BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — After a tie-breaking vote during the fourth round of voting, the Monroe County Democratic Party officially selected Courtney Daily to fill the vacant District 5 seat on the Bloomington City Council during a caucus at city hall Saturday.
Daily, a former local leader with Mom’s Demand Action, was among the three candidates vying for the position: Jason Moore the former Bloomington Fire Chief, and Jenny Stevens, who ran against Rana in the May 2023 primary.
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District 5, which covers the southeast side of the city, was previously represented by Shruti Rana, who was elected in the November election as the city’s first person of color to serve on the council. Rana resigned earlier this month to accept a position at the University of Missouri.
Under Indiana Law, vacancies in city offices are left to be filled by precinct chairs from the same party, who vote in a caucus.Precinct chairs from the nine precincts in District 5 were the ones who voted in the caucus. One of the party chairs had resigned after she moved out of the precinct.
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During the first round of votes, four of the precinct chairs voted for Stevens, and two each voted for Daily and Moore. In a runoff between the two, Daily received five votes, and Moore received three.
Rounds three and four of voting ended in a 4-4 tie between Daily and Stevens. County party chair David Henry cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of Daily.
Immediately following the caucus, Daily was sworn into office by Bloomington City Clerk Nicole Bolden.
"I'm really excited. I definitely want to get caught up to speed. I've been following what city council has been working on. I just need to get my bearings, and it's going to be trial-by-fire."
Courtney Daily - Bloomington City Council District 5 Representative
Daily's fist city council meeting is this Wednesday.
