August 13, 2026 WFHB Local News Features 353 Views
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A complaint filed by Monroe County Assessor Judy Sharp against independent challenger Jeneé Trimble is now before the county Election Board.
Sharp’s complaint accuses Trimble of offering property or services in exchange for signatures to get on the November ballot. Trimble denies the allegation and says she never exchanged anything for a signature.
Trimble says the complaint stems from a social media post she made while trying to collect the minimum 798 signatures required to qualify for the ballot.
She says she had been helping county residents understand property tax appeals and jokingly posted that she would begin charging people a sheet of signatures for her help.
“I didn’t actually charge anyone a sheet of signatures, not one signature. I didn’t require anything from anybody,” said Trimble.
Sharp declined to discuss the complaint further with WFHB News because the Election Board has not yet heard the case.
Meanwhile, Sharp has strongly disputed Trimble’s broader allegations against the assessor’s office.
“These allegations have been looked at by the state with a fine tooth comb, and there is absolutely nothing to them. They’re allegations. They’re not substantiated by anybody,” said Sharp.
Trimble formerly worked in the assessor’s office. She has accused Sharp’s office of fraud and says she has collected documents to support those claims.
The Indiana Department of Local Government Finance investigated those allegations and found no evidence of wrongdoing. Sharp responded to these allegations.
“It was all wrong. It wasn’t true,” said Sharp.
Trimble filed a counter-complaint, accusing people in Sharp’s office of interfering with her efforts to collect signatures. She also disputes Sharp’s allegation that she acted as a tax representative.
“To be a tax representative, you have to represent the taxpayer in an appeal hearing. I’ve never done that,” said Trimble.
The election board is expected to revisit Sharp’s complaint during its September 3 meeting
WFHB News will continue following the story and the race for Monroe County assessor ahead of the November election.