Judge Bade of Blackford County presides over election recount for council member
MUNCIE, Ind. — The recount of the Republican primary election for an at-large county council seat now has a judge.
Blackford Circuit Court Judge Brian Bade accepted an appointment to preside over the recount that was requested last month by Delaware County Councilman Ryan Webb, who made national headlines last year with his claims of self-identifying as a trans lesbian.
Webb lost his bid for re-election in the May 7 GOP primary by a narrow 68-vote margin.
More: GOP Councilman Ryan Webb, self-proclaimed trans lesbian, loses his race; Bookout wins
The request for the recount was filed in Delaware Circuit Court 3, where presiding Judge Douglas K. Mawhorr recused himself from the matter. Mawhorr was also a candidate on the primary ballot.
Other judges in Delaware County also recused themselves from presiding over the recount.
As of Thursday, a court hearing had yet to be set.
On election night, vote tallies showed Webb garnered 15.30% of the vote, or 3,632 votes — 68 fewer than county council member Eugene Whitehead, who finished third. In the at-large race, voters chose three candidates to compete for the three at-large seats on the council in the general election this fall.
Webb has been a controversial member of the council, who in the weeks leading up the primary had asked for state audits and investigations into fellow Republican office holders. Webb alleged office holders unlawfully spent tax dollars and mismanaged their office operations.
He drew the most attention, however, in April 2023 when he contended on social media that he identified as a "woman of color" — specifically a lesbian, Native American woman — but would not be switching his pronouns to reflect the change.
Transgender advocates said the conservative Republican was mocking trans people. Webb appeared as a guest on Fox News during the controversy and had campaign material that labeled him as “America’s Councilman.”
Webb later dropped his contention regarding his gender identity.
The county councilman estimated the cost of the recount at somewhere between $800 and $1,000, but he said people have pledged to cover the cost of the recount to assure an accurate count.
“For the sake of transparency, election integrity, the fact that the final results are within the margin of error for a recount (68 votes)," Webb said in a statement, "and other minor irregularities, we think a recount would be best to reassure local citizens that our local elections are secure and that the good ol’ boys club of corruption and unethical practices that have been common in local government for years has not penetrated and affected our local elections.”
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Recount begins for self-identifying trans lesbian councilman
