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City Councilman Ron Shoemaker filed to run for mayor Friday afternoon, according to the Kosciusko County Clerk’s office.
The move sets up a primary Republican face-off between Shoemaker and two-term mayor Joe Thallemer.
The move ends speculation over whether Shoemaker would choose to run for mayor or seek to retain his District 2 council seat.
Shoemaker’s decision appears to open the door for Josh Finch, a fellow Republican who filed a week ago, to run for Shoemaker’s seat.
Look for a story next week about Shoemaker’s campaign plans.
The Watchdog – County Democratic Party Leader Brian Smith enjoys playing the watchdog/antagonist role these days. That was certainly true this week.
Smith alleged on his Facebook page that the town of Winona Lake is playing favorites in the upcoming election. He pointed to a story on the town’s Facebook page featuring an election story from the Times-Union about a town council election bid by challenger Jim Zachary.
Smith contends that’s an improper use of tax dollars, and he probably has a point. But the Facebook page is also being used to tout at least another candidate, incumbent councilman Denny Duncan, who has filed re-election plans. The page also features plenty of other news.
On another issue, Smith contends the sign outside of the Wayne Township trustee office on South Buffalo Street in Warsaw is out of compliance with state statue because it fails to, among other things, list the trustee’s name.
That might be the case, but it is still a huge upgrade from 25 years ago, when Potpourri pointed out the sign for the office (then located on Center Street) was about the size of the headline at the top of this column.
Is this A Trend? – One of the efforts by Shari Benyousky during her Wayne Township trustee campaign last year was to pick up some crossover support. She lost the race to Jeannie Stackhouse, but in the process stirred the pot when Republican township board candidate Bruce Woodward endorsed her.
Oddly enough, Warsaw City Council candidate Jack Brunetto, who campaigned for Benyousky, is running for Warsaw City Council, and got a tip of the hat from a well-known Republican.
Winona Lake Council President Rick Swaim, on Benyousky’s Facebook page, complimented Brunetto: “I can’t vote for him, living in Winona as I do, but he would have it if I could.”
Brunetto is challenging Republican Diane Quance in a battle for District 5. But it appears to be a friendly battle. Brunetto, who often attends city meetings, was seen sharing a laugh Friday with Quance following the city board of works meeting.
Quance filed last week along with numerous other city incumbents. Look for a story on her candidacy next week.
