Who will replace Sharon Tucker on Fort Wayne City Council?
A breakdown of the five Democratic candidates competing in tomorrow’s caucus to become the 6th District's representative through 2027
Sharon Tucker’s historic win in last month’s mayoral caucus also required her to resign her seat as Fort Wayne’s 6th District city councilwoman.
That resignation triggered another caucus to fill the seat she was vacating, which will be held tomorrow at 10:00 AM at Bricklayers Union No 4 on Decatur Road in Fort Wayne.
It will be very similar to the mayoral caucus, except instead of 98 Democratic Party precinct chairs voting, only 20 — whose precincts are in the 6th District — will be selecting Tucker’s replacement. (Tucker herself is one of them, as is former city councilman Glynn Hines.) Assuming all 20 are present, 11 votes will be required to win.
The winner will fill the term through the 2027 municipal election; because the seat is in a predominantly Democratic district, they are likely to hold it for as long as they wish, provided they can fend off any potential primary challengers.
Five candidates are competing for the 6th District city council seat:
Rohli Booker
Booker is currently the vice president of the Fort Wayne Community School Board, a role she would have to resign were she to win the caucus. She represents District 4 and was appointed to that role to fill the vacancy created by the sudden death of Jordan Lebamoff in 2020. Booker ran unopposed for a full four-year term in 2022.
She is a licensed beauty professional and the owner/operator of Aza Image, a beauty company in Fort Wayne. Booker is also a member of the 2023-24 class of Hoosier Women Forward, a political and civic leadership training program designed to empower Democratic women to become more active in politics and community leadership.
She is a precinct chair, so she will be voting in the caucus. (Candidates are able to vote for themselves.)
Denita Washington
Washington is the current Adams Township Trustee, a position she was first elected to in 2018. She was unopposed for re-election in 2022. If she were to win the caucus, she would have to step down from that position, triggering another caucus to select her replacement.
In the mayoral caucus to replace Tom Henry, Washington endorsed Tucker, and her campaign sent out a letter of support from Washington to all the precinct chairs.
Washington is also the founder of Girlz Rock, a local nonprofit organization that helps mentor and empower young women between the ages of 10 and 18.
Mike Bynum
Bynum is the former chair of the Allen County Democratic Party, serving in that role from 2008 to 2012. He currently works as the labor and community services director for the United Way of Allen County.
Bynum previously ran for office in 2006, unsuccessfully challenging then-State Senator Tom Wyss in District 15.
Bynum is a precinct chair and will be voting in the caucus.
Delois (Dee) McKinley-Eldridge
In 1986, McKinley-Eldridge became the first Black woman to serve on the Allen County Council when she was appointed to fill a vacancy in the 1st District. In 1995, she was elected to a four-year term, but was defeated in her re-election bid by Republican Mike Cunegin.
McKinley-Eldridge is currently employed as a case manager for Fort Wayne Community Schools. She is also a longtime local radio personality. You can hear her on WBOI every Sunday morning from 4:00 AM to 8:00 AM hosting the program Gospel Flight.
A native of Birmingham, Alabama, McKinley-Eldridge told WFFT last year that she marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during civil rights protests in the 1960s. She also said she was sprayed with firehoses and spit on during at those events.
She is a precinct chair and will be voting in the caucus.
Larry Gist
Gist is the former president of the local chapter of the NAACP.
He is a retired engineer who worked at ITT in Fort Wayne for over 25 years.
Who will win? Here’s what I’m hearing…
I’ve spoken to several precinct chairs and most said they are going to wait until hearing the closing speeches from each candidate on Saturday before making a final decision.
Still, the consensus seems to be that the race will come down to Booker and Washington. “The other candidates either didn’t call me or didn’t impress me enough to warrant [my] vote,” one chair told me yesterday.
While Tucker hasn’t come out and endorsed any of the candidates, most think she’s in Washington’s camp.
Booker was the only 6th District candidate to attend last Saturday’s meeting of the Fort Wayne chapter of the Indiana Democrat African American Caucus.
According to a Facebook post from Sheila Curry Campbell, Booker addressed the crowd at the event to talk about her campaign. Several precinct chairs — including Campbell and Tucker — were in attendance.
Who is making the selection?
Here’s a list of the 20 precinct chairs who are eligible to vote in tomorrow’s caucus:
Menzo Lewis
Precinct 692
Angela Montgomery
Precinct 690
Heidi Fuqua
Precinct 679
Rohli Booker
Precinct 672
Shatayah Little
Precinct 671
Glynn Hines
Former Fort Wayne City Councilman
Precinct 665
Sharon Tucker
Fort Wayne Mayor
Precinct 663
Michael Bynum
Precinct 662
Paulette Nellems
Former East Allen County School Board member
Precinct 660
John Morgan
Precinct 658
Delois “Dee” McKinley-Eldridge
Former Allen County Councilwoman
Precinct 656
William Crowley
Precinct 654
Jonathan Rothenbush
Precinct 653
Lawana Walker
Precinct 652
Rena Bradley
Precinct 610
Tavius White
Precinct 608
Rose Crusoe
Precinct 607
Edward Smith
Precinct 605
Donita Mudd
Precinct 603
Sheila Curry Campbell
Former Allen County Councilwoman
Precinct 602