Written by The Elephant and the Jackass have taken their turns controlling Marion City Council over the past century, as you can see from this chart that I created showing the political affiliation of the nine elected Marion City council members from 1926 to 2026.
Back in Marion’s heyday at the turn of the prior century and up through most of the 1920s, the Grand Old Party was supreme in Shovel City.
In those days, government was small, taxes were low, businesses prospered, and jobs were plentiful. Marion was an industrial powerhouse.
During the Depression, there were drastic swings back and forth between the parties, as the people of Marion sought differing solutions to the problems that trickled down from the national economy. However, as the country transitioned into WWII and the economy stabilized as a result, power solidly rested with the Republicans once again.
It wasn’t until the late-1950s that the Democrats started gaining ground in Marion. Power was pretty evenly divided on council during the 1960s and most of the 1970s.
However, the Democrats went on a huge run from 1978 to 1992. It was during this period that Marion’s government grew substantially, labor union power peaked, and most of its industry and businesses departed.
The Republicans came back in 1994, ruling until the end of the decade.
Beginning in the new millennium, the Democrats came back with a vengeance, maintaining a politically insurmountable supermajority for nearly two decades.
Long powerless in the city, the Republicans made a comeback beginning in 2018. After a few years of near parity, in 2022 the Republicans began taking complete control. of council.