There are two ways to run against an incumbent. You tell voters what the person you’re challenging has done wrong, or you tell voters what you would do better.
Ranjan Rohatgi, the Democrat challenging Republican Councilwoman Amy Drake for the St. Joseph County Council’s District B seat, has found a third way. He promises to do what Drake is already doing.
His top promise is a ban on new data centers. Drake had already filed legislation for one. The county council passed Drake’s resolution 6-3 and sent the ban to the Area Plan Commission to draft before a final vote.
Ranjan Rohatgi is running to be Amy Drake.
His campaign website says he was the first candidate in the District B race to call for a ban. Maybe he was. In politics, calling for something first is worth about as much as calling shotgun in a car somebody else is driving.
Ranjan also says the county council has become “driven by partisan ideology.” He told WSBT data centers shouldn’t be a partisan issue. Good news for Ranjan. Four Republicans voted for the resolution. Bad news for Ranjan. Two Democrats voted against the resolution.
So if you live in District B and you want a ban on new data centers, you already have an incumbent council member pushing one. Ranjan is asking you to fire Drake so he can also ban the data centers Drake is banning.
I went looking for the rest of Ranjan’s platform.
He wants the county to focus on “paving, plowing, and fixing road hazards.” Drake’s campaign also promises to invest in roads. Nobody in this race is against plowing or fixing roads.
He promises “REAL solutions” to affordability. Other than capitalizing the word “real” on his website, he doesn’t offer any solutions. Drake points to a property tax cap for homeowners 55 and older that keeps their bills from rising more than 2 percent a year. Ranjan doesn’t say whether he’d keep the cap.
Ranjan teaches math at Saint Mary’s College. Math teachers tell students to show their work. His issues page doesn’t include a single dollar figure.
Ranjan is clear about what makes him mad though. His website says he got into the race “after Portage Manor was shut down and members of the Council attacked our police department, health department, libraries and even our schools.” He says the county council “decimated the Health Department.” He names the New Day Intake Center, a NARCAN program, and crisis response teams.
He doesn’t say which of those he’d fund first, or where the money would come from. Being mad is a reason to run. A plan is the reason anybody should vote for you. He has not shared his plan.
For the record, I’m no Drake fan. I’ve written critically about her, and I don’t much care for her personally. I also happen to favor data centers in this county. I’d vote against the ban both of these candidates want.
So I don’t have a dog in the data center fight. But you don’t fire somebody for doing the job you’d do.
The Area Plan Commission is drafting the ban now. ABC57 reported the zoning changes are expected back before the full county council within 60 days of the resolution vote. That vote took place at the end of September. If Ranjan wins District B, he wouldn’t take office until January, after the vote.
So the biggest promise in Ranjan’s campaign will be settled before he could even hold office.
Amy Drake will cast that vote.
Logan Foster
Logan Foster is the founder and editor of Redress South Bend, an independent news outlet covering local government, courts, and public institutions in South Bend and St. Joseph County, Indiana. He reports from primary documents: public records requests, court filings, state audit reports, and campaign finance disclosures. His reporting has examined city and school district payments made without competitive bidding, school board spending, and the records of candidates in county races. Redress South Bend obtained the South Bend Police Department's ShotSpotter coverage map after the department initially denied public access. The outlet is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Online News Association. Reach him at info@redresssouthbend.com
