Incumbent, 2 others earn GOP nod

An incumbent will be joined by a veteran county official and a southern Jay County farmer on the Republican side of the ticket for at-large seats on the Jay County Council.

In a four-way race for three spots on the ballot in November’s general election, incumbent Councilwoman Marilyn Coleman was the top vote-getter, followed by former county recorder and treasurer Judy LeMaster and county planning commission member Jim Zimmerman.

Political newcomer Chris Nill was last in the four-person field.

Coleman, LeMaster and Zimmerman will face off against Democrats Andy Schemenaur and Lisa Barnett in the fall, with three of the five at-large council candidates elected. Schemenaur is a current member and former president of the council, while Barnett is running for the seat that will be vacated by her husband Mark Barnett, who is running for coroner against Republican Paulette Wagner.

Schemenaur received 853 votes and Barnett 813 Tuesday.

“I’m just thrilled. Glad to see how it came out,” Coleman, who like LeMaster served in several county offices in the courthouse, said Tuesday night at GOP headquarters at the Jay Community Center.

“I’m looking forward to this fall. I appreciate those people that voted for me,” LeMaster said.

Zimmerman, who is the current president of the county planning commission, said Tuesday night that he was “glad that we’ve made it through. We’ve got a lot of work to do towards the fall.”

With few contested races and almost as few contentious issues, turnout Tuesday county-wide was just 28 percent of those registered to vote.

Perhaps in part because there were more choices, 66 percent, or 2,542 out of a total of 3,876 registered voters, selected a Republican ballot.

In the two other contested races in the GOP primary (governor and District 33 State Representative), Jay County voters went with the winners by an even larger margin than the district or state as a whole.

Portland businessman Bill Davis, whose opponent Noel “Bud” Carpenter endorsed Davis early in the primary season, won by a 1,908-474 margin (80 percent to 20 percent) over Carpenter in Jay County. Across the entire district, which also includes the northern two-thirds of Randolph County and the eastern third of Delaware County, Davis won 68 percent (4,265) to 32 percent (2,050).

Davis, who is currently a member of the Jay County Hospital Board, will face five-term incumbent Ron Liggett, a Democrat from Redkey, in the general election. Liggett faced no opposition on Tuesday.

Jay County voters also favored GOP gubernatorial nominee Mitch Daniels by a wide margin Tuesday. Daniels, who made at least two campaign stops in Jay County, received 1,917 votes (78 percent) to 532 for conservative attorney Eric Miller.

Daniels, the former director of the Office of Management and Budget under President George W. Bush, will run against Democratic Gov. Joe Kernan in November. Kernan became governor following the death last fall of Frank O’Bannon.

With 99 percent of precincts reporting this morning, Daniels had received 335,112 votes, or 66 percent, compared to 169,699, or 34 percent, for Miller.

The only choices on the Democratic ticket Tuesday (besides the Jay School Board races, see separate story), were for president. John Kerry, who has already wrapped up the Democratic presidential nomination, was a big winner in Jay County Tuesday. Kerry received 854 votes. John Edwards was second with 121, followed by Howard Dean (80), Wesley Clark (67), Lyndon LaRouche Jr. (17) and Dennis Kucinich (10).

Here is a look at how the fall ballot will shape up for other races in Jay County (excluding commissioner):

U.S. Senator — Evan Bayh (D) vs. Marvin Scott (R).

Indiana Governor — Joe Kernan (D) vs. Mitch Daniels (R).

U.S. Representative (District 6) — Mike Pence (R) vs. Mel Fox (D).

State Rep. (District 33) — Ron Liggett (D) vs. Bill Davis (R).

Clerk of Jay Circuit Court — Jane Ann Runyon (R); no Democratic candidate.

Jay County Treasurer — Frances Milthalter (R); no Democratic candidate.

Jay County Coroner — Mark Barnett (D); Paulette Wagner (R).

Jay County Surveyor — Brad Daniels (R); no Democratic candidate.[[In-content Ad]]