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CLAYPOOL – Bryon Wells was appointed Monday to the vacant Clay Township Advisory Board position, but he will not be on the ballot during the November general election.
Kosciusko County Republican Party Central Committee Chairman Mike Ragan said the purpose of the caucus was to fill a vacancy on the Clay Township Advisory Board due to the July 18 death of member Donald Morris. The term ends Dec. 31, 2026.
Wells was the only candidate that filed for the vacancy. He was allowed to speak to the two precinct committee members, Brian Pyle and Helen Brown. Before that, Pyle asked for the caucus rules of procedures to be amended so they could question Wells after he spoke.
Wells, 70, is divorced with one daughter and a grandson. He’s lived in Kosciusko County since August 1985 and Clay Township since October 2015.
He has volunteered with the Clay Township Fire Department for about two years. He is going through their first responders class so he can be a first responder for the fire department.
Pyle asked Wells to define what the role and responsibility was for a member of the advisory board.
Wells said when it was explained to him, there are different things that come before the board and the advisory board needs to make a decision and they help Trustee Spencer Bartlett in any way they can, adding a voice to the community.
Brown said she had concerns about Wells being on the fire department and being on the board at the same time, as there may be some conflict of interest.
Wells said he understood that. He did talk to someone about that because that was a big concern of his. As far as Wells is concerned, somebody could have a conflict of interest, as long as they are upfront about it.
As far as Wells knew, the only voting for the fire department that came before the advisory board, besides the contract for the township, would possibly be for new equipment, Wells said.
Brown said there would be more than that involved because Wells would have to work with Bartlett and there’s going to be personnel conflicts within the fire department.
“So I just want you to be aware that you being a fireman and a board member is going to be difficult,” Brown said.
Wells said as far as he knew, the only connection between the township and the fire department was the contract. He didn’t think there was anything in the contract about controlling what the fire department did. Brown said the fire department is owned by the township and the trustee and advisory board are the governing body.
After questioning Wells, both precinct committee members voted and the votes were counted. Ragan said there was an unusual circumstance because Wells received zero votes.
Kosciusko County Republican Party Central Committee Secretary Austin Rovenstine said, “This is a little uncharted. I think this would be essentially a lack of quorum. So if the precinct committeemen decline to vote, then we don’t have a quorum. In which case, the decision would fall to (Ragan).” In that case, Ragan could decide to make an appointment. If he decided not to make an appointment, the party would then fail to fill the vacancy, and then Rovenstine said he believed the decision would go to the Kosciusko County Commissioners.
Ragan said he never likes to disagree with the precinct committeemen, but under the circumstances, he said he would like Wells to finish off the term.
Ragan also addressed Morris still being on the ballot for the November general election. Under the circumstances, he said he understood concerns about the opportunities the advisory board had with dealing with the fire department. Ragan said he appreciated Wells being on the fire department. Therefore, he was going to appoint Angela Booher to be on the ballot in November. Ragan thanked Booher for stepping up to be on the ballot.
Booher said it is very important to serve her community and she was willing to step in to that position for what is needed, as “we need responsible stewards and people who care about the community around them.”
She said she didn’t have a good answer as of Monday for why she didn’t file for the caucus.
She has lived in Clay Township for 15 or 20 years. She is the second vice president for the Women’s Republican Club and is a hairstylist in Warsaw.
