Musgrave looks behind — and maybe ahead — after loss in Vanderburgh race

EVANSVILLE — It was a message Alex Schmitt may have been waiting eight long years to send.

"Bye, Cheryl," Schmitt posted on Facebook shortly after it became clear that Vanderburgh County Commissioner Cheryl Musgrave had lost Tuesday's Republican primary election. The two had a history. Musgrave dispatched Schmitt by double digits in the 2016 primary for the commissioner seat, nearly winning a majority of votes cast in a race that actually included three candidates.

Schmitt's message may have been dripping in schadenfreude — but on the other hand, he wasn't alone. Eighteen hours later, more than 50 people had "liked," "loved" or laughed in response to it.

Musgrave had won all eight countywide races she'd run in more than 30 years in public life. But the consensus among political observers after Tuesday's defeat — her second consecutive loss after last year's GOP primary for Evansville mayor — was that negative perceptions of her had set in. She'd made too many enemies being, in her words, "fiercely independent." It was her biggest problem in last year's election, and it hadn't changed.

Those issues have been well-chronicled. A day after she lost this year's primary to ex-United Way CEO Amy Canterbury, Musgrave had no interest in rehashing them. Instead, she reflected on the things she had accomplished.

And she dropped a hint about her possible future in politics.

"I want to thank my supporters. They have been great," Musgrave said Wednesday. "I have left a tremendous legacy for Vanderburgh County. We built things from trails, bridges, Internet connection, parks, and the list goes on and on — things that would not have happened without me.

"These things will outlive me and will propel Vanderburgh County for decades to come."

In the eye of the storm

Specifically, Musgrave cited tens of millions of dollars spent on road, bridge and trail construction and millions spent on paving and patching county-maintained streets and roads since she started a second stint on the Board of Commissioners in 2017. She said she initiated several of the projects. County Engineer John Stoll has agreed with those statements.

The veteran commissioner, who will continue in office through Dec. 31, was a driving force behind action that brought 20,000 customers in unincorporated Vanderburgh County access to AT&T fiber internet. In 2023 the county, along with AT&T, announced the completion of the $39 million dollar project.

But Musgrave's long record in local government and politics frequently put her at the eye of the storm.

The controversy began with her appointment in 1991 to the county Board of Review, where she heard appeals on property assessments. Clashing with then-Assessor James Angermeier, Musgrave questioned the legality of board procedure, including what she called the lack of proper minutes, meeting agendas and quorums.

Angermeier, a Democrat, called her “the worst appointment ever made to this board.”

When Democrats assumed control of the County Commissioners in 1992, Musgrave was ousted — but two years later, she challenged Angermeier for re-election and won with 61% of the vote.

As assessor, Musgrave made enemies by reviewing the property tax exemptions of churches, clubs and other nonprofit organizations and recommending removal of exemptions where she felt they did not qualify. She also became the first assessor in the state to put property tax assessment records on the Internet.

Musgrave’s chief legacy as county assessor may be her role in developing Vanderburgh County’s Geographic Information Systems (GIS) program, a computerized mapping system used by the public and government.

During her first stint on the Board of Commissioners, she oversaw county government’s response to the Nov. 6, 2005, tornado that raced through Eastbrook Mobile Home Park and killed 25 people in Indiana.

A trail lined with controversy, but a trail nevertheless

A Musgrave campaign biography says she "created new bike trails on county roads, initiated the construction of the now-beloved USI-Burdette Trail, and expanded and renovated Burdette Park."

But the USI-Burdette trail project came at some cost to Musgrave's relationships with other elected officials.

The County Council, county government's fiscal body, hadn't funded a planned bicycle and running path linking Burdette Park to the University of Southern Indiana — but Musgrave went forward with a groundbreaking anyway, using riverboat money.

The bicycle path funding formula, also supported by then-Republican Commissioner Bill Nix, called for the commissioners to use $430,000 in riverboat money for the project's first phase. The rest of the funding wasn't in place yet, but Musgrave said it was important to get started without waiting for the council.

Other politicians weren't happy with Musgrave at the time, but the project ended up getting almost $1.1 million in government grants for its completion in 2010.

Never say never?

Musgrave's political archenemy, former Republican Mayor Lloyd Winnecke, once told the Courier & Press he would never seek higher elected office.

Chalk it up as one more thing Winnecke and Musgrave disagree about.

Musgrave said she wasn't thinking about a political comeback a day after losing a race that marks the beginning of the end of her tenure on county government's executive governing body. But saying never now would be silly, she said on Wednesday.

"I’m still commissioner, so I’m still stuck in the political world until the end of the year," said Musgrave, who turned 66 last month. "I think every political person in the world will tell you that you never say never, so I’m not saying never."

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Musgrave looks back — and maybe ahead — after loss in Vanderburgh race