Benjamin Milanowski ran for mayor. Now he wants to be the coroner. Kinda.

Libertarian Benjamin Milanowski ran for mayor in Lafayette last year against then five-time incumbent, Tony Roswarski, with no intentions of winning.
“My main issue is to raise awareness of third parties,” he said in an interview with the Exponent while running for mayor. “To be perfectly honest and clear about this, I do not anticipate winning. My goal though is for a person to go into the voting booth and go ‘Benjamin Milanowski? L? What’s an L?’”
City & State
Libertarian mayoral candidate expects defeat
BY WIL COURTNEY
Staff Reporter
3 min to read
But this election cycle, Milanowski is pivoting his sights away from the glamor of the mayoral seat to the sterile office of the coroner.
“I hold degrees in forensic science and in nursing,” according to his campaign’s Facebook page. “With years of experience in public health, I am committed to serving Tippecanoe County with integrity and compassion as your next coroner. I am diligent, meticulous, and will work tirelessly to provide closure for families and uphold justice.”
But once again, Milanowski doesn’t want to win.
“I’m a paper candidate,” he told the Exponent. “So you’re gonna see my name, and that’s just going to raise awareness.”
With no intention to replace her, Milanowski faces Carrie Costello, a former lieutenant for the PUPD who has been in the coroner’s office since 2000. If she wins, this would be her second term in the position.
“My name on that ballot is very important to me,” Costello said. “I very much love my job and I think we do great things in the community and I wouldn’t do it just to see my name on the ballot. That’s not my character.”
Carrie Costello, the Tippecanoe County Coroner, talks in January about how the partnership between the Coroner’s Office and Lafayette Recovery Cafe have helped reduce overdoses across the county.
Exponent File Photo
The coroner is an elected position in Tippecanoe County that anybody can run for, so long as they qualify for the ballot and complete the Indiana State Coroners Association mandatory training course.
“This course includes at least 40 hours of classroom instruction regarding death investigation, crime scenes and preservation of evidence,” according to Tippecanoe County’s website. “Sixteen hours of continuing education are required annually. Coroners have six months to complete the training once elected.”
The position is elected every four years.
“My political view does not interfere with my ability to do my job, and in being a Republican, does not have an impact on how we do death investigations,” Costello said.
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