Candidate filings slow in county races

Saturday, January 28, 2012

By JARED JERNAGAN, Assistant Editor

Slow and steady will have to win the race for somebody in Putnam County's 2012 election season.

Voter Registration Clerk Stacia Gibson said her office hasn't exactly been overrun with candidates filings in the two weeks since filing season opened. As of Friday, only seven candidates have filed to fill the eight open seats in county government.

Candidates must file a declaration of candidacy with the Putnam County Clerk's Office by noon on Friday, Feb. 10 to appear on the May 8 primary election ballot.

Currently the only contended race would be between Republicans David Berry and James Rodney Fenwick for the County Commissioner District 1 seat.

District 1 encompasses the northern six townships of the county or the North Putnam school district.

Vacating the District 1 seat is Gene Beck, who will seek an at-large County Council seat. In a long career in county government, Beck has served previously as a councilman and a commissioner.

Another mainstay of county government for many years is seeking a return to the Putnam County Commissioners. Don Walton served as a commissioner from 1976 through 2004. He then spent a term as a Putnam County Councilman before retiring in 2008.

Walton is running for the Commissioner District 3 position.

At this time, County Treasurer Sharon Owens is the only currently serving official seeking the same office in 2012.

Owens has served in the position since 2010, as the Putnam County Treasurer does not take office until a full year after the election cycle. Prior to her election to the position, Owens spent a decade as deputy treasurer.

Former Greencastle Township Assessor Lorie Hallett will seek the position of Putnam County Auditor. Hallett has worked for the Putnam County Assessor for several years, serving as personal property deputy.

Dave Brown is running for Putnam County Coroner. Brown currently serves as chief deputy to Coroner Thomas Miller.

All of the candidates currently filed are Republicans. This is not uncommon in Putnam County, as the Democrat Party often appoints its candidates after the primary.

Comments

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Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. Please note that those who post comments on this website may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.

Voters need to be alert to false campaign promises in this down economy,especially if it involves large amounts of money being spent!

-- Posted by kubotafan on Sat, Jan 28, 2012, at 7:14 AM
How about someone with enough sense to NOT buy into something as silly as preventing a large investment in our county,because someone says the occasional "noise might keep my cows from BREEDING!!!!" And this vote came from a farmer,who is a commissioner!! DON'T BUY THAT BULL!

-- Posted by Ya THUNK on Sat, Jan 28, 2012, at 10:57 AM
the same names come up every election, all they do is shuffle around to different offices i.e. commissioner to council, former commissioner runs again, deputy runs and will hire the former office holder. The court house is a closed group that takes care of their own. We need fresh faces and new ideas

-- Posted by albert on Sat, Jan 28, 2012, at 4:25 PM
That's the problem,albert,nobody wants to be in politics anymore,too time consuming...

-- Posted by kubotafan on Sun, Jan 29, 2012, at 8:41 AM

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