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3 November 2026
The prosecutor: The general election of 3 November 2026 changed the two county law-enforcement offices whose holders South Bend lives under, and both results stand in the unofficial returns as reported on 8–9 November 2026. Amy Cressy defeated John Maciejczyk for St. Joseph County prosecutor with 45,438 votes, 59.5 percent of the vote — the first woman elected prosecutor in the county's history. She takes office on 1 January 2027. The seat was open: Prosecutor Ken Cotter had announced on 21 January 2026 that he would not seek re-election, and Cressy, his chief deputy, won it. Until 1 January, Cotter remains prosecutor.
The sheriff: Scott Ruszkowski defeated Rod Laureys for sheriff with 47,951 votes, 62.6 percent, and likewise takes office on 1 January 2027. Ruszkowski came to the race from inside the city's own department: he is South Bend's 62nd police chief, and was still chief as the Public Servants section of this history closed its account; he had won the Democratic primary on 5 May 2026 with 66 percent. The returns are unofficial as published; the canvass and the 1 January successions belong to the update cycle.
A first inside the department: On 26 October 2026, a week before the election, the police department's command-staff announcements carried a first of their own: Maranda Baker's promotion to chief of the Patrol Division made her the first woman to hold a division chief's post in the department's history. The officeholders' full records — Bauer's fifty years in the Indiana House among them — stand in the Public Servants section; this entry keeps only the turnovers and the dates they take effect.
Sources:
- Unofficial general-election returns, St. Joseph County, as reported 8–9 November 2026 (WNDU; South Bend Tribune; St. Joe Current) — Cressy 45,438 votes, 59.5 percent; Ruszkowski 47,951 votes, 62.6 percent.
- South Bend Tribune and WNDU, January–May 2026 — Cotter's announcement of 21 January 2026; the primary of 5 May 2026 (Ruszkowski, 66 percent).
- South Bend Police Department command-staff announcement, 26 October 2026 — Baker's promotion and its standing as a department first.
- The Public Servants section of this history — the officeholders' records in full.