Mike Wolanin | The Republic Bartholomew County Commissioner Larry Kleinhenz watches election results during the Bartholomew County Republican Party election results watch party at Hotel Indigo in Columbus, Ind., Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic Bartholomew County Commissioner Larry Kleinhenz watches election results during the Bartholomew County Republican Party election results watch party at Hotel Indigo in Columbus, Ind., Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024.
After winning his ninth consecutive term Tuesday, Bartholomew County commissioner Larry Kleinhenz will become the longest serving elected county official still in office next year.
Kleinhenz can claim that honor after county council member Evelyn Pence retired last summer, and county surveyor Enoch Gray confirmed his retirement at the end of December. Republican Jake Fitzsimmons ran unopposed in his bid to succeed Gray.
“It is as exciting to be elected to office now almost as much as my first time,” Kleinhenz said Tuesday.
With Republicans continuing their long-held dominance in county government , the 66-year-old Kleinhenz fended off a challenge Tuesday from Democrat Josh Burbrink for the District 1 commissioner’s seat.
Kleinhenz has represented the district since January of 1993. In the nine primaries for the seat he’s been in since that time, the Republican has faced six challengers. In the May primary, Kleinhenz won 58% of the vote against Rick Miller.
“I will continue to try and represent the entire county and be a good and frugal steward of the tax revenue we receive from the people,” Kleinhenz said after securing his victory Tuesday. “It is their money and they trust that all county officials will be good stewards. I’ll never forget that.”
While Burbrink didn’t win, the 38-year-old Mainstream Fiber Networks employee did earn respect from a number of county officials by attending nearly every county commissioners’ meeting this year.
This was Burbrink’s second attempt to be elected to a county office. The 2004 Columbus East High School graduate ran an unsuccessful campaign against incumbent Bartholomew County Council president Jorge Morales in 2022.
The commissioners’ districts are only used to dictate where each commissioner must reside. All Bartholomew County residents vote in every commissioner’s race, and all three commissioners represent the entire county, including the city of Columbus.
There will be no changes in the lineup of the commissioners next year. Republican incumbent Tony London ran unopposed for the District 3 seat. District 2 commissioner Carl Lienhoop won his sixth consecutive term in 2022.
Besides handling most policy, the three commissioners have several other powers and responsibilities, including those related to the construction and maintenance of roads, bridges, and county-owned buildings.
