Caucus Chooses Renier For Winona Lake Clerk-Treasurer
Caucus Chooses Renier For Winona Lake Clerk-Treasurer
Posted
David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
Caucus Chooses Renier For Winona Lake Clerk-TreasurerWINONA LAKE – Before Kent Adams died Dec. 19 at the age of 85, Laurie Renier had spoken to him about running for the Winona Lake clerk-treasurer position, which Adams had held since being elected in 2011.
Monday evening, a three-person Republican caucus elected Renier to fill out the remainder of Adams’ term, which expires Dec. 31, 2023. The other two people who sought the clerk-treasurer seat in the caucus were Daniel Anderson and Paul DeRenzo.
The three precinct committeemen who voted in the caucus by secret ballot were Lynn Howie, Bruce Shaffner and Mark Nuñez.
“The purpose of this meeting is to elect a new Winona Lake, Indiana, clerk-treasurer due to the death of Kent Adams, and I am very sorry to have to be here for this caucus. The town of Winona Lake has had a lot to grieve about in the last few months,” Kosciusko County Republican Central Committee Chair Mike Ragan said in his opening remarks.
Jim Zachary, who won election to the Winona Lake Town Council in 2019 to represent Ward 1, died Aug. 17, 2021, at Kosciusko Community Hospital. A Republican caucus elected Austin Reynolds to the Council. Then Adams died on Dec. 19.
“It’s the worst kind of caucuses we can hold, and my condolences to both of those families and friends and to the citizens of Winona Lake,” Ragan stated.
GOP Secretary C. Austin Rovenstine read the caucus rules, including that if a majority is reached, the chair will declare that a candidate has been selected to fill the vacancy. A majority is two of the three votes.
“As with the last caucus we had here where the individual passed away, who also happened to be a precinct committeeman with a vote in this caucus, as a result, the vice committeeman of Wayne 10, Bruce Shaffner, is automatically proxied as a matter of law without the necessity of a written form,” Rovenstine said.
“I would say that death is probably the only thing that could keep Kent Adams away from one of these things. He had a very deep love for this community, in particular, politics in general. I would love nothing more right now than to take him aside and ask his opinion on this race. Not being able to do that, I already feel in the dark about all of this. So his absence is very deeply felt already,” he continued.
Ragan said Winona Lake has four precinct committeemen that would be eligible to vote. However, Janice Workman, the fourth precinct committeeman, was not at Monday’s caucus and Ragan said she resigned. Effective Tuesday, Jan. 18, Ragan said he was appointing Shaffner to replace Workman as precinct committeeman as he lives in that precinct. Dr. Steve Hollar will be appointed to replace Adams in Wayne 10.
Each candidate was given three minutes to speak to the caucus, in the order that they filed. Renier filed her candidacy with Ragan first.
“I’ve worked in the town of Winona Lake for five years. Prior to working here in the town clerk’s office, I worked 28 years with Kosciusko County,” she said.
Renier said she’s the first person in the clerk-treasurer’s office to answer the phone, call or talk to residents who come into the office and answer their questions.
“I also am the accounts receivable clerk here in the office, so any money that comes into the office via from the county auditor or the state auditor, I receive that money. And if we get money in for the ice rink or the Limitless Park, I receive that money in. If we get grant money in for the police department, or anything for the town, I receive that in and distribute that,” she explained.
She also handles permits, helps balance the monthly bank reconciliation and is currently working on the year-end totals for the state report. She records the town council minutes, ordinances and reconcilations and distributes those to UniCode.
“My objective for running for the clerk-treasurer is to continue to run the office efficiently,” Renier said. “I had talked to Kent Adams prior to let him know that I was interested in running for the clerk-treasurer’s position. I will strive to continue to keep Winona Lake a welcoming community to raise a family and I appreciate your vote for Winona Lake treasurer to continue on the legacy that Kent Adams has done here in the clerk-treasurer’s office. And I would like to leave you with something that Kent said to everyone: Onward and upward. And that’s just where I’d like to lead Winona Lake.”
After DeRenzo and Anderson spoke, the caucus met to discuss the candidates and then voted. Steve Foster, GOP treasurer, and Jack Wilhite, Warsaw Common Council president, tallied the votes and presented them to Ragan, who announced that Renier won.
“I look forward to filling Kent’s legacy here in the town. Continue to work hard. Always have and I always will,” she said in her statement.
