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Russ Evans loses Greencastle Township seat
Russ Evans knew the demographics were against him as a Democrat in a sea of Republican candidates.
And the numbers didn’t lie either as Evans looked over the final tally at the Putnam County Courthouse Tuesday night.
“There!” he said, pointing to the last page of the printout, which showed 3,827 straight-party Republican ballots being cast to just 763 straight Democrat votes, “that’s what I was worried about. Straight tickets just killed us.”
Evans, who was the lone county or township Democrat winner in 2018 when he was elected as one of three members of the Greencastle Township Advisory Board, lost that seat Tuesday by 151 votes with Karen Ambler and Marilyn Clearwaters winning re-election and fellow longtime Republican Mary Jane Monnett getting the third spot.
Incumbent or not, the 72-year-old Evans wasn’t surprised at the outcome, after all he’s had his share of elections and public service.
“I’m not disappointed,” he told the Banner Graphic. “I made a good effort. There’s no hard feelings.”
So will he try again?
“For this?” he asked, recoiling as if to say, “no way” would he try to regain his former seat in four years.
“I hear there’s a spot open on the Park Board,” Evans mused as he took his defeat in stride Tuesday night. “You’ll remember I was the last Democrat elected from the Fourth Ward.”
Evans, who served on the Greencastle City Council 2004-07, won a township seat in 2018 by outpolling Republican newcomer Ashley Bieniek 1,562-1,498.
Looking back on those four years, Evans said he “tried to do what’s good for the public. I never pushed an agenda. “
He noted that the Greencastle Township Advisory Board appoints two of the five members to the Greencastle School Board and next year will deal with reappointing Mike White or naming a successor by the end of June.
Evans is proudest of helping get the Greencastle Fire Department a $5,000 raise in its annual compensation from the township for fire protection.
He also pointed to the $300,000 the township put in on the new GFD aerial truck as well as a share of funding for the new pumper and a second new pumper that the city has just ordered.
Public service is nothing new for Evans who also has served as an elected official for the Bainbridge Town Council when he lived there.
Residing in Greencastle since 1995, Evans has been a City Park Board member and has also served as a member of the Putnam County 911 Advisory Committee, Putnam County Convention and Tourism Board, Operation Life Board of Directors, Putnam County Red Cross and Putnam County Firefighters Association.
He also has contributed to the community as deputy director of the Putnam County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) and chairman of the Local Emergency Planning Committee.
Summing up the 2022 general election in which not a single non-Republican was elected to a county or township office, Evans nonetheless offered praised for his opponents.
“Hats off to (GOP County Chairman) Beau Baird for running a good Republican Party,” Evans said.