City primary ballot filling up as deadline looms

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

By ERIC BERNSEE

Editor

With just days to go now in the 2015 primary filing period, three Third Ward City Council candidates have emerged among a number of developments on the Greencastle political front.

Democrat Steve Fields, 60, 11 Wood St., is the lone Third Ward hopeful to date in his party, while a pair of Republicans -- Harold Barger, 65, 310 Fifth St., and Harry Maginity, 70, 648 E. Seminary St., have filed this week for the seat currently held by Democrat Jinsie Bingham.

In other activity, Pat Aikman, 102 W. Poplar St., has withdrawn his Republican candidacy for an at-large City Council seat.

Meanwhile, a change on the official record has been made for Democrat Gary Lemon, who lives in the Second Ward, but will be seeking one of the at-large berths voted on citywide. When he filed last week Lemon was inadvertently listed as seeking the Second Ward seat.

Those recent additions and changes mean that both local parties are just one at-large candidate shy of offering full ballots for the May 5 primary and setting up head-to-head battles in the fall.

As the noon Friday, Feb. 6 primary deadline looms, the city ballot now shapes up as follows:

Mayor -- Democrat William Dory; Republicans Haywood Ware and Jim Wright.

Clerk-Treasurer -- Democrat Eric Wolfe; Republican incumbent Lynda Dunbar.

Council at-large (three seats available) -- Democrats Gary D. Lemon and David Murray; Republicans Mark Hammer and Clyde Wallace "Wally" Hinkle.

First Ward -- Democrat incumbent Adam Cohen; Republican Danny Mesecher.

Second Ward -- Democrat Brian Cox; Republican Stacie Langdon.

Third Ward -- Democrat Steve Fields; Republicans Harold Barger and Harry Maginity.

Fourth Ward -- Democrat Bennet ("Benny") Whitlock; Republican incumbent Tyler Wade.

Republican and Democrat hopefuls can file a declaration of candidacy for any of the nine city positions in the Voter Registration Office, room 21, at the Putnam County Courthouse until noon Friday.