Dudelston resigns council seat

REDKEY — The town will need a new council member.

Redkey Town Council member Dave Dudelston turned his resignation in to Jay County Clerk’s Office on Wednesday.

“I David E. Dudelston resign my position on the Redkey Town Board can’t fix stupidity,” Dudelston wrote in his resignation.

He served approximately a decade on Redkey Town Council, having been initially appointed to fill the seat left vacant by David Himes in September 2012 and serving in multiple stints since then.

Dudelston said in a phone call Thursday he’s leaving the council because of council president Brenda Beaty. He expressed frustration with Beaty’s leadership.

“There’s two sets of rules,” he said. “That’s the way she operates, it’s going to come back to haunt her one of these days.”

Dudelston pointed to a few different events over the past year, including former council member Gavin Grady’s resignation and conduct with Redkey police, as well as his formal complaint to Indiana Public Access Counselor’s Office against the Town of Redkey regarding the alleged termination of a former police officer during an executive session, a council gathering in April 2024 and alleged acts of nepotism by council members.

His resignation follows Redkey’s April meeting in which Dudelston asked the town attorney to read a statement he prepared addressing comments about his and council member Floyd Life’s absence from recent meetings. In it, he accused Beaty of starting a “witch hunt” against him and harassing him.

 When the town attorney and Beaty pointed out the statement was not on the agenda for the meeting, the discussion devolved into an argument and Dudelston left shortly after.

Dudelston’s resignation marks the second council member to leave the council this year, following Grady’s resignation Feb. 14. His replacement will be determined by Jay County Republican Party chairman Jenae Blasdel.