Tom Helmer seeks second term as District 3 commissioner

Tom Helmer

The following is part of a series of biographies of county candidates for the upcoming election.

Editing by the Banner Graphic news staff is minimal for only style and clarity purposes.

Hello, I am Tom Helmer, and I am seeking my second term as Putnam County commissioner, a position I have held since January 2021.

I represent the southern portion of Putnam County, including Cloverdale, Jefferson, Washington and Warren townships.

I have been a resident of Putnam County since 1981. I was affiliated with the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department from 1981, having served as sheriff (four years), chief deputy (11 years) and road officer until I retired from the department in June 2018 as a captain. I remained involved with the Department until March 2023.

I have traveled thousands of miles on our county roads, and I know there are issues, but lack of funding prevents repairing or replacing the roads.

I previously served as a deputy coroner and have served on a number of boards such as Operation Life, Family Support Services, Child Protection Team, Board of Health, Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) and the Emergency Management Agency (EMA). I was the director of Putnam County EMA from 2011 until assuming the position of commissioner.

While with the EMA, I am most proud of implementing the CERT (Citizens Emergency Response Team) that to this day is highly active in assisting our great community.

This is the reason I serve as commissioner, to serve the people of this community. While we have issues — roads, bridges, lack of affordable housing, employment opportunities — I feel we, the Commissioners along with Putnam County Council — are working toward solutions and locating funding to address some of these issues.

We have hired an engineer for our highway department and have applied for and received grants to upgrade or replace our bridges and pave our roadways. We have a new comprehensive plan for the county, and working with the city and towns we have developed a unified development ordinance.

Following the Covid Epidemic the State Department of Health determined that local Health Departments needed to upgrade services provided to members of our community, we opted into an agreement with the state and have received additional funding to provide said services.

Due to a security audit conducted by the sheriff of the Indiana Supreme Court, we have upgraded security at the courthouse for the safety of all employes and visitors.

Soon after I took the commissioner position, my wife of 40 years, Cheryl, passed away in February 2021. We raised two sons who are both law enforcement officers in other counties. I am a proud grandfather to eight grandchildren. I am now engaged to Vickie Moore, who is also a widow and plan to marry her later this year.

I would appreciate your vote on May 7 so I can continue to serve you. Thank you.