Bloomington City Councilmember Shruti Rana, who was elected by District 5 constituents in November and sworn into office Jan. 1, will step down from her position on the council Feb. 7.
In an email she sent to her fellow councilmembers on Saturday, Rana said she would resign from her city council position to relocate her family to Missouri. Rana accepted the positions of Assistant Vice Chancellor for Inclusive Excellence and Strategic Initiatives and Professor of Law at the University of Missouri in September 2023. Before accepting these positions and joining the council, Rana was the senior assistant dean for curricular and undergraduate affairs for the Hamilton Lugar School.
“While we are excited about these new opportunities, it is with deep sadness that I am stepping down from serving my Bloomington constituents in my City Council role,” Rana said in the email. “I am thankful for the opportunity I have had to represent our community, and deeply honored by the support and guidance I have received from our community and state and local leaders.”
Rana’s husband, David Gamage, also accepted a position as a distinguished professor of tax law and policy at the University of Missouri and announced he will resign from his position at IU in an email Saturday.
Rana said that her role at the University of Missouri is a remote-hybrid role that allowed her to work while continuing to live in Bloomington. However, she said her family ultimately decided to relocate after Gamage finalized his position with the University of Missouri on Friday.
“I’m so thankful for (my constituents’) support,” Rana said. “I have been so privileged to serve and meet them.”
Rana is the first woman of color elected to the Bloomington City Council. Rana participated in her first council meeting Jan. 10, where she was tapped to serve as the chairperson for the Jack Hopkins Social Services Standing Committee. The council also appointed Rana to serve as a representative on the Bloomington-Monroe County Metropolitan Planning Organization, the council Sidewalk Standing Committee, council Interview Committee B and the council Special Committee on Council Process.
There are three more city council meetings on Jan. 17, Jan. 24 and Feb. 7, before Rana’s resignation will go into effect. Rana said she plans to participate in the upcoming meetings. She also said she wanted to give the Monroe County Democratic Party and council enough time to find her replacement.
Indiana code requires Rana to send her resignation to Monroe County Clerk Nicole Browne, whose office’s email was included in the list of recipients on Rana’s resignation email.
Indiana law also allows the Monroe County Democratic Party to schedule a caucus to fill the vacancy. To fill the District 5 vacancy, Monroe County Democratic Party precinct chairs will need to elect a new representative. Rana will also step down from her position as vice chair of the Monroe County Democratic Party on Feb. 7.
