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2026 General Election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Wayne County Council, District 2

Voted on across Wayne County, in district 2.

Find your exact ballotAll Wayne County races

Who votes on this seat: Only voters who live in District 2 vote in this race. 2026 General Election Candidate List

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 the law puts in this job (13)
  • Serves as the county fiscal body under the name of the county council [1].
  • Sets the county property tax rate and other countywide rates not fixed by state law [2].
  • Appropriates county money; except as otherwise provided by law, money may leave the county treasury only under an appropriation the council makes [2].
  • Adopts the annual budget at a yearly meeting where the county auditor presents budget estimates; budget ordinances must be read on two separate days, and funding an item above the estimates takes a three-fourths vote [14].
  • Adopts a separate salary ordinance setting the pay of county officers and employees and the number of deputies and employees in each office, after considering the commissioners' recommendations [14, 3].
  • Sets pay schedules and job classifications paid from the county general, highway, park and other funds, except that each local health department board sets pay for its own staff [3].
  • Controls spending and revenue collection in the county, including special spending requests during the year [6].
  • Authorizes by ordinance the bonds that fund county road and bridge projects and can create a county housing authority by resolution [8].
  • Serves as the county legislative body as well as the fiscal body in Lake and St. Joseph counties [8].
  • Declares a commissioner's seat vacant when the commissioner moves out of the county or district, and in certain cases can remove a county commissioner from office [15, 13].
  • Becomes the body that adopts county local income tax rates under the 2025 SEA 1 overhaul, replacing local income tax councils; the change is now scheduled for ordinances adopted starting July 1, 2028 [16, 17].
  • Has its adopted budget, tax rate and levies reviewed by the state Department of Local Government Finance, whose county budget order certifies the approved budget, tax rate and levy for each fund [18].
  • Does not run county departments day to day; the commissioners provide administrative oversight and the council provides fiduciary oversight [5].

Wayne 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 office's 2026 budget

$11,575,422

16.3% of the county's adopted 2026 budget · 84% more than 2019, before inflation

2019: $6,275,1362020: $7,146,0622021: $5,396,8472022: $7,472,4442023: $7,812,7592024: $8,204,0082025: $8,255,1422026: $11,575,422
2019 $6,275,1362026 $11,575,422
The year-by-year figures

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

  • 2019: $6,275,136
  • 2020: $7,146,062
  • 2021: $5,396,847
  • 2022: $7,472,444
  • 2023: $7,812,759
  • 2024: $8,204,008
  • 2025: $8,255,142
  • 2026: $11,575,422

Budget lines counted: 0061 COUNTY COUNCIL

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)

$104,472

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

Also on the record for this office

  • SEA 1 estimated county-unit revenue change in 2028 vs prior law: $-1,464,070 (LSA)
  • MUST taskforce (LIT distribution talks): named reps
  • wheel tax: adopted
  • fiscal consultant named in records: C.L. Coonrod

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

120 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 13 of 17 counties with 50,000 to 150,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Share of the 2025 General Fund budget spent · 2025

89.5%

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 16 of 17 counties with 50,000 to 150,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

County debt per resident · 2025

$0.00

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 17 of 17 counties with 50,000 to 150,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Budget growth, 2023 to 2026 · 2023-2026

+45.1%

Adopted budget, all funds, not adjusted for inflation.

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

Position 3 of 17 counties with 50,000 to 150,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

SEA 1 estimate for 2028 · 2028 (LSA estimate)

-5.9%

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 5 of 17 counties with 50,000 to 150,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source

Property tax cap credits · 2026

22.8%

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 2 of 17 counties with 50,000 to 150,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Local income tax share of county revenue · 2026

21.8%

How much of the county's revenue comes from local income tax.

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: partial: the council adopts local income tax rates within limits set by state law

Position 17 of 17 counties with 50,000 to 150,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Meeting minutes online · 2026-10

Posted as text

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

  • Wayne County (county seat: Richmond) has a seven-member county council. In 2026, District 1 (Jeff Cappa) and District 3 (Beth Leisure) are unopposed. District 2 and District 4 are contested [37, 25].
  • Main issues in 2025–2026: In August 2025 the council passed a local option highway user tax 5-2. Members tied the vote to road and bridge funding, state Community Crossings grant rules and the 2025 state property-tax law (SEA 1). Under that law the council must decide on local income taxes that affect other taxing units in 2028 [27, 28, 38].
  • In July 2026 the Western Wayne News reported that the council had passed a $40 million 2026 general fund budget and had hired a consultant to project revenue losses from property-tax caps [38]. Ongoing projects in 2026 included jail window and equipment replacement, courthouse entrance and security work, bridge replacements and a new emergency radio system [24, 39, 35].
  • Primary: Ritter beat Bradley "Farmer Brad" Wood in the May 5, 2026 Republican primary, 970 votes (54.37%) to 814 (45.63%). No Democrat appeared in the District 2 primary results. Ryan Ogden was added to the ballot after the primary and appeared on the clerk's expanded candidate list of July 7, 2026 [37, 40].
  • Key differences in the candidates' own words: Ritter puts the focus on managing SEA 1 and local income tax changes with the help of a financial consultant, and on writing a formal council policy manual. Ogden puts the focus on protecting residents from budget shortfalls, opposing data centers, removing license plate reader cameras and reviewing company tax breaks [22, 41].
  • No candidate forums or debates for this race were found in sources reviewed.

Candidates on the ballot

Ryan Ogden

Democratic

Democrat Ryan Ogden is a registered nurse. He was added to the ballot after the primary and says he would focus on protecting residents from budget shortfalls, on opposing data centers and on removing license plate reader cameras [41, 40].

Ogden's background

  • Listed as Charles (Ryan) Ogden. He has been a registered nurse for 14 years: the past nine as a resource nurse at IU Health's Methodist and University hospitals in Indianapolis, and five before that at Reid Health [41].
  • Worked 10 years at Silgan (Alcoa) before nursing. Graduate of Union High School in Modoc and of Ivy Tech in Richmond [41].
  • Has not held public office, according to sources reviewed.

Ogden's positions

Budget & taxes

  • Wants to protect residents from budget shortfalls he expects from SB1, the 2025 state property-tax law. He proposes cost cutting such as sharing equipment and delaying purchases, and checking whether current tax breaks for companies still pay off [41].
  • Says the effect of any new taxes on average residents should be kept in mind [41].

Public safety & jail

  • Would vote against any budget that pays for tracking or surveillance of residents. Wants automated license plate reader cameras, including Flock cameras, taken off county roads; calls them "an invasion of our privacy" [41].

Data centers & energy projects

  • Opposes data center development, citing lost land, strain on water and power systems and few permanent jobs [41].

Economic development

  • Supports reviewing company tax breaks and keeping the Wayne County Fairgrounds as a county site [41].

Transparency

  • Wants more citizen input, "new voices to the table" and meeting times that are easier to attend; says "Government is owned by the people, not the few that are elected to lead it" [41].

How Ogden would run the office

  • Vote against budgets that fund surveillance of residents and work to remove license plate reader cameras [41].
  • Seek savings through shared equipment, delayed purchases and a review of company tax breaks [41].
  • Change meeting times to make it easier for residents to attend [41].

How Ogden got on the ballot

  • No Democrat appeared in the May 2026 District 2 primary results. Ogden was added to the ballot after the primary and appeared on the clerk's expanded candidate list of July 7, 2026 [37, 40].
  • Listed on the Wayne County general-election sample ballot for District 2 [25].

What we could not find about Ogden

  • No campaign website found.
  • Possible match, not confirmed: local party filing lists name a Charles Ryan Ogden as a Democratic precinct committee member for Wayne 31.
  • Coverage is limited to one candidate Q&A; how he reached the ballot after the primary (caucus or petition) was not stated in sources reviewed.
  • No statements by Ogden about Ritter's record were found. In his Q&A he did not criticize particular council members; he said he wants to offer voters another option and to bring more viewpoints to the council [41].
  • No endorsements or campaign finance reports were found in sources reviewed.

Sources for Ogden

Barry Ritter

RepublicanIncumbent

Republican incumbent and council vice-president. He is a retired Richmond Police deputy chief, a former county 911 director and the co-owner of a public safety consulting firm [22, 24].

Ritter's background

  • Co-owner of Ritter Strategic Services LLC, a public safety consulting firm that manages projects for local governments [22].
  • Worked 20 years at the Richmond Police Department, rising from patrolman to deputy chief, and retired in 2007. He then spent five years as Wayne County 911 director and later served as executive director of the Indiana Statewide 911 Board [22, 29].
  • Holds an associate degree in criminal justice from Vincennes University. He attended the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy and graduated from the FBI National Academy [22].

Ritter's positions

Budget & taxes

  • Says his top priority is fiscal responsibility while state changes to property taxes, business personal property tax and local income tax take effect, and that "it is crucial that we use every dollar appropriately" [29].
  • Says "Our first priority should be to manage spending responsibly while ensuring that essential services are maintained"; urges working with state legislators on relief for local governments; says new taxing options should not be "the sole solution" [29].
  • Praised the 2027 budget process and said department heads and elected officials showed they were committed to fiscal responsibility [22].

Property taxes & SEA 1

  • Says SEA 1 gives county councils new duties that affect other taxing units and taxpayers, and calls for "thoughtful, responsible decisions that consider the fiscal impact on everyone" [22].
  • Says the council is dealing with "an unprecedented shift in revenue collection" and has hired a financial consultant to build a sustainable financial plan [22].

Economic development

  • Wants county plans lined up with the projects of public and private partners to get the most from resources and support economic development; names housing as a need [29, 22].
  • Supports working with townships, towns, the city, schools and libraries; pointed to the county's first MUST meeting on local income tax [22].

Transparency

  • Says the council "currently lacks a comprehensive set of policies and procedures" and wants it to write a formal policy manual for elected officials, department heads and the council [29, 22].
  • Points to recorded meetings posted online and to social media as ways for residents to follow and weigh in on council business [22].

How Ritter would run the office

  • Use the county's financial consultant to plan for SEA 1 and local income tax changes while keeping essential services running [22].
  • Develop a formal council policy manual [22].
  • Develop a capital project strategy with officials and department heads [29].

Ritter on the current officeholder

  • Is the current officeholder. After the primary he thanked his opponent, Bradley Wood, for running [37]. No statements by Ritter about Ogden were found.

How Ritter got on the ballot

  • Won the May 5, 2026 Republican primary over Bradley Wood, 970 (54.37%) to 814 (45.63%) [37].
  • Listed on the Wayne County general-election sample ballot for District 2 [25].

What we could not find about Ritter

  • No campaign website found.
  • Campaign finance reports were not reviewed.
  • No endorsements or campaign finance reports were found in sources reviewed.

Sources for Ritter

Key points

  • Main issues in 2025–2026: In August 2025 the council passed a local option highway user tax 5-2. Members tied the vote to road and bridge funding, state Community Crossings grant rules and the 2025 state property-tax law (SEA 1). (Wayne County, Indiana)
  • Wayne County government adopted a $71.0 million budget for 2026, about $1,074 per resident; that is +45.1% 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 -5.9% versus prior law once fully in effect (2028, since delayed to 2029 by HEA 1210). (Indiana Legislative Services Agency)

Sources

Researched Sunday, October 11, 2026

  1. Indiana Code 36-2-3-2: County council as fiscal body; size (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  2. Indiana Code 36-2-5-2: Tax rates and appropriations (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  3. Indiana Code 36-2-5-3: Compensation of officers and employees (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  4. Indiana Code 36-2-3-4: Council districts and at-large members (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  5. Commissioners Responsibilities (Boone County, Indiana)
  6. About the County Council (Hancock County, Indiana)
  7. Indiana Code 36-2-3-1: Application of chapter (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  8. County Government Overview: Indiana (National Association of Counties (NACo))
  9. Indiana Code 36-2-3-3: Election and term of fiscal body (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  10. 2026 General Election Candidate List (Indiana Election Division)
  11. Monroe County voters put three incumbent Democrats back on county council (The B Square Bulletin (Dave Askins))
  12. Indiana Code 3-8-1-22: Candidates for county council (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  13. 2026 Indiana Candidate Guide (Indiana Election Division)
  14. Indiana Code 36-2-5-11: Annual budget, tax rate and salary ordinances (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  15. Indiana Code 36-2-2-5: Qualifications and residency of members; district or countywide election (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  16. Major Changes to Expenditure Rate of LIT in SEA 1 (2025) (Barnes & Thornburg LLP)
  17. Legislation Affecting Local Income Taxes (memorandum on HEA 1210-2026) (Indiana Department of Local Government Finance)
  18. County Specific Information (Indiana Department of Local Government Finance)
  19. Candidate Q&A: Barry Ritter (2026 general) (Western Wayne News)
  20. Wayne County Council minutes, January 7, 2026 (Wayne County, Indiana)
  21. 2026 General Election Sample Ballots (Wayne County Clerk)
  22. Wayne County Council minutes, August 6, 2025 (Wayne County, Indiana)
  23. Wayne County Council minutes, August 25, 2025 (Wayne County, Indiana)
  24. Candidate Q&A: Barry Ritter (2026 primary) (Western Wayne News)
  25. Wayne County Council minutes, September 2, 2026 (Wayne County, Indiana)
  26. 2026 Primary Election results: Moore, Retter win (Western Wayne News)
  27. County budget already 'on the right track' (Western Wayne News)
  28. Council and Commissioners joint meeting minutes, February 4, 2026 (Wayne County, Indiana)
  29. Battles increase on Nov. ballots (Western Wayne News)
  30. Candidate Q&A: Ryan Ogden (2026 general) (Western Wayne News)
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

This is not an official ballot. Confirm your registration, polling place and ballot with your election office through vote.gov.