Union 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].

Union 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.

This county's council has no budget lines of its own (department 0061); council pay is probably budgeted under the commissioners or another department.

Also on the record for this office

• SEA 1 estimated county-unit revenue change in 2028 vs prior law: $-165,350 (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

• Union County is a small county; 4,911 voters were registered for the May 2026 primary ^[24]. The council has seven members: Marilyn Revalee, Bonnie Adams, Ravenna Brown, Trish Persinger, Elaine Witter, Tyler Clavell and Chris Rosenberger. It reviews and approves county budgets, pay, tax and fee rates, and borrowing ^[23].
• No Democrat filed for any of the four council district seats in the May 2026 primary ^[24]. James R Hensley, Jr is on the November ballot as the Democratic nominee for District 2 ^[10]. How he was nominated was not found in sources reviewed.
• Budget: the state's 2026 budget order for Union County certified a county budget of about $6.37 million, a property tax levy of about $2.71 million and a rate of $0.5981 per $100 of assessed value. The general fund rate was reduced because assessed values rose ^[27].
• No local news coverage, candidate forum or questionnaire for this race was found.

Who holds this seat now

Tyler S Clavell (Republican) — on this ballot, standing again.

Clavell's record in the job

• November 2022: Won District 2 with 464 votes (57.57%) to 342 (42.43%) for Democrat Jim Hensley Jr., who had won the seat unopposed in 2018 ^{[22, 25]}.
• May 5, 2026: Unopposed in the Republican primary, with 115 votes in the county's uncertified election-night results ^[24].
• Council minutes from 2023–2026 are not posted on the county website (the most recent posted council minutes are from 2016), so Clavell's votes and statements could not be reviewed for this profile ^[26].

Candidates on the ballot

Key points

• Budget: the state's 2026 budget order for Union County certified a county budget of about $6.37 million, a property tax levy of about $2.71 million and a rate of $0.5981 per $100 of assessed value. (Indiana Department of Local Government Finance)
• Union County government adopted a $8.7 million budget for 2026, about $1,265 per resident; that is +21.7% 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 -5.5% versus prior law once fully in effect (2028, since delayed to 2029 by HEA 1210). (Indiana Legislative Services Agency)

Sources