SPENCER — Six candidates for Owen County township offices in the November election are coming out to voters, introducing themselves on two billboards near Spencer.
The promotion, paid for by the Stonewall Democrats of South Central Indiana, marks the first time the organization has endorsed any candidates in the rural, conservative county — because usually there aren’t any the group would support.
The organization, which financially supports and endorses LGBTQ+ candidates and Democrats who share their values, provided $1,500 for the billboards promoting the mostly queer slate in township-level races. One billboard is on Indiana 67 near Boston Scientific and the other on Indiana 46 between Ellettsville and Spencer.
“We usually don’t have candidates running there, and we are absolutely thrilled,” said Wayne Shepherd, president of south-central Indiana’s Stonewall group.
He credits Collin Rotella, the Democratic candidate for Morgan Township trustee, with leading the unprecedented charge toward electing more nontraditional candidates in the heavily Republican area. In the 2024 presidential election, 75% of Owen County voters supported Donald Trump.
The lineup of Owen County candidates on the Stonewall Democrats’ billboard includes two gay cisgender men, two bisexual transgender men, a non-binary bisexual person and a straight cisgender woman. They aren’t identified by sexual orientation on the billboard but are presented as Democrats in a conservative county where residents can “imagine something better!”
The slate includes:
- Jacob Balash, Clay Township board
- Stephanie Barlow, Morgan Township board
- Shea Finnegan, Franklin Township board
- Ruth Jones, Washington Township board
- Phillip O’Neil, Washington Township trustee
- Collin Rotella, Morgan Township trustee
All six candidates face Republican opposition in their races.
Jones, a 70-year-old straight woman, wants Owen County residents to have more choice Election Day. “We need some Democrats to vote for,” the LGBTQ+ ally said.
Finnegan, who’s lived in Owen County since 2013, said Rotella convinced him to run for trustee in his township. “We had a hard time finding information about how to contact your trustee, and I remembered when I was a social worker I referred people there for help and they told me they never heard back,” Finnegan said. “I think Owen County could do better; that our residents deserve better.”
He said the candidates’ faces are known around the communities where they live, work and volunteer. They aren’t seeking a government takeover, but ways to make local township help available and transparent.
The billboards send a message, said Spencer Pride founder Jacob Balash, a gay man running for a seat on Clay Township’s advisory board. “No one expects a little town to have so many queer candidates. Spencer has been underestimated so many times.”
Rotella has lived with his family on five acres in Morgan Township, home to small towns Poland and Bowling Green, since 2020. “You’ve seen these people, from the bank or your kid’s school or where you work, and in a rural community, we think that will play a role in voting,” Rotella said.
He’s a precinct chairman and newly appointed to the county plan commission. If elected Morgan Township trustee, he’ll establish a website so residents know where the office is, when it’s open and what services are offered. He said the current trustee’s 2018 misdemeanor conviction for dissemination of matter harmful to minors was one reason he filed for the office.
Election Day is Nov. 3. The last day to register to vote is Oct. 5.
FPI News, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations. Sign up for our free newsletter.
FPI News reporter Laura Lane covers the people and issues of rural Indiana. Reach her at 812-760-1540 or laura.lane@fpinews.org.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
