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Ryan Craig Elected by Republican Caucus as Jasper’s New Mayor
On Friday night, Ryan Craig was selected as the next mayor of Jasper by a majority vote in a
special caucus.
After serving seven years as Jasper’s mayor, Dean Vonderheide announced his plans to step
down effective March 31, 2026. Under state law, a replacement is chosen by a caucus of
Republican Precinct Committee members to complete the remainder of the term.
The caucus, convened by Dubois County Republican Chair Amy Kippenbrock on January 16, met
at Jasper City Hall to select Vonderheide’s successor. While the session is typically closed to the
public, Kippenbrock chose to open the proceedings to the media.
The election has been a hot topic in Jasper and is also creating quite a stir across the pond. During a Joint Partnership Commission meeting between Jasper and Pfaffenweiler held Friday morning, officials from Jasper’s sister city noted that news of Mayor Vonderheide’s resignation and the election is traveling quickly throughout the community. Pfaffenweiler Commission members thanked Vonderheide for his hard work in continuing to strengthen the bond between the cities and expressed their best wishes for the incoming mayor.
The two candidates for consideration were Dubois County Councilman Ryan Craig and Jasper
City Council President Phil Mundy. Each candidate had equal opportunity to address caucus
members in attendance. After the presentations, a vote was held, electing Craig after the first
ballot.
An active member of the community, Craig lives in Jasper with his wife, Whitney, and their two
children. He is a member of the County Council and owner of the RE/MAX Local. A Jasper High
School alumnus, Craig graduated from Indiana University Bloomington in 2009 with his
bachelor’s degree in Tourism Management and a minor in Parks and Recreation Administration.
He has served on Mentors for Youth of Dubois County for seven years, including the last two as
president. Craig is also a member of the Dubois County Builders Association, the Southern
Indiana Association of Realtors, and the Knights of Columbus, and is affiliated with Precious
Blood Church.
The election has been a hot topic in Jasper and is also creating quite a stir across the pond. During a Joint Partnership Commission meeting between Jasper and Pfaffenweiler held Friday morning, officials from Jasper’s sister city noted that news of Mayor Vonderheide’s resignation and the election is traveling quickly throughout the community. Pfaffenweiler Commission members thanked Vonderheide for his hard work in continuing to strengthen the bond between the cities and expressed their best wishes for the incoming mayor.
Vonderheide was previously caucused into his mayoral term on December 26, 2018, after then-
Mayor Terry Seitz resigned to accept a position with then Senator-elect Mike Braun in January
of 2019. Vonderheide was selected by the Republican caucus to fill the vacancy. Tonight, Craig
was selected in the same way to fill the role as Jasper’s next mayor.
WITZ will be sitting down with Mayor-elect Craig after the caucus to hear his thoughts on the
future of the city and his upcoming term. That will be available at www.witzamfm.com/news.
-reported on by Drew Hasselbring