Randy Cassady (Provided, Randy Cassady for Commissioner)
There’s now a Republican challenger for the District 2 seat on the Monroe County Board of Commissioners: Randy Cassady.
Cassady, who residents may recognize from Cassady Electrical Contractors, announced Tuesday he is running for the seat currently held by incumbent Democratic Commissioner Julie Thomas. Thomas narrowly beat county councilman Peter Iversen in the May Democratic primary.
Cassady describes himself as a lifelong Monroe County resident. In a news release, he wrote he is running because urgent issues are “being over-talked and under-actioned.”
He continued, “I know and love this community and I will help chart a responsible, realistic path out of our current decision-making log jam. But I can’t do it alone, or even with just the help of our Republican-leaning residents. This position is less about party lines than it is about making common sense decisions on behalf of Monroe County residents.”
Cassady said changes are needed in the county’s executive leadership. He listed affordable housing, wage disparities and the environment as some of the many issues he aims to address.
Monroe County Jail
Cassady also cited advancing the project to establish a new county jail as a priority.
“We need to get to the point of putting the judges, the sheriff, the county, the city and the councils into a group to make a final decision, work off the data-driven information of what we have and move it forward; not continue to kick it down the road and cost the citizens of Monroe County more dollars or time,” Cassady said.
Other county officials have repeatedly and publicly criticized the commissioners’ decisions and progress on the jail project. This was a frequent topic of discussion in primary debates. Cassady, too, said the project should be further along.
Now, the county is considering raising a local income tax that started collecting this year to generate an estimated $86 million to help pay for the project.
Read more: Jail consultant: ‘Need to know very soon’ on construction budget
Cassady said Monroe County needs a new jail that is safe but won’t put an undue burden on taxpayers, who he said are already struggling with high costs of housing, groceries and utilities. He says the key is creating better-paying local jobs.
Cassady also said he does not think the jail should be built on the North Park property, a privately owned piece of land northwest of Bloomington the commissioners are considering. He cited the results of an environmental study, which identified the presence of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, on the site.
County development projects
Cassady also is a member of the Bloomington and Monroe County redevelopment commissions, which is tasked with making decisions on local developmental projects.
On the county level, Cassady said he supports more dense development and is against urban sprawl. He added a lack of cooperation between the commissioners and other local officials has made this difficult.
“Compact urban form works,” Cassady said. “We want to take our core community and make that our heart. Our rural communities that we have, we need to do the planning and provide the infrastructure for those ones, so that they can grow and prosper also.”
The commissioners have also been criticized for the county development ordinance, which many have said could downzone more than 9,000 acres of land from residential to rural. Thomas has pushed back on this, calling it inaccurate.
Read more: Commissioners heatedly reject $30K for Bloomington Economic Development Corporation
“You’re going to hear an argument, ‘Oh, we didn’t downzone; it’s still housing,’” Cassady said. “You take 9,000 acres (and) if you call it residential, the differences in the number of houses is the key — and the key to getting the density correct is putting it in the right place with the cooperation of your county and other officials. That includes the city's officials.”
He also cited the environment, affordable housing and supporting local employers with “common sense regulation” as priorities.
If elected, Cassady is promising to hold a series of meetings to hear residents’ concerns, keep taxpayers “front of mind” in every decision, advance the jail project, collaborate with other elected officials and ensure the county works with local employers, not against them.
Thomas responds
Thomas said Cassady’s challenge for her seat does not change how she’ll campaign. She said she will continue to fight against annexation and focus on her other priorities, which she said include the environment, childcare, housing security and mental health and substance abuse treatment.
“It feels to me like the (local) developers have found someone else to run as a candidate, so that's fine,” Thomas said. “I look forward to being on the campaign trail this fall, and we'll see what comes out of it.”
Thomas said the commissioners’ hands are tied when it comes to development because the city will not extend sewer service given the ongoing annexation lawsuits. She added the commissioners’ responsibilities include more than just development.
She also said she and her fellow commissioners will continue to focus on what they were elected to do, which includes the jail. On that note, she said Cassady’s criticisms are unfair.
She said the commissioners must first choose a site. Meanwhile, the firm they selected to design the jail is very early in pre-design, which includes planning for jail programming.
Read more: Monroe County officials take questions about proposed jail site
“Everything is going as it should go,” Thomas said. “You have to do your due diligence. You can't just keep throwing out, ‘What about this? What about that? What about the moon?’ We have to be pragmatic, and we have to do the research. That's what we're doing, and that takes time.”
Thomas added she is proud of the work of the Monroe County Capital Improvement Board, the body tasked with managing the Monroe Convention Center expansion project. That project made a major leap forward earlier this month when the CIB opted for an eastward expansion.
Read more: Draft city council letter on convention center causes friction
Thomas is one of two commissioners to run for reelection this year. Fellow incumbent Democratic Commissioner Penny Githens lost her primary race against Jody Madeira in a three-way race which also included former Bloomington City Council member Steve Volan.
Party affiliation
Cassady’s decision to run as a Republican is unique, given his previous support for local Democratic candidates. He said he chose to be the Republican candidate after being approached by the Monroe County GOP.
“When you're asked to do something, you look at something and say, ‘Can I make a difference?’” Cassady said. “Well, I'm at a point in my life where making a difference for the future of our community is important.”
Monroe County Democratic Party Chair David Henry described Cassady’s bid for commissioner as an “open secret,” adding he was not surprised the local Republican party tapped him as their nominee. He added, however, that top Republicans may expect Cassady to fall in line with the rest of the party.
“At the end of the day, when you join another party and you're now on a slate with candidates north of, you know … that party is going to ask for its own loyalties and support of their slate,” Henry said. “I think (Cassady) is going to find that his new keepers are going to ask favors to him and then what their expectations are and to support things like the Braun/Trump/Jim Banks agenda.”
Cassady said he is focused on local issues and is not familiar with Braun or Trump’s agendas.
“I don’t know either one of them, and I’m running on a local basis,” he said. “This party-divided politics has created a diversion in our country, and in our community. Now it has brought itself down to the local basis. I for one, want to see that changed, because I don't care if you're Republican, I don't care if you're a Democrat. It doesn't matter, your sexual orientation, it doesn't matter what your color is. We're human, and we better teach each other with respect and dignity.”
The general election is Nov. 5.
This article has been updated.
