A small Indiana town could make political history in mayoral election

On the corner of Jack Butcher Avenue entering the pole dividing the town of Loogootee in Martin County to Daviess County, Ind., an ordinary American family is having stuffed teddy bears dance to the song, “Bye, Bye, Bye” by the boyband NYSNC blaring through the house.
The bear, Good Luck, a CareBear character danced on the floor while a woman, Athena, took the bear and said, “Bye, bye Noel!” while she was laughing with the bear.

She was so excited about the mayoral election that she even tried rapping to the lyrics as Athena, a Loogootee resident of 41 years, like so many other women in the city are ready for political change in the city as the town is moving to a possible new direction.

As Indiana is in a sort of a renaissance period in female history with the Indiana Hoosiers women’s basketball team making a triumphant run to the NCAA Tournament, capturing the hearts and minds of many women living in the state, female empowerment was not always known to be a factor to the southern Indiana city of Loogootee even three years after the city’s high school women’s basketball team won their first ever IHSAA Women’s Basketball Class 1A State Championship in 2020 before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, times are changing and this little town of more than 2,000 residents are ready to see a monarch change in their city, which could impact the rest of female history for a town unknown to this change.

This is because Loogootee native Teressa Nolley is battling against Loogootee’s long-time mayor, Noel Harty, to see who will run the Democratic Party as residents can start voting in Loogootee’s Municipal Primary Election on May 2. With the general mayoral election being in November.

You may be asking yourself, how is this significant at all even to politics? To start off, long-time city mayor, Noel Harty, a Loogootee resident who grew up in Shoals, Ind. has not produced much economic, social, political, career, or voter progress in the city according to residents. The city falls near one of the third poorest counties in the state of Indiana just outside of Knox County, Ind. hitting into harder economic times.

With hardly any jobs in the city and stalling progress of things such as improving infrastructure and creating business, Harty’s most notable political moment was when he handed out Halloween candy dressed up as a Catholic priest while his ex-wife, Amber, was dressed up as a nun in front of the St. John’s Catholic Church in front of the city’s most notable officials hugging his wife on Halloween in 2020.

With that moment being a tipping point for many of the Roman Catholic faith members of the community, many found the moment insulting to their faith as they wished he was removed.
This year’s election was going to stall out resulting in, yet another Harty win where he would serve a record-breaking fifth term in office until in February resident Teressa Nolley put her name in the hat and decided to run for city mayor.

With Nolley being a respected individual in the community, she to many could be viewed as a shining example to women and other minority figures who have felt underrepresented in a town filled with mostly white men in power.
The city never accepted others in the community that are different than their peers, but Nolley is just running to be herself, which residents say that they love about her.

“She presents more masculine, but we love her for that because sometimes women don’t need to show their feminine side sometimes,“ Athena said. “We need growth in the city, major in fact, to even keep the city afloat and back to what it used to be and I think Nolley could do that for us.”
Loogootee, unlike other Indiana towns, has not experienced the same level of female success as other parts of the state in city and state government, but are ready to believe even as the rest of the state has moved into a new direction in the modern world.
Nolley would become the first woman in Loogootee's history to win the mayoral election in a town that needs both economic growth and stability.
Athena stated passionately, “As a woman in Loogootee, this makes me so proud to be a resident here again as I am ready to see growth.”

The 2nd Municipal Election in Martin and Daviess County will take place on May 2nd throughout the cities of Loogootee, Montgomery, and Washington.
There will also be an election in Martin County for City Council as voting polls will be open on this day at various spots throughout the city.
For more information on the election, please visit my Twitter or check out other area news sources such as the Washington Times-Hearld, Shoals News, and Razor 94.5 FM in Loogootee.