Wayne County now has a contested race for judge featuring an independent and a Republican.
Richmond attorney and law firm owner Jessica Richert announced her candidacy for Superior Court 2 on Feb. 13, saying she’s the county’s first-ever independent candidate for judge.
Richert isn’t running in May’s primary. Independent candidates will be on the Nov. 3 ballot.
“We encourage voters to slow down this year and avoid straight-ticket voting to see all their options,” Richert said in a news release.
Richert is a member of Indiana and Florida Bar Associations. She owns and operates Cease Fire Family Law Center in the Old Richmond Historic District, which she opened in February 2020.
Richert also said she’s a registered Indiana domestic relations mediator, trained guardian ad litem, parenting coordinator and parenting time supervisor.
“I am committed to using my legal and non-legal experience to efficiently and effectively ensure timely resolution for all court proceedings,” Richert said in the release. “I will maintain dignity, fairness, and integrity within the court system of our community, applying a strict adherence to the law.”
She is a graduate of Barry (Florida) University School of Law and notes being active in community organizations as Kiwanis and Amigos.
Richert cites the Report on Competitive Elections released by Independent Indiana in December 2025 that says in the last two election cycles, 52% of independent candidates who appeared on the ballot in Indiana partisan races won. Unlike candidates for Republican or Democratic parties, independents have to collect signatures from 330 verified Wayne County voters to be eligible. Signatures must be submitted as part of their petition of nomination by June 30.
Those who select a Republican ballot in the primary will see Austin Shadle’s name as a Superior Court 2 candidate to replace retiring Judge Gregory Horn. Shadle faces no opposition in the primary.
Shadle, who has been an attorney for more than 21 years, announced his candidacy Jan. 9. He was appointed as a judicial assistant in 2020 and continues to serve as a commissioner and presides over Wayne County’s 4-D Court, which handles paternity and child support matters.
Early in his career, Shadle handled complex civil litigation, including insurance coverage disputes, landowner liability cases and toxic tort matters involving asbestos-related illnesses, according to a news release. He later served as a deputy prosecuting attorney, where he prosecuted domestic violence offenses and crimes against children.
Shadle said he’s especially qualified to serve as judge since he’s practiced on both sides of the courtroom.
“In civil cases, I’ve represented both plaintiffs and defendants,” Shadle said in the release. “In criminal cases, I spent years prosecuting serious offenses and then years defending the accused. It’s rare for an attorney to have substantial jury trial experience in both civil and criminal law, but that breadth of experience has shaped my approach to fairness, impartiality, and judicial decision-making.”
Shadle, who graduated from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, also serves the broader judiciary as a member of Indiana Supreme Court’s Public Relations Committee.
No Democrat has filed for the judgeship as of press time. July 3 is the deadline for the Democratic Party to select a candidate to fill a vacancy on the general election ballot. It’s also the deadline for the Libertarian Party to conduct a county convention to nominate candidates.
Candidate files for Dublin council
Bobby Gene Gabbard was previously listed on the county website’s candidate list and published in Western Wayne News as a Republican running for Jackson Township board member.
However, Wayne County election officials told WWN on Feb. 18 that Gabbard is not running for a township office. They said he was listed on the county’s website as a township candidate by mistake.
Instead, Gabbard is running again for Dublin town council, and he had completed the correct form when filing for office.
Two Dublin council seats will be on the ballot in the fall.
No Democrats filed before the Feb. 6 deadline for Dublin’s council. However, Dublin currently has two independent council members and three Republicans, so additional independent candidates could still join the ballot.
Some nearby small towns have officeholders who’ve run as independents. For instance, four of the five current Cambridge City councilors and the clerk-treasurer ran as independents.
Added convention delegate
Rodney Blanchford filed Feb. 6 to be one of three delegates representing Wayne County’s District 2 at Indiana’s Republican convention. He wasn’t listed on the county’s website as a delegate for District 2 when earlier editions of the list were published in Western Wayne News.
Fellow District 2 delegates Lora Roberts and Aaron Roberts were previously announced in WWN.
A version of this article appeared in the February 25 2026 print edition of the Western Wayne News.