Parr selected for council seat

He will not be a county commissioner next year, but Faron Parr will remain a familiar face in Jay County government. 

Parr, a current commissioner, was selected at a Jay County Republican Central Committee caucus held Tuesday to fill the Jay County Council seat currently held by Mike Leonhard, who was elected as commissioner in November. 

Tuesday’s selection means Parr and Leonhard will swap roles at the start of next year. Leonhard was elected to Parr’s North District commissioner seat after ousting Parr in May’s GOP primary. 

Tuesday’s caucus was uneventful, lasting a little more than 10 minutes with Parr winning on a 3-1 vote during the first round of balloting conducted by the four district precinct committeemen from the north district. 

Parr defeated Matt Minnich and Jim Wendel to hold the District 3 seat, which includes the precincts of Wayne 1, Wayne 3, Bearcreek and Wabash.

Each candidate spoke briefly prior to the voting.

In his remarks, Parr highlighted his years and experience in county government.

“I learned and managed a lot during the last 12 years of being a commissioner. Went through this year alone a pretty grueling process with the budget committee,” he said. “We had to make a lot of hard decisions and some cuts.”

Minnich and Wendel both acknowledged their lack of experience in their short speeches. 

“I view this as a good opportunity for me to try and get involved in the county-level and … I’ll probably be bringing a fresh perspective or new perspective to all of the situations that exist already in the county and try and help solve them,” said Minnich, who is a member of Jay County Plan Commission and works for his family’s company, Minnich Poultry. 

“I’m just like Matt, don’t know a whole much about what goes on with this, but you know I’m willing to learn and put my time in to make sure my kids can stay here and the next generation can stay in this county and do what we need to do,” said Wendel, who owns Jay Home Builders.   

After his selection, Parr said his goal as a council member will be to make sure council continues to do what it is supposed to do.

“You know, be responsible and conservative and make sure we continue to make the right decisions,” he said. 

Parr emphasized his experience as a commissioner will be a tremendous asset and highlighted the work done by the county this year to craft the 2017 budget. 

“We got a lot of the ground work laid and that made a big difference,” he said. 

“It’s a group effort. It’s not one person. It’s getting everyone on board to work together and one more year, I think that … the worst should be over. I think then it’s going to start getting better,” Parr added. 

Parr’s decision to enter his name to fill Leonhard’s seat was one he contemplated after several people approached him about the open position. 

“It took a little time to think about it,” he said. 

The seat’s current term will expire at end of 2018. For now, Parr is committed to just the next two years. 

“At this point, I’m not saying I’ll run again. I might. I might run again five more times,” he said.