As a Political Action Committee, we are proud to support progressive, Democratic women candidates in Monroe County for the offices on the ballot in all city, town, township, and county races. Additionally, State House and State Senate candidates may be endorsed if the district represents at least part of the Monroe County populace. We do not endorse women for federal, local School Board or State offices not listed above.
We are supporting the following candidates for the 2023 Bloomington, Indiana city election.
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Kerry Thomson - Democratic Nominee for Mayor
Nicole Bolden - Democratic Nominee for City Clerk
Isabel Piedmont-Smith - Democratic Nominee for City Council, District 1
Kate Rosenbarger - Democratic Nominee for City Council, District 2
Hopi Stosberg - Democratic Nominee for City Council, District 3
Shruti Rana - Democratic Nominee for City Council, District 5
Kerry Thomson - Democratic Nominee for Mayor
Website: kerryforbloomington.com/
Facebook: kerryforbloomington
Instagram: @kerryforbloomington
Twitter: @kerryforbloomington
Campaign Email: [email protected]
Bio:
Thomson is a builder. She has committed her life to the work of building better communities. Now, she’s ready to work with you to build a stronger Bloomington, with a fresh approach to administration and collaboration that brings more voices to a dysfunctional City Hall.
Throughout her career in executive leadership, Kerry has both managed and transformed large organizations with complex projects, dozens of stakeholders, and multi-million dollar budgets. This is the expertise she’ll use to address some of the city’s longstanding challenges, including the lack of affordable housing that forces too many into homelessness, growing substance use and mental health crises, and political infighting that has paralyzed our government.
Some may call it impossible, but Kerry has done it before.
As CEO for Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County, Kerry took charge of an organization in debt and guided it to unprecedented growth, with a six million dollar mortgage portfolio and hundreds of thousands in investments. This turnaround was pivotal in helping Habitat build affordable homes for more than 400 families in Monroe County.
In 2018, after more than 20 years dedicated to local affordable housing, Kerry was appointed Executive Director of Indiana University’s Center for Rural Engagement. The Center partners with rural communities on initiatives designed to improve quality of life and invigorate economic vitality. Under Kerry’s leadership, the Center’s reach has expanded into 50 of Indiana's 92 counties, impacting 20,000 Hoosier lives through 300 different projects.
Nicole Bolden - Democratic Nominee for City Clerk
Website: nicolebolden.com
Facebook: BoldenNicole
Instagram: @bolden_nic
Twitter: @Bolden_Nic
Campaign email: [email protected]
Bio:
Nicole Bolden, the Bloomington City Clerk, has been actively involved in public and political service for over 20 years. Bolden received both her undergraduate and law degrees at Indiana University in Bloomington. She currently serves the Indiana Democratic Party as a
Deputy Chair, is the President of the Monroe County Black Democratic Caucus, is the Co-Chair of the national organization, the Good Trouble Network, and regularly volunteers with several state and local organizations. In 2015, Bolden became the first Black woman elected to city-wide office and is the only Black LGBTQ+/SGL woman to hold elected office in Indiana.
Born and raised in Iowa City, Bolden moved to Bloomington after graduating from high school. Here, she attended Indiana University, and eventually had two daughters, Taegan and Zora. In 2008 Bolden was asked to take a position in the Office of the City Clerk, which “turned out to be one of the best things that could have ever happened in my life,” she says.
She worked as a deputy city clerk for five years before running for clerk herself. In her role
as Clerk, Bolden has continued to work for the betterment of her town and has been a fierce advocate for Black and Brown women in her community.
Isabel Piedmont-Smith - Democratic Nominee for City Council, District 1
Website: piedmontsmith.us
Facebook: piedmontsmith
Instagram: @IsabelPiedmontSmith
Twitter: @piedmontsmith
Campaign email: [email protected]
Bio:
Isabel Piedmont-Smith is a first-generation American and Bloomington nakateforbloomington.org/tive who is currently serving her third term on the City Council. She previously served as District 5 representative Jan. 1, 2008 through Dec. 31, 2011, and again since Jan. 1, 2016. Isabel is running for re-election in the new District 1, since her home neighborhood was put into that new City Council district.
After attending college and graduate school elsewhere, Isabel returned to Bloomington in 1994 and worked as an administrator in the Department of French and Italian at Indiana University from 1996 to 2022. She now works part-time at Crumble Coffee and Bakery in addition to her City Council work.
Like many local leaders, Isabel was an activist before she was elected to office. She became engaged in local politics in 2001 when the Growth Policies Plan was being drafted, seeking to protect greenspace and prevent sprawl. She was active in the movement to prevent the extension of I-69, to repeal Indiana’s statutory prohibition of same-sex marriage, and to protect labor unions from so-called “right to work” legislation. She served on the city’s Environmental Commission 2003-07, and her first major piece of legislation, the Green Building Ordinance (2009), was built on the EC’s work.
Kate Rosenbarger - Democratic Nominee for City Council, District 2
Website: kateforbloomington.org
Facebook: KateforBloomington
Campaign Email: [email protected]
Bio:
Outside of council, Kate's career is focused on community development and affordable housing. At Patronicity, Kate works with local governments, non-profits, small businesses, and residents to enhance quality of life at the neighborhood level.
Kate spent almost a decade with NeighborWorks America, a national nonprofit focused on creating affordable housing and helping create opportunities for people to improve their lives. There, she worked with non-profits in 240 communities across the country to measure the impact of programs in neighborhoods they serve - she helped measure what people were proud of, how safe they felt in their community, what needed improvement, and how connected people felt to their neighbors . Before that, Kate worked as the Communications Director for the AFL-CIO in Colorado and has worked on nine political campaigns in fundraising and volunteer engagement. Kate loves trail running, growing her own food, and spending time in the sun with her Russell Terrier, Gary.
Hopi Stosberg - Democratic Nominee for City Council, District 3
Primary Opponent: Yes
Website: hopi.stosberg.com
Facebook: facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089576779520
Campaign email: [email protected]
Bio:
Originally from Vermont, Hopi moved to Richmond, IN to attend Earlham College, graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics and later a Master's Degree in Teaching. During her time in Richmond she worked for Richmond Parks and Recreation as the Outdoor Recreation Coordinator, taught high school math, and also created curriculum and taught as an adjunct at Earlham College. After living in Richmond for over 15 years she and her family moved to Bloomington in December 2013.
Since moving to Bloomington she has been involved with a number of volunteer agencies in various capacities, among them University Elementary School Parent-Teacher Organization President, Vice President, Event Chair, and Fundraising Chair, Kitchen Manager for the Interfaith Winter Homeless Shelter, and Co-Chair of the Displaced Immigrant Support Program through First United Church. Hopi is excited to be running to represent Bloomington District 3 on City Council and is looking forward to the opportunity to serve the community in this way.
Shruti Rana - Democratic Nominee for City Council, District 5
Primary Opponent: Yes
Website: electshruti.com
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: @Shruti Rana for Bloomington D5
Instagram: @ShrutiForBtownD5
Bio:
Shruti Rana is a mother, lawyer, educator, and community advocate. She is a faculty member and administrator at Indiana University, focusing on international law and human rights, and previously taught at the University of Maryland and the University of California. She also worked at the United Nations in the Division for the Advancement of Women, and practiced law in DC, California, and North Carolina. She is a graduate of Columbia University (JD), the London School of Economics (MSc), and the University of California, Berkeley (BA).
Shruti has a strong record of community leadership in our city. She has served as the Chair of the Monroe County Election Board, and currently serves on the Bloomington Board of Public Safety and the Bloomington Commission on the Status of Women. She is on the Boards of All-Options and Exodus Refugee Immigration, a founding member and previous co-chair of the Indiana Chapter of NAPAWF (National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum), Vice President of Monroe County NOW, and Vice Chair for the Monroe County Democratic Party. In 2020, she was elected as an Indiana Delegate, District IN-09, to the Democratic National Convention. In 2021, she was selected for Hoosier Women Forward, the Indiana state Democratic Party’s women’s leadership development program. She has worked to strengthen childcare access, family leave, education, voter protection, reproductive justice, and racial and gender equality in Bloomington and beyond. In 2022, she played a leading role in the opposition to Indiana’s abortion ban, including testifying before the Indiana Senate.