Bailey, Huffman seeking GOP nod

Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of stories previewing the May 3 primary election. Early voting begins April 5. All election-related stories will be posted at http://www.thecr.com and will remain active until election day.

A pair of candidates with banking backgrounds are competing for a Republican nomination for commissioner.
Wayne Bailey and Chuck Huffman are running in the primary election for the GOP nomination for the south district seat after Jim Zimmerman, the incumbent Republican, chose no to run for a third term. The winner of the race between Huffman and Bailey will advance to the general election to compete against the winner of the Democratic primary between James Brewster and Ted Champ.
Both candidates spent decades in the banking industry, with Bailey working in the Indianapolis area for about 30 years before returning to Jay County in 2000. He served for five years as Jay County’s director of community development and since then has worked in project development for Commonwealth Engineering.
Huffman took a job at Peoples Bank in Portland shortly after graduating from Ball State University in 1979 and has been in the business locally ever since. He is currently a trust officer for First Merchants Bank.
In discussing key issues for the county commissioners, Bailey focused on communication.
It’s important for the commissioners to be in sync not only with the communities within the county, but with other counties and those involved in state government, he said. He emphasized the need to be proactive about issues facing the county.
“Historically I’ve seen commissioners to be catchers, not pitchers,” said Bailey, who lives in Madison Township. “If it comes to them, they’ll look at it, analyze it, get all the information they can, make the best decision they can. But I believe that we can, through communication, have a better look at the horizon and what’s out there.”
He pointed to flooding as one of the areas that could benefit from greater communication, noting that the issues in Portland extend beyond Millers Branch and that drainage doesn’t stop at the county line.
Huffman agreed that flooding is one of the most important topics facing the county.
It’s not just a downtown Portland issue, he said, but one that affects the entire county. He added that the work the commissioners have done so far, such as hiring a firm for an engineering study, is headed in the right direction.
“I think it’ll be very interesting to vet through those ideas and try to figure out what is the most efficient way to either slow water down or re-route it and try to alleviate the flooding problems downtown,” said Huffman, a 1975 Dunkirk High School graduate who now lives in rural Dunkirk.
Huffman’s other focus is the county budget, which required $500,000 from the rainy day fund in order to be balanced for 2016. While county council is in charge of money, he noted that commissioners can still have an impact on the budget and that his banking background would be valuable in managing finances.
“I do think that the commissioners do have a role to play in trying to help solve that either through strategic planning or just through our daily management of the county in vetting projects and expenditures to make sure the money is being spent wisely,” said Huffman.
Bailey offered a similar approach, discussing the need for planning to help keep the county finances sound.
“There’s no magic to it whatsoever except for looking at your history, looking at what you have right now ahead of you, being aware as to what’s out there and then forecasting what it’s going to take,” he said.
The candidates also expressed similar views about confined feeding operations, both saying it’s important to balance the need for farmers to be competitive and earn a living with the rights of surrounding property owners.
Huffman said he would have preferred for the plan commission to have followed the recommendations of the county’s confined feeding study committee rather than scaling down setback requirements, and Bailey said he has concerns about the impact of manure that is being transported into the county from Ohio.
While saying the county has too many stone roads, Huffman referred to the overall issue as one limited by finances. The county has done a good job of trying to keep its roads in good shape with the money that is available, he said.
Bailey again put his focus on long-term planning — publicly setting priorities and timelines for what roads need to be repaired or converted. He added that study is needed to see if it would benefit the county to convert more chip-and-seal roads to asphalt.
When Bailey moved to Jay County in 2000 and later became the director of community development, the county sent him back to school at Ball State University to be certified in grant writing and economic development.
“Now it’s an opportunity that I can provide a return on that investment, not only because of the financial investment, but I’ve made a lot of friends here,” said Bailey.
He pointed to helping on projects such as Bryant sewers, Pennville firetrucks, the West Jay Community Center gym and the Weiler Building that is now John Jay Center as some of the key accomplishments of his time in community development. And he believes his experiences working with agencies at the local and state levels will be a benefit to the county.
“I think we have to look at what the track record shows is in a person’s heart,” said Bailey. “When (I) worked here before, the communities involved all prospered. They did it. I didn’t. I helped them. And I’d bring that same spirit back as commissioner.”
Likewise Huffman noted his experience, both in business and community service, as a key factor in making him a strong candidate for the job.
While he, like Bailey, has never held public office, he has been president of the boards for Jay County Development Corporation, United Way, Arts Place and West Jay Community Center. He is also on the boards of The Dunkirk Foundation and Dunkirk Industrial Development Corporation, and is a member of Dunkirk Investment Group.
“I just think what I bring to the table is a long background in the business world,” said Huffman. “I have had a lot of experience with budgets and planning. I am, by nature … a planner.
“I feel like I am very in tune with Jay County and what has happened in the last number of years and how the people think and what’s important to them.”