taskforce (LIT distribution talks): none found
• wheel tax: discussed
• fiscal consultant named in records: Baker Tilly

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 Starke County Council has seven members: four district seats and three at-large seats. In 2026 they are Bill R. Crase, Jr. (president), Dave Pearman (vice president), Todd Leinbach, Howard Bailey, Bruce Bennett, Kay Gudeman and Cassandra Hine ^[24]. District 2 is a single-member seat. In the 2026 primary, 657 Republican ballots were cast in the District 2 council race, compared with 2,441 in the countywide commissioner race ^[34].
• Bailey, the incumbent, defeated Tom Busch in the Republican primary, 456 (69.41%) to 201 (30.59%). Joshua D. Pitts was unopposed in the Democratic primary with 164 votes ^{[34, 35]}.
• Budget pressure: in March 2026 the council heard projected levy reductions from SEA 1 of $354,000 (2026), $422,000 (2027) and $524,000 (2028). It debated a public-safety or EMS local income tax, 6% to 7% department cuts, and using solar or CEDIT money ^[36]. In August 2026 it discussed a state-mandated cut projected at $623,000 to about $1 million ^[37]. In July 2026, council members said the county expected nearly 10% less state funding and discussed department cuts of up to 10% ^[38]. Adoption of the 2027 budget was postponed to October 19, 2026, after disputes over budget figures and salary increases ^[39].
• Other council issues in 2025-2026: solar revenue and economic development agreements (Mammoth, NextEra/NIPSCO), tax-abatement compliance, EMS cardiac monitors and ambulances, Jail CEDIT spending, and financial reporting by the county-funded Economic Development Foundation ^{[40, 41, 33, 37]}.
• No candidate forums or debates for this race were found in sources reviewed.

Who holds this seat now

Howard A. Bailey, Jr. (Republican) — on this ballot, standing again.

Bailey's record in the job

• 2018: Won the District 2 seat, defeating Democrat Chuck Estok 1,153 votes (55.97%) to 907 (44.03%) ^[22].
• 2022: Re-elected over Democrat Louis George Sommerfield Jr., 1,360 votes (76.06%) to 428 (23.94%) ^[23].
• February 2025: Said the county should buy two new sheriff's vehicles every year and asked that they be added to the sheriff's budget annually. Moved approval of a one-year, $89,800 contract with the Starke County Economic Development Foundation, saying the county should be proud of the foundation (passed 5-0) ^[25].
• April 2025: Moved to spend $200,000 from the restricted Motor Vehicle Highway fund on county road improvements, noting that the fund can be used only for roads (passed 6-0). Moved to buy employee ID cards and a printer from Cumulative Capital Development, citing employee safety (passed 6-0). Noted that he also serves on the Planning Commission board ^[26].
• May 2025: Said the council can spend solar money at its discretion without state approval but should do so carefully, putting some in a perpetual fund for later use ^[27].
• June 2025: Moved to hire Baker Tilly, for up to $15,000 from solar funds, to do a comparative study of NextEra's proposed solar economic development agreement. With Councilman Bruce Bennett, he said he wanted to see 'in black and white' what taxpayers would save (passed 6-0) ^[28].
• August 2025: At the 2026 budget hearing, he and Councilman Todd Leinbach both said they were not in favor of adding any new taxes ^[29].
• September 2025: Said he wanted the county's solar ordinance to be 'strict and fair to everyone.' During 2026 budget adoption, moved to give the auditor a $4,000 increase plus the 3% raise (passed 5-0); the council then adopted the county budget 5-0 ^[30].
• December 2025: The council voted 5-2 to accept Mammoth North LLC's late tax-abatement compliance form (CF-1) with a formal warning. Bailey was not among the two 'no' votes, and he seconded the motions opening the public hearing ^[31].
• April 2026: Seconded the motion to accept an INDOT grant for Bridge 13, with a county match of about $1 million on a $3.075 million project (passed 5-2) ^[32].
• June 2026: Moved a $4,158.66 Jail CEDIT appropriation for a jail and courthouse metal detector (passed unanimously) ^[33].
• May 5, 2026: Won the Republican primary over Tom Busch, 456 votes (69.41%) to 201 (30.59%) ^{[34, 35]}.

Candidates on the ballot

Key points

• Budget pressure: in March 2026 the council heard projected levy reductions from SEA 1 of $354,000 (2026), $422,000 (2027) and $524,000 (2028). It debated a public-safety or EMS local income tax, 6% to 7% department cuts, and using solar or CEDIT money. (Starke County Council)
• Starke County government adopted a $16.4 million budget for 2026, about $701 per resident; that is -12.3% 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 -7.0% versus prior law once fully in effect (2028, since delayed to 2029 by HEA 1210). (Indiana Legislative Services Agency)

Sources