The list of GOP candidates seeking Avilla Rep. Matt Bell’s place on the November ballot was finalized at 7 p.m. Friday.
The caucus to choose a Republican nominee for the House seat is 7 p.m. Monday at Churubusco High School. There is no clear leader.
House District 83 covers parts of Allen, Noble and Whitley counties.
The candidates:
M. Bruce Scott – He is a partner with the Helmke Beams law firm. According to his firm bio, Scott has been president of the Adams County Bar Association and is involved in several community organizations including Homebound Meals Inc.
Brandon Seifert – He is an Allen County native who is also running for the Lake Township Advisory Board. He works for a defense contractor and is a Carroll High School graduate who has volunteered on numerous campaigns since 1994.
Phil Troyer – He is a Fort Wayne attorney who grew up in LaGrange County and previously worked for former U.S. Rep. Dan Coats. He unsuccessfully challenged former U.S. Rep. Mark Souder in the primary.
Kathy Heuer – She is a Whitley County businesswoman who previously was on the Columbia City Council for eight years, and she has been both chair and vice chair of the Whitley County Republican Party. She is currently chairman of the Whitley County Economic Development Corp. board.
William Etzler – He is a businessman who previously worked in local government in Noble and Allen counties but has been the regional manager with Aqua Indiana for several years. He is from LaOtto.
Joseph Hilger – He is an Allen County native who is past president of Allen County Right to Life. He served on the Allen County Plan Commission for 10 years and has 35 years of small-business experience at Hilger’s Farm Market. He currently is a substitute teacher.
Paul Moss – He has served on the Allen County Council for six years and would have to resign if he wins the fall election. He is a senior vice president at Lutheran Health Systems and previously served on the St. Joseph Township advisory board. He was unsuccessful in a bid for the Fort Wayne City Council.
The winner of the caucus will face Democrat Wray McCalester of Columbia City in the fall.
Eve of destruction
House Speaker Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, had a dandy of a news conference last week. While some of his policy points might be a bit hard to grasp at times, he provided some moments made of comedic gold.
To start with, the group of reporters congratulated a staffer in Gov. Mitch Daniels’ press office for his move to the scheduling division.
Bauer deadpanned, “If you’re going to schedule him – keep him in Washington.” He then followed up by adding, “that was a friendly suggestion.”
He waxed about the upcoming House election in which Daniels is pouring loads of time and energy into helping Republicans take back the chamber. This includes a large amount of fundraising.
Bauer noted his candidates are better and will compete well but said, “the governor can touch so many with gold.”
But he wasn’t ready to concede defeat in an anti-incumbency environment.
“Every election is unique,” Bauer said. For instance, Democrats weren’t supposed to win the majority two years ago. That’s because no other time in history had the party that lost the governor’s race won the House, he said.
Bauer said Daniels is good at spin, noting that “nationally as he runs for president he’s talking about these tremendous surpluses, which don’t exist.”
Indeed, the state’s surplus has been cut nearly in half because of a large deficit and schools have suffered cuts.
“I think the people better choose balance or see what his control is like,” Bauer said of having Republicans control the entire process. “It’s not the eve of destruction. It is destruction.”
Hughes harps
Allen County Council President Paula Hughes postured recently against the Allen County commissioners, a favorite target of the fiscal body’s harpings.
Hughes, who plans to run for Fort Wayne mayor next year, criticized the commissioners for not using a competitive-bid process to hire the construction manager that will oversee the county’s portion of the co-location renovations. She heard complaints from two firms that felt they were shut out of the selection process, which she said must be more transparent.
Chris Cloud, the commissioners’ top staffer, pointed out that the commissioners don’t have to bid out professional services. Instead they sought quotes from local companies familiar to the county and spent time interviewing the firms.
Commissioner Nelson Peters said Hughes isn’t in the loop and just didn’t know what was going on.
It was no secret the county planned to hire a construction manager to oversee its renovations. Any contractor paying attention could have contacted the county, Peters said.
“I think it was a very open process,” Peters said. “No one was precluded from coming to the table who wanted to.”
Stalled salutation
Mayor Tom Henry’s new deputy mayor and public information director were announced two weeks ago.
But despite attending City Council that week to say hello, they were never called to the table. Instead, they were forced to sit through the entire session and left after President Marty Bender ended the meeting.
Bender, R-at large, ensured that didn’t happen last week as he called Deputy Mayor Beth Malloy and Joe Fox to the table immediately after starting the meeting. The two said hello but didn’t speak long. They also left well before the meeting ended.
Amanda Iacone of The Journal Gazette contributed to this column.
