By Maria Cook
Rosemary Dunkle, vice-chair of the Hamilton County Democrats of Indiana, is seeking to oust longtime incumbent Christine Altman in the race for District 1 on the Hamilton County Commission.
“People in Hamilton County don’t have enough choices,” Dunkle said. “A couple of times when I went to vote in the primaries, there was no one to vote for on the Democratic ticket. Every time that happened to me, I thought, ‘I don’t understand, why aren’t people running?’ So, when I retired, I thought, ‘Now I can do something.’”
Dunkle worked for the federal government for almost 40 years, mostly in the Social Security Administration, before retiring. November will mark the third time she has run for office in Hamilton County. In 2014, she sought a county ouncil seat in District 1. In 2016, she ran for an at-large county council seat.
“I have spent most of my life serving the public. I have a lot of management experience, a lot of budget experience, a lot of experience that would lend itself to what a commissioner does,” she said.
Dunkle has lived in Carmel with her family for 21 years. She said her goal is to bring more transparency to the political process.
“The commissioners meet during the week while most people are at work. They make decisions behind closed doors,” Dunkle said. “My first priority would be to be the voice of my constituents, finding out what regular people think is important, not just those half a dozen people in power. We need to do a better job of getting people involved in the process.”
Campaign platforms:
- Political transparency: Ensure that all actions of the commissioners are open and visible to the public.
- Fiscal responsibility: Take care to ensure that all budgets created by the commissioners are fiscally responsible.
