Commentary by Larry Lannan
The Indiana General Assembly created the municipality of Fishers Station in 1891 around the general area we now know as downtown Fishers. In 1908, the local post office shortened the name to just plain Fishers.
The tiny hamlet known as Fisher’s Station or Fisher’s Switch in 1891 was a far cry from the Fishers of 2014. The coming year will see some of the biggest government changes Fishers has experienced since 1891.
In 2012, a referendum was conducted and the voters chose a city form of government for Fishers. This means a mayor will be elected, along with nine city council members and a city clerk. Three city council members will run at-large with all Fishers voters selecting those members. The remaining six will run only within their council districts.
This year will mark the first city election for Fishers. The primary election is set for May 6. Since Fishers is a heavily Republican area, those emerging as winners in the GOP primary will be big favorites to prevail in the November general election.
There are already a number of announced candidates for city office. However, a public announcement of one’s intention to run is not official. A candidate must file paperwork at the Hamilton County Election Office in downtown Noblesville to make it official. The first day to file is Jan. 8, and the filing deadline is noon, Feb. 7. We will know all the candidates once the filing deadline passes.
There are some unanswered questions as we approach the 2014 local election. Will Democrats choose to run for Fishers city offices? In the past Democrats have only occasionally run for office in Fishers. Will any third party candidates emerge? Libertarians sometimes run candidates for local office in Indiana.
One thing is certain. This will be a very interesting and exciting election campaign to watch.
If you like elections, don’t be disappointed when 2014 ends. Due to a quirk in state law, those elected to Fishers city office in 2014 will serve only one year. In 2015, the entire city election cycle will start again, but this time for four-year terms.
I wonder what those settlers of Fisher’s Station 123 years ago would think if they could envision Fishers as a thriving suburb with a population of over 80,000 in 2014?