By Ryan Reynolds, Evansville Courier & Press - To read full article, click here.
Published 10:36 am CT February 4, 2024
Vanderburgh County Democrats on Saturday selected Mike Goebel to fill the remainder of Ben Shoulders' term as a county commissioner.
Goebel had already announced his intention to seek the seat in this year's election. The longtime Mater Dei High School teacher and football coach has been a member of the Vanderburgh County Council since 2004.
Vanderburgh County Democratic Party Chair Cheryl Schultz said once Goebel submits his resignation letter to the county council, another caucus will be scheduled − this time to replace Goebel on that body. The commissioners are the legislative and executive arm of county government, while the council provides fiscal governance.
Goebel replaces Shoulders as the District 1 county commissioner. The district covers much of the city of Evansville and the East and South sides of the county. Shoulders announced last month he was resigning from his elected position to take a new job in the private sector.
It's unclear whether Goebel will have an opponent in the general election in November. Jonathan Weaver had previously said he'd run for the seat, but on Friday, in an email announcement, the Republican former city councilor said he'd withdrawn his candidacy and would return to the broadcast television field as a meteorologist at WEVV-CBS44.