By the numbers: In 2018, Applegate performed better than Charbonneau in the 6th council district.

On Tuesday the Green Mouse reported that Sam Charbonneau might be seeking a city council seat in the 6th district. Speaking for myself, he was in attendance at the last council meeting; given the masochism of such daring decisions, few disinterested citizens bother with the peanut gallery unless they're contemplating involvement ... or resistance.

Charbonneau's only previous campaign came last year. Here are the votes for Indiana House in 2018 from the 6th council district.

Precinct  Ed Clere (R)      Sam Charbonneau (D)

27:            198                               261
41:            336                               276
42:            271                               221
43:            163                               189
44:            323                               300
                                                                    
Total:      1,291                             1,247

We see that even while losing the 6th, Charbonneau did quite well, especially for a first-time candidate. Overall, Clere won re-election in 2918 with around 55% of the vote, but in the 6th, the tally was just shy of 51%.

Yesterday Jason Applegate (D) announced his bid for an at-large city council seat in 2019, having lost a commissioner's race last fall to Shawn Carruthers (R) by a razor-thin margin.

Jason Applegate files for NA city council at-large. Does this mean fellow Democrat Sam Charbonneau will challenge Scott Blair in the 6th?

Both Applegate and Charbonneau reside in the 6th district, so it might be instructive to compare the totals in the 6th for the Carruthers-Applegate contest in 2018.

Precinct       Shawn Carruthers    Jason Applegate

27:                          171                           276
41:                          310                           294
42:                          228                           252
43:                          145                           201
44:                          282                           320
                                                                               
Total:                    1,136                         1,343

Applegate won four of five precincts in the 6th and rolled up a 54%-46% advantage over Carruthers. This seems to suggest that Charbonneau opting for at-large and Applegate in the 6th would be more advantageous to Democrats than the other way around -- although we still don't know for sure whether Charbonneau will be running at all.

Yet again, the big voter turnout in 2018 (around half the registered voters in Floyd County, roughly double the norm) makes it difficult to compare apples with apples.

Here are the results from the last 6th district city council race in 2015.

CITY OF NEW ALBANY COUNCIL MEMBER DIST 6
Total votes: 1,345
LARRY BELCHER (REP)       358      26.62%
CLIFF STATEN (DEM)          404      30.04%
SCOTT A. BLAIR (IND)        583      43.35%

For the past two election cycles, Blair's status as an Independent has muddied traditional norms in the 6th district. He's certainly more R than D in terms of appeal, but in 2019, the Republicans have Scott Evans, a candidate with more potential upside than Belcher, and if Charbonneau goes for it, the Democrats will boast a hard worker who lost in the 6th by a very slim margin to the presumably unassailable Clere.

This one's going to be fascinating.

Shawn and Ann Carruthers "foster unity and cohesiveness in Southern Indiana."

The photo above was borrowed from Shawn's Facebook page. The one below testifies to the ability of our two most recent candidates for commissioner to run clean, respectful campaigns.

We get too few feel-good stories amid the local political scene. This is one of them.

Shawn, Ann Carruthers excel through service, by Melissa Goforth (Tom May's Lair)

 ... Ann and Shawn both say they tackle their respective work with the same desire to foster unity and cohesiveness in Southern Indiana.

Shawn says he is focused on leading his county’s Republican party and working to find common ground across the board as a county commissioner to benefit every resident.

“I don’t have any big plans for the next political position. I’m focused on the here and now, making sure I do the best job as a commissioner to help people,” Shawn said

“I understand that I am on a three-member board, which is a small board that represents a lot of people. So, I want to take every one of those concerns very seriously and just be the best commissioner I can be today and make sure that Floyd County moves forward, and it is the best county in this area.”

For Ann, her passion is centered around helping those in need, especially when it comes to her work as the president of the local non-profit organization Prevent Child Abuse and, in her desire to empower those struggling with mental health issues.

As a New Albany township trustee, she hopes to utilize that platform in expanding her mission to improve and influence the lives of local youth and families.

“We’re team players, and that’s kind of the core of how we make things happen,” Ann said.

While it’s easy to see how the couple has risen to the top, they didn’t begin there — or even aspire to be in such high-profile roles.

Their journey together began more than two decades ago when they met at a church function for youth ...

Local chain newspaper commences anodyne election coverage with Floyd County Commissioners District 1 contest.

"Anodyne" doesn't merit a "Shane's Excellent New Words" tag, but here's the definition.

an·o·dyne
ˈanəˌdīn
adjective
1. not likely to provoke dissent or offense; inoffensive, often deliberately so.

Shawn and Jason are competing for the seat held by Mark Seabrook, who'll seek the office of mayor in 2019. Articles like this one are about as substantive as the chain newspaper will get between now and election day.

I'd recommend contacting either of the candidates if you want more information. Both are friendly and accessible. I have my preference, although as noted previously, there'll probably be no formal endorsements at the blog this cycle.

I'm hiding in plain sight, you know.

New face to join Floyd County Commissioners, by Chris Morris (Maybune)

Applegate, Carruthers both want smart growth

NEW ALBANY — Jason Applegate believes in smart growth. He said Floyd County has a comprehensive plan, and that plan should be followed moving forward.

Shawn Carruthers would like to see high tech companies come to the county, and thinks the proposed innovation park in Georgetown is the perfect location for those types of businesses to flourish.