Township Trustees and Boards: The Quietest Races Still on the 2026 Ballot

LAWRENCE COUNTY — County commissioner and council races draw the headlines. Township trustee and board contests rarely do. Yet these are the offices that still handle poor relief, cemetery upkeep, fire protection contracts, and the most basic local budgeting in every corner of Lawrence County.

The May 5 primary settled most of the fields. With the November general election still ahead, the people who will serve the next four years are largely already known — or will face little opposition. That makes this a good moment to remember what the jobs actually involve.

What Township Government Still Does

Indiana townships remain the smallest unit of civil government. The elected trustee is the executive. A three-member township board acts as the legislative and fiscal body.

Core responsibilities include:

• Township assistance (still often called poor relief) — emergency help with rent, utilities, food, or burial costs for residents who qualify.
• Cemetery maintenance — care of township cemeteries that are not privately owned.
• Fire protection — many rural townships contract with volunteer or municipal fire departments and levy the tax to pay for it.
• Budget and contracts — the board adopts the annual budget, approves major spending, and reviews the trustee’s financial report.

These are not abstract powers. When a family needs short-term help, when a cemetery needs mowing, or when a fire department needs reliable funding, the township is often the first stop.

The 2026 Slate

Filings and the May primary produced a mostly Republican field across Lawrence County’s townships. Several trustee races were uncontested in the primary, meaning the Republican nominee advances essentially unopposed to November. Board races typically featured three candidates for three seats, so the primary served mainly as a formality.

Examples from the primary results and candidate lists include:

• Bono Township: Michelle L. Porter (trustee); Jon J. Malott, Adam R. Norman, and Vickie “Dusty” Tolbert (board).
• Guthrie Township: Jeffrey H. Combs (trustee); Michael Bierbaum, Bretta Myers, and Tyler Thompson (board).
• Indian Creek Township: Gary K. Scherschel (trustee); Diana Anderson, Justin Leach, and Bruce Reeves (board).
• Marion Township: Shannon M. Lagle (trustee); Lucinda Fletcher, Latoya L. Lamm, and Henry Shetler (board).
• Shawswick Township: Millard Jones (trustee); a more contested board primary that advanced Jennie Edwards, Amy Kleber, Linda Sue Randolph, and others, with one Democratic candidate also in the mix.

Other townships — Marshall, Perry, Pleasant Run, Spice Valley — followed a similar pattern of limited or no primary competition for trustee and full or near-full board tickets.

Because so many of these races were settled or lightly contested in May, November will mostly ratify the primary outcomes. That does not make the offices less important. It simply means the real decision point for most voters has already passed with little fanfare.

Why It Still Matters

Township government is the level closest to daily life for people who live outside the city limits of Bedford and Mitchell. It is also the level most people never think about until they need it. Cemetery lots, emergency assistance, and rural fire coverage do not generate campaign ads, yet they remain real responsibilities funded by local tax dollars and overseen by neighbors who put their names on the ballot.

In a year when larger county races and state tax changes dominate conversation, the township offices offer a reminder that some of the most practical government still happens at the smallest scale. The candidates who advanced in May will take office in January. For residents who want to know who handles the most local of local services, the names are already on the record.