Filing period ends Friday for primary

With days remaining until the filing period closes, Republicans now have a candidate for each county office set to appear on the May primary ballot.

Jill Bridgewater of Greencastle will seek re-election to her District 2 post on the Putnam County Council, making her the first candidate from either party to file in the district.

In neighboring District 3, there is now a contested Republican race, as Danny Wallace of Greencastle is seeking the nomination.

Wallace provides primary competition for Haywood Ware, who is also vying for the GOP nomination for the seat of the retiring Darrel Thomas.

On the Democrat side, Matt Cummings is seeking the District 3 seat.

Two other Republican incumbents for County Council have no opponents from either party so far, with Dave Fuhrman seeking re-election in District 1 and Keith Berry doing the same in District 4.

Candidates have until noon on Friday, Feb. 9 to file candidate packets with the Putnam County Voter Registration Office on the courthouse second floor. The courthouse is open from 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

For more information, call Stacia Hathaway at 655-1538.

Besides Ware and Wallace, other contested races for GOP nominations include incumbent Tracy Bridges and Rhonda Chaney for recorder, incumbent Scott Stockton and Jerrod Baugh for sheriff and incumbent Rick Woodall and Kim Hyten for District 2 county commissioner.

Steve Cash is so far unopposed in his bid for the Democratic nod for District 2 county commissioner.

Unopposed county-level Republicans include Tim Bookwalter for prosecutor, Heather Gilbert for clerk, David Penturf for surveyor and Janet Brown for assessor.

There are two Cloverdale Town Council races on the ballot, but both remain unchanged. Republican incumbents Coweta Patton (at-large) and Cindy Holland (Third Ward) are unopposed in their bids for re-election.

All 13 township trustee positions are on the ballot, and all but Russell Township have at least one candidate at this time.

In Clinton Township, Republican Tina Sillery and Democrat Chelsea Fidler are both seeking the trustee position. Likewise, Democrat J.D. Grove is on the ballot for Madison Township trustee, as is Republican incumbent Jeff Alexander.

Meanwhile in Washington Township, there is a three-way race for trustee within the Republican Party, with Jessie Hoskins and John McPherson both challenging incumbent Pat Sheldon for the position.

Republican trustee candidates who remain unopposed at this time include Clyde Coulter (Franklin), Mike Fritz (Jackson), Richard Pronckus (Monroe), Marsha Carrington (Floyd), Steve Butts (Greencastle), Gregory Arnold (Marion), Karen Nelson Heavin (Warren), Debra Robinson (Jefferson) and Dale Monnett (Cloverdale).