2026 General Election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Tippecanoe County Commissioner, District 1

Voted on across Tippecanoe County, in district 1. Open seat: Tracy Brown is not on the ballot.

Who votes on this seat: Commissioners must live in their district, but every voter in the county votes for this seat. Indiana Code 36-2-2-5

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 the law puts in this job (13)
  • Acts as the county executive and transacts county business under the name of the board of commissioners [1].
  • Runs the day-to-day administration of county government affairs that the state has not given to a separately elected county officer [2].
  • Serves as the county's legislative body, passing ordinances and resolutions, in every county except Lake, Marion and St. Joseph, where that power belongs to the county council [2].
  • Controls, maintains and supervises county property such as the courthouse, the jail building and county offices [13].
  • Oversees county roads and bridges, highway records, speed limits and stop signs [13].
  • Audits and approves claims for payment, takes bids and authorizes county contracts [13].
  • Prepares the commissioners' part of the county budget and recommends salaries to the county council, which must consider the executive's recommendations before adopting the salary ordinance [13, 11].
  • Handles zoning, planning, building regulation and economic development matters, and in many counties casts the final vote on rezoning requests such as proposed data centers [13, 14].
  • Sets voting precincts and polling places and appoints members of many county boards [13].
  • Establishes and maintains the county health department and can declare a local disaster emergency [2].
  • Draws the three commissioner districts and the county council districts, outside the largest counties where a commission or the council draws them [15, 16].
  • Does not set the county budget, property tax rate or salaries; those decisions belong to the county council, and no money leaves the county treasury without a council appropriation except as otherwise provided by law [3, 4, 11].
  • Does not run the offices of other elected county officials such as the sheriff, auditor or treasurer, which are separately elected [2].

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].

Tippecanoe 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.

Commissioners' department (code 0068), 2026 adopted budget

$19,173,855

53% more than 2019, before inflation

2019: $12,554,7732020: $16,608,2322021: $15,121,9562022: $14,529,2552023: $16,308,3902024: $19,916,1032025: $18,040,4742026: $19,173,855
2019 $12,554,7732026 $19,173,855
The year-by-year figures

Adopted budget, all funds, 2019-2026 (not adjusted for inflation)

  • 2019: $12,554,773
  • 2020: $16,608,232
  • 2021: $15,121,956
  • 2022: $14,529,255
  • 2023: $16,308,390
  • 2024: $19,916,103
  • 2025: $18,040,474
  • 2026: $19,173,855

Budget lines counted: 0068 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

Adopted 2026 county budget (Form 1 line items, Form 4B) and earlier years' budgets

All members combined, 2026 budget lines (presidents are often paid more)

$241,821

From the county budget; verify against the county's 2026 salary ordinance. A line can include longevity pay or a second role.

  • 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: $-4,182,500 (LSA)
  • MUST taskforce (LIT distribution talks): none found
  • wheel tax: none found
  • fiscal consultant named in records: FSG

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.

General Fund cash, in days of spending · 2025

101 days

End-of-2025 General Fund cash divided by a year's disbursements, times 365.

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: high (council and commissioners jointly): spending and appropriation decisions

Position 10 of 10 counties with 150,000 or more residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Share of the 2025 General Fund budget spent · 2025

98.3%

Actual General Fund spending divided by the certified budget.

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: high (council appropriates; commissioners and officers spend)

Position 9 of 11 counties with 150,000 or more residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

County debt per resident · 2025

$62.53

Debt outstanding at the end of 2025 (annual financial report).

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: high (council authorizes borrowing; commissioners initiate many projects)

Position 10 of 11 counties with 150,000 or more residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Budget growth, 2023 to 2026 · 2023-2026

+24.8%

Adopted budget, all funds, not adjusted for inflation.

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: high (council adopts the budget)

Position 5 of 10 counties with 150,000 or more residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

SEA 1 estimate for 2028 · 2028 (LSA estimate)

-8.1%

Legislative Services Agency estimate of the county government's revenue change under the 2025 property tax law, compared with prior law.

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: low: set by state law (SEA 1-2025); local rate choices from 2028 change the outcome

Position 3 of 10 counties with 150,000 or more residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source

Property tax cap credits · 2026

6.1%

Tax-cap (circuit breaker) credits as a share of the 2026 levy: revenue the county does not collect because of the caps.

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: low: set mainly by the constitutional caps and the combined rates of all units in the county

Position 10 of 11 counties with 150,000 or more residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

County bridges rated poor · 2025

6.0%

Share of county-owned bridges in poor condition (2025 inventory).

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: partial: commissioners set road and bridge priorities and local match; projects take years and depend on grants

Position 6 of 10 counties with 150,000 or more residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source

Highway spending per lane-mile · 2025

$8,629

2025 county highway spending per lane-mile of county road.

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: high (commissioners direct the highway department; council appropriates)

Position 7 of 10 counties with 150,000 or more residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Meeting minutes online · 2026-10

Posted as scanned images

Whether the council's or commissioners' minutes are posted online (the better of the two), checked Oct. 2026.

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: high (commissioners and council decide what they post)

About this race

  • Open seat: Commissioner Tracy Brown chose not to seek another term and ran for Indiana House District 27 instead, leaving a crowded field for the District 1 seat [25]. Commissioners serve four-year terms as the county's executive branch; candidates must live in the district, but voters countywide see the race on their ballots [33].
  • May 5, 2026 primary (certified): Republican Julie Roush won 6,594 votes (74.47%) to 2,261 (25.53%) for James Waters. Democrat Andrea Burniske won 3,763 votes (52.43%), ahead of Justin Kendall (1,710), Travis L. Dowell (1,147) and A R Lane (557) [26].
  • The other commissioners in 2026 are Thomas Murtaugh and David Byers [23].
  • Budget: in May 2026 the auditor projected 2027 revenue of about $67 million, compared with $67.6 million for 2026, and a $4.4 million gap if salaries rose 1%; the commissioners recommended a 3% increase as the starting point [29]. Both nominees addressed revenue losses under Senate Bill 1 (SEA 1) in a candidate questionnaire [34].
  • Land use: the county adopted a 2025 stopgap zoning measure on data centers, which both nominees discussed [34]. In May 2026 the commissioners adopted a stricter solar ordinance after extended public comment [29], and in August 2026 they moved to make the county's high-volume water export ban permanent [32].
  • Ambulance service: during 2026 public comment periods, county residents questioned response times, staffing and costs of the Tippecanoe Emergency Ambulance Service (TEAS); Commissioner Murtaugh responded that TEAS's board includes IU Health, Franciscan Health, the county and both cities [35, 36, 37].
  • Forums: Democratic primary candidates for commissioner appeared at a Heartland Democracy Project forum in March 2026 [38]. No general-election forum or debate between Roush and Burniske had been reported as of Oct. 11, 2026.

Who holds this seat now

Tracy Brown (Republican) — not on this ballot.

Tracy Brown holds the District 1 seat on the Tippecanoe County Board of Commissioners and was re-elected board president for 2026 [23]. The Lafayette Journal & Courier reported in February 2026 that he had served 12 years as a commissioner after eight years as county sheriff [24]. He did not seek another term as commissioner and instead won the May 2026 Republican primary for Indiana House District 27 with 79% of the vote over Oscar Alvarez [25, 26].

Brown's record in the job

  • Jan. 5, 2026: Re-elected board president, with Thomas Murtaugh as vice president; voted with the 3-0 majority to rezone 25.4 acres near West Lafayette from R1 to general business with a commitment excluding certain uses [23].
  • March 2, 2026: Presided as the board approved a build-operate-transfer agreement with Ladd's Ag Services for the Buck Creek-Colburn wastewater project (guaranteed maximum price $10 million, preliminary budget $9,587,377). Responding to a resident who questioned the bidding and cost reductions, Brown said the project had been advertised for qualifications, two bidders took part and comparable projects elsewhere were in line with the numbers; Commissioner David Byers commended Brown's leadership on the project [27].
  • March 2, 2026: Voted 3-0 on five rezonings and a zoning amendment updating height and accessory dwelling unit rules in two residential zones [27].
  • April 20, 2026: The board approved expanding a tax increment financing (TIF) district for Sustainea project incentives, including a $500,000 forgivable loan tied to a goal of 191 jobs at $46 an hour, subject to County Council approval [28].
  • May 4, 2026: Voted for the new solar energy zoning ordinance (3-0), which the Area Plan Commission director described as a stricter code; public speakers addressed its 400-acre limit, setbacks and farmland protections, with others urging changes [29]. The same day the board recommended a 3% salary increase as the basis for 2027 budgets after the auditor projected 2027 revenue of $67 million and a $4.4 million gap at a 1% increase [29].
  • June 1, 2026: Presented an amendment to the engineering agreement for the Buck Creek-Colburn wastewater project; the board also accepted an $800,000 Indiana Finance Authority grant for the Buck Creek Regional Sewer District [30].
  • July 6, 2026: The board approved build-operate-transfer documents with Avenew Roads for the County Road 425 N corridor, with Phase 1 guaranteed at $20.55 million and a total projected cost of $23.9 million [31].
  • Aug. 17, 2026: Voted for an ordinance (3-0 on first reading) to make permanent the county's 2023 moratorium on exporting 5 million or more gallons of water a day out of the county and to ban radial collector wells pumping 1 million gallons or more a day [32].

Candidates on the ballot

Andrea E. Burniske

Democratic

Democratic nominee; she is retired from a career in international development and won a four-way Democratic primary with 52.4% [34, 33, 26].

Burniske's background

  • Retired international development professional who says she managed multimillion-dollar programs funded by USAID, the World Bank and the State Department; she has also worked as a special education teacher and with Extension educators [34].
  • Her candidate biography lists a BA in Russian from UC Berkeley, an MA in journalism from the University of Oregon and an MS in education from Purdue [34].

Burniske's positions

Transparency

  • Her first priority is fixing processes that create gaps in transparency, accountability and customer service; she pointed to the commissioners' website, saying "there is almost no information there," and proposed standard procedures for publishing information, a video explaining the commissioners' role and explanations of agenda items [34].

Budget & taxes

  • Wants public budget forums laying out trade-offs; would protect public safety (sheriff, jail, 911, emergency management, courts), roads, bridges, drainage and mandated services first, and cut internal inefficiencies, non-essential consulting, discretionary travel and training and non-urgent building projects [34].
  • Would re-evaluate pilot programs that cannot show results, citing the Buck Creek/Colburn sewer project [34].

Property taxes & SEA 1

  • Said: "If state policy reduces county revenue, we owe residents an honest, line-by-line discussion of what that means" [34].

Data centers & energy projects

  • Said "the stopgap was the right move, but a pause is not a plan"; proposes studying other places, mapping suitable zones based on power, water, transmission, road access and distance from homes and schools, negotiating agreements on roads, emergency services and utilities, tying abatements to measurable public benefits, and finishing an ordinance before the stopgap ends [34].
  • Listed solar farms among land-use issues an updated strategic plan should address [34].

Zoning & land use

  • Gave the county a C+ on growth, saying it has strong planning tools and staff but "lacks a coherent growth strategy" and that growth is happening "in a piecemeal way"; wants land-use decisions tied to road and drainage capacity, emergency response times, school impacts and maintenance costs, and an updated Area Plan Commission strategic plan, which she says dates from the 1980s [34].

Public health

  • Supports reauthorizing the Gateway to Hope syringe services program, with stronger oversight, data reporting and partnerships with law enforcement and treatment providers [34].

How Burniske would run the office

  • Standard procedures for publishing county information and explaining agenda items [34].
  • Push for an updated Area Plan Commission strategic plan [34].
  • A data center ordinance with mapped zones and negotiated infrastructure agreements before the stopgap ends [34].

Burniske on the current officeholder

  • Open seat. She said the commissioners do too little to inform the public about their work and that their website has almost no information [34]. She also said she would re-evaluate the Buck Creek/Colburn sewer project, which Commissioner Brown led [34, 27].

How Burniske got on the ballot

  • Won the May 5, 2026 Democratic primary with 3,763 votes (52.43%) over Justin Kendall, Travis L. Dowell and A R Lane [26].

What we could not find about Burniske

  • No campaign website was found.
  • No general-election forum, debate or interview with her had been found as of Oct. 11, 2026.
  • Her remarks at the March 2026 Democratic candidate forum could not be confirmed from freely available sources.
  • She did not address housing in detail beyond listing affordability as an issue, and gave no position on tax rates.
  • Lafayette Journal & Courier coverage of the general-election race could not be reviewed for this profile.
  • No endorsements or campaign finance reports were found.

Sources for Burniske

Julie Roush

Republican

Republican nominee; she is Tippecanoe County Clerk of the Circuit Court, in the final year of her second term, and won the May 2026 primary with 74.5% [33, 26].

Roush's background

  • Clerk of the Circuit Court of Tippecanoe County; her candidate biography lists nearly 25 years in local government, including four years on the Fairfield Township Board, 12 years as Fairfield Township trustee and eight years as clerk [34].
  • Holds an MBA from Purdue University and an election administration certificate from Ball State University, according to her candidate biography [34]. BallotReady lists earlier work as a financial advisor at Salomon Smith Barney (2002-2007) [39].
  • As clerk she presents election matters to the commissioners, such as a $58,640 MicroVote election services agreement in March 2026 [27].

Roush's positions

Budget & taxes

  • Said "the county must be more intentional with every dollar"; proposed reviewing operations, reducing duplication, reducing reliance on outsourcing, strengthening in-house expertise and possibly temporary hiring freezes, while protecting public safety, roads and essential services first [34].

Property taxes & SEA 1

  • Said that as Senate Bill 1 takes effect the county will have to "be more disciplined" by reducing costs and improving processes without lowering service levels [34].

Data centers & energy projects

  • Said the county's 2025 data center stopgap "was reasonable as a short-term measure"; wants stakeholder engagement and clear standards that protect rural character and property rights [34].

Zoning & land use

  • On growth outside Lafayette and West Lafayette: "While there has been progress, we can do better"; supports long-term planning that steers commercial growth to appropriate areas and preserves prime farmland, with landowners, farmers and residents involved [34].

Economic development

  • Said commercial growth drives revenue and that the county should actively support economic development to fund essential services [34].

County services & staffing

  • Called employees the backbone of county services; wants to address rising health care costs, set clear expectations and build "a culture of accountability" [34].

Public health

  • Described the Gateway to Hope syringe services program as "an important, but not a core essential county function"; said any reauthorization should rest on data and be paired with long-term treatment and recovery options [34].

How Roush would run the office

  • Review county operations to cut duplication and outsourcing and build in-house expertise [34].
  • Develop clear standards for data centers with stakeholder input [34].

Roush on the current officeholder

  • Open seat. In the primary questionnaire she did not comment on Commissioner Brown's record; on county growth she said there has been progress but the county "can do better" [34].

How Roush got on the ballot

  • Won the May 5, 2026 Republican primary over James Waters, 6,594 votes to 2,261 [26].

What we could not find about Roush

  • No campaign website was found.
  • No general-election forum, debate or interview with her had been found as of Oct. 11, 2026.
  • She did not address housing, the jail or solar development in the primary questionnaire reviewed.
  • Lafayette Journal & Courier coverage of the general-election race could not be reviewed for this profile.
  • No endorsements or campaign finance reports were found.

Sources for Roush

Key points

  • Open seat: Commissioner Tracy Brown chose not to seek another term and ran for Indiana House District 27 instead, leaving a crowded field for the District 1 seat. (Based in Lafayette (Dave Bangert))
  • Temporary rules limit large data centers to I-2 zoning with a special exception (stopgap zoning, 2025); a move to make the high-volume water export ban permanent came in Aug 2026. (tippecanoe.in.gov)

    Worth asking: The county's 2025 data center zoning rules are temporary, and it has acted to limit large water withdrawals. Should those rules become permanent, and what would you require on water use before considering any data center tax abatement?

  • Tippecanoe County government adopted a $119.6 million budget for 2026, about $628 per resident; that is +24.8% compared with 2023. (Indiana Gateway for Government Units)

Sources

Researched Sunday, October 11, 2026

  1. Indiana Code 36-2-2-2: Board of commissioners as county executive (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  2. County Government Overview: Indiana (National Association of Counties (NACo))
  3. Indiana Code 36-2-5-2: Tax rates and appropriations (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  4. Indiana Code 36-2-5-3: Compensation of officers and employees (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  5. Indiana Code 36-2-2-1: Application of chapter (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  6. Marion County Commissioners (Encyclopedia of Indianapolis (Thomas C. Kennedy))
  7. Indiana Code 36-2-2-3: Election and term of executive (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  8. Indiana Code 36-2-2-5: Qualifications and residency of members; district or countywide election (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  9. 2026 Indiana Candidate Guide (Indiana Election Division)
  10. Indiana Code 3-8-1-21: Candidates for county commissioner (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  11. Indiana Code 36-2-5-11: Annual budget, tax rate and salary ordinances (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  12. 2026 General Election Candidate List (Indiana Election Division)
  13. Commissioners Responsibilities (Boone County, Indiana)
  14. Indiana state officials want to attract data centers. Local communities are beginning to push back (Indianapolis Business Journal via Inside INdiana Business (Marek Mazurek))
  15. Indiana Code 36-2-2-4: Commissioner districts (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  16. Indiana Code 36-2-3-4: Council districts and at-large members (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  17. Huntington County opts in to Health First Indiana Fund (Huntington County Health Department)
  18. County health departments see $75M public health investment (Indianapolis Business Journal via Inside INdiana Business (Cate Charron))
  19. Indiana Code 36-2-3-2: County council as fiscal body; size (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  20. Gov. Mike Braun signs 'historic' property tax relief bill into law, critics call it a 'lose-lose' (Indiana Public Media (Brandon Smith))
  21. Legislation Affecting Local Income Taxes (memorandum on HEA 1210-2026) (Indiana Department of Local Government Finance)
  22. Delay in local income tax changes sets up more legislative debate next year (Indiana Capital Chronicle via Indiana Public Media (Tom Davies))
  23. Tippecanoe County Board of Commissioners meeting minutes, 2026-01-05 (Tippecanoe County Government)
  24. Indiana Rep. Sheila Klinker, 87, faces longtime friend in her 'last' election (Lafayette Journal & Courier (via Yahoo News))
  25. Contested primaries blossom on Tippecanoe County ballots (Based in Lafayette (Dave Bangert))
  26. 2026 Primary Election certified summary report (Tippecanoe County Election Board)
  27. Tippecanoe County Board of Commissioners meeting minutes, 2026-03-02 (Tippecanoe County Government)
  28. Tippecanoe County Board of Commissioners meeting minutes, 2026-04-20 (Tippecanoe County Government)
  29. Tippecanoe County Board of Commissioners meeting minutes, 2026-05-04 (Tippecanoe County Government)
  30. Tippecanoe County Board of Commissioners meeting minutes, 2026-06-01 (Tippecanoe County Government)
  31. Tippecanoe County Board of Commissioners meeting minutes, 2026-07-06 (Tippecanoe County Government)
  32. Tippecanoe County Board of Commissioners meeting minutes, 2026-08-17 (Tippecanoe County Government)
  33. Takeaways from the 2026 primary (Based in Lafayette (Dave Bangert))
  34. Primary 2026 candidate Q&A: Tippecanoe County commissioner, District 1 (Based in Lafayette (Dave Bangert))
  35. Tippecanoe County Board of Commissioners meeting minutes, 2026-02-02 (Tippecanoe County Government)
  36. Tippecanoe County Board of Commissioners meeting minutes, 2026-02-17 (Tippecanoe County Government)
  37. Tippecanoe County Board of Commissioners meeting minutes, 2026-04-06 (Tippecanoe County Government)
  38. Tippecanoe County commissioner Democrat candidates (Heartland Democracy Project forum) (The Purdue Exponent)
  39. Julie Roush (BallotReady)
What's included
the U.S. House, statewide offices, every Indiana House and Senate district on the ballot, Indiana's statewide public questions and judicial retention questions, and county, township, city, town and school board races from the Indiana Election Division's candidate list.
Everything else
Local races (county, city, school board, judges) and anything else on your ballot are on your official sample ballot: IndianaVoters.in.gov.
Candidate lists
As of Sunday, October 18, 2026.
At the polls
Indiana law lets you bring a list of candidates and public questions into the polling place, including one stored on your phone, as long as you don't electioneer. IC 3-11-8-18.5

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