Candidate for Putnam County Commissioner · District 2

Every dollar. Every decision. Every citizen matters.

I'm Denver Sizemore. I live here, I work here, and I'm running for Putnam County Commissioner because I believe we all deserve more.

Because rural doesn't mean run down.

See the plan Get involved

Transparency.Action.Accountability.

Mile0

Every drive starts somewhere

Denver Sizemore standing in front of the Putnam County courthouse in Greencastle

I was born and raised in Hamilton County, and moved to Cloverdale at 17. Honestly, I wasn't fully on board at first. To say it was an adjustment would be an understatement. But somewhere along the way, I fell in love with the pace. Nine years of working, building, and getting involved has helped shape the man I am today, and there's no place I'd rather call home than Putnam County.

Growing up, my grandparents told stories of Noblesville as a small farming town: brick roads, open fields, everybody knew everybody. Today that two-lane road to Indianapolis is I-69, and the town they knew looks nothing like their stories. Putnam County is standing at the same crossroads Noblesville faced fifty years ago. I grew up watching what happens when a community lets outside pressure make its decisions, and I don't want Putnam County to become the next Hamilton or Hendricks County. Protecting what we love about this place means deciding its future ourselves, on purpose.

I started going to town hall and county meetings in 2024, and it felt like our direction was just day by day, year by year. I believe our future should be created and shaped by the people who live here, and that we can innovate on top of what makes Putnam County special instead of watching it get changed into something it doesn't recognize.

This isn't just where I live. It's where I've decided to plant roots. It's home.

— Denver Sizemore

Mile1

Where we stand

Paying more. Getting less.

Less growth. Fewer neighbors. Aging bridges. Higher taxes. None of it happened on purpose, and none of it will fix itself. These are just the numbers.

Bottom 5

Out of Indiana's 92 counties, that's where Putnam ranks for bridge conditions.

$175M

What it will cost to fix the 100+ county bridges in disrepair, by the county's own estimate.

2018

The year our economy peaked. We've been below it ever since.

Same county. Higher bill.

For eight straight years, the county income tax held at 1.5%. Since 2015 it has jumped six times, landing at 2.3%, higher than 63 of Indiana's 92 counties.

In that same stretch, our economy didn't grow and our population didn't either. The bill keeps climbing while the county stands still. Nobody needs to be blamed for that. But somebody needs to address it.

Meanwhile, the economy

$1.147B2018 → $1.110B2024

Most recent publicly available data.

And the population

37,9092010 → 37,8762025

Fifteen years. 33 fewer people.

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Five pillars. One direction.

What I'm running on, in plain terms.

CR 1

Strong Foundations

744 miles of road. 220 bridges. Drainage that decides whether your driveway or your route to work floods. I'll work with the departments that handle it all, from roads to water systems. I'll help map planned projects and get that information out fast: what's getting fixed, when, and why. Before the detour signs go up, not after.

CR 2

Back the People Who Show Up

Our first responders rely on safe roads, sound bridges, and fair fire territory funding to get to you fast. Our county workers deserve modern tools, not decades-old systems. Backing the people who do the work is how services get better for all of us.

CR 3

Transparency You Can See

Where every tax dollar goes, in visuals anyone can read, posted where anyone can find them. Every major expenditure, every federal dollar, every contract. No records requests required.

CR 4

Boots on the Ground

Leadership shouldn't sit behind a desk. It should be in our towns, at our meetings, and in the everyday work that keeps this county moving. I believe in showing up, involving residents of all ages, and building a culture of participation that outlasts any one election.

CR 5

Growth Through Quality of Life

Economic progress that starts with quality of life: Shop Putnam, ag tourism, parks and trails, and green space we're proud of. Growth that fits who we are, not growth that erases it.

Happening now · not a promise

0/ 744

Miles of county road driven · GPS-tracked

I'm not waiting for election day. I'm driving all 744 miles of county road now, personally, with a camera and a notebook, because you can't fix what you haven't seen. Follow along on Facebook & TikTok.

Mile3

The first 180 days

No hundred-point plan. Six commitments, in public and on the record, so you can check them off with me or call me out.

Inside the courthouse

Assess every department

Sit down with every department head and county worker. What's working, what's broken, what they need to do their jobs.

Local economy

Launch Shop Putnam

A countywide push to keep our dollars in our towns and put our small businesses in front of every resident.

Your voice

Countywide listening tour

Visit every town and township to hear concerns, ideas, and priorities straight from residents, then tackle what we find head first.

Your money

Break down the tax dollar

A visual, public breakdown of exactly how the county spends every dollar you send it. Charts, not jargon.

Modernize

Rebuild the county website

Agendas, budgets, and records you can actually find, from your kitchen table instead of the courthouse basement.

Accountability

State of the County

A yearly public address on where we stand and where your money went. Plain numbers, plain English.

The fine print — and I want you to read it

None of these will be 100% finished in 180 days. County government doesn't change overnight, and I'm not going to pretend it does. What I'm promising is that by day 180, every one of these is rolling: started, in public, and moving.

Mile4

Keep it in Putnam

Shop Putnam is simple: one card, real savings at local businesses, and a community fund that pays for local projects. No new taxes. Just math that works for everyone.

1

Buy the card — $25

Available at every participating business. Good for the whole calendar year.

2

Save 5% at 25 local businesses

Shop where you already shop, keep more of your money, and keep every dollar in the county.

3

$20 of every card funds local projects

The rest goes to the businesses selling the cards. The fund pays for real community improvements, in public and on the books.

$50,000 / year

raised for community projects if 2,500 cards sell, without raising a single tax.

Mile5

The Green Belt

A county connected by more than roads, one that celebrates its natural beauty and builds around it, not over it. Innovate. Preserve. Excel.

The goal

0/ 40,000

trees planted, one for every resident of Putnam County

This counter starts the day the shovels do.

Start now

Small but visible

Trash cans at every trailhead. Monthly community cleanup days: roadside, park, and trail.

Build next

Medium but big

The Cloverdale Rail-to-Trail and Cardinal Park: real projects that give families a reason to spend Saturday here instead of driving to surrounding counties.

The long haul

A connected county

Over time: a trail network linking our towns and parks, so getting from Greencastle to Cloverdale to Roachdale doesn't mean a highway shoulder.

Mile6

Every generation, same table

Whether you've been here sixty years or six months, this county's future is in your hands. So is this campaign.

If you've been here a while

You remember when things got done, when the county fixed what it said it would fix. You're not asking for anything fancy. You're asking for follow-through, straight answers, and respect for the taxes you've paid your whole life. That's not nostalgia. That's a standard. Let's meet it again.

If you're just getting started

You've watched half your graduating class move away, because that's what you do when opportunity lives somewhere else. It doesn't have to. Real jobs, weekends worth sticking around for, and a county you can reach from your phone are all buildable, and you deserve a say in building them. Staying shouldn't feel like settling. Let's make it the smart choice.

"There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction."
— John F. Kennedy

Mile7

Join the drive

No big money. No machine. Just a Hoosier on a mission.

I'm an independent-minded moderate focused on solutions, running on the Democratic ticket for the District 2 seat, challenging a three-term incumbent seeking a fourth term.

Election Day: Tuesday, November 3, 2026

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Follow the campaign · denversizemore.com