The president of the Columbus/Bartholomew County Area NAACP branch is one of two Democrats who have placed their names on the November ballot for at-large seats on the Bartholomew County Council.
Declarations of candidacy, as well as written consents to fill a ballot vacancy, were filed Thursday at the Bartholomew County Courthouse for Olisa Humes, who succeeded Stella Collins as NAACP chapter president in January 2019.
Retired Centra Credit Union employee Claudette Schroer is the other Democrat seeking one of the three at-large council seats.
Since no Democrats ran in the primary for council at-large, state law required that the names of Schroer and Humes be submitted to the Voter Registration office by Bartholomew County Democratic Central Committee chairman Steve Schoettmer.
All county political party chairmen in Indiana have until noon Tuesday to fill a local ballot vacancy where no candidate ran in the primary.
Under NAACP regulations, running for political office will require Humes to step down as chapter president, Schoettmer said. While Collins said she was aware of Humes’ candidacy, the former chapter president said she is unaware of any preparations regarding a successor.
Regulations also require Humes to complete specific preparations with the NAACP before she is allowed to talk with media representatives about her candidacy, she said. But Schoettmer says he expects those responsibilities will be fulfilled within a few days.
Due partly to her professional work with Human Services, Inc., Humes has developed a passion about the need to create more affordable housing, Schoettmer said. The 1990 Columbus East High School graduate who holds a degree from the University of Evansville also works extensively for the Brighter Days emergency housing shelter.
The daughter of Willie and Beverly Humes is also a strong advocate for obtaining body cameras for all deputies within the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, Schoettmer said.
The other Democratic candidate, Claudette Schroer, is a 1966 graduate of Columbus High School who ran for political office one previous time. In 2006, she unsuccessfully challenged then-incumbent Bartholomew County Auditor Nancy McKinney.
After first earning her degree in accounting from Indiana Business College, Schroer later completed several advanced accounting classes at IUPUC, she said.
During her career, she has worked in both accounting and tax preparation, but was employed as a financial analyst with Centra prior to her 2014 retirement, Schroer said.
“Claudette has spent her life in finance, and would bring fiduciary responsibility to the county council,” Schoettmer said.
With the ultimate decision-making power regarding fiscal matters in Bartholomew County government, the county council creates annual budgets, establishes compensation for over 400 county employees, fixes tax rates and established levies.
“I’m certainly not afraid of the job,” said the wife of Jeff Schroer and mother of two adult sons. “It’s kind of right up my alley.”
Humes and Schroer will be challenging three incumbent Republicans this fall: Bill Lentz, Matt Miller and Evelyn Pence.
