GREENFIELD — The paperwork just kept coming.
As the noon deadline for candidates to appear on the May 3 primary election ballot approached Friday, officials in the Hancock County Election Office scrambled to keep up with last-minute filings.
The most contested race this year will be among Republicans seeking the GOP nod for county council; 11 candidates have filed for three at-large county council seats.
It’s the most candidates local GOP chair Janice Silvey can remember crowding the ballot in the 37 years she’s been involved in the local Republican party.
Other offices on the ballot this spring include races for two county commissioner seats, county coroner and county treasurer.
Those seeking the GOP nomination for the council seats are:
•Incumbent Debbie Bledsoe of New Palestine
•Steve Craney of Greenfield
•Incumbent Kent Fisk of Greenfield
•George Langston of Greenfield
•Mark Lozier of Greenfield
•Bob McDaniel of Charlottesville
•Edgar Moore Jr. of Greenfield
•John Priore of Greenfield
•David Roberts of Greenfield
•Martha Vail of Charlottesville
•Scott Wooldridge of New Palestine
Currently, the three at-large council seats are occupied by Bledsoe, Fisk and Randy Sorrell, who has filed to run in the District 1 commissioners race and is therefore not seeking re-election to the council.
Voters’ top three choices in the May primary will advance to the general election in November. Then they’ll face Democrats Rita Johnson and Randy Jones, both of Greenfield, for the seats.
Silvey, who is the county’s treasurer and is running unopposed in the primary for reelection, said she was surprised to learn the seats attracted so many Republicans. Because there are three seats, the race typically attracts a large crowd, but typically, it includes five or six candidates, Silvey said.
Eleven names on the ballot will give voters who pull a Republican ballot many options this May, she said.
“Voters can’t say they don’t have choices,” Silvey said. “Hopefully, it gets them out to vote.”
There will be no contested Democrat races this spring, but nearly every Republican race is.
Other Republican candidates on the ballot include:
County Coroner
•Dan Devoy of Greenfield
•Joe Fortner of Greenfield
•Rudy Nylund of Wilkinson
•David Stillinger of Greenfield
Commissioner District 1
•Randy Harrison of Fortville
•John Jessup of Shirley
•Randy Sorrell of McCordsville
Commissioner District 3
•Incumbent Brad Armstrong of New Palestine
•Matt Holland of New Palestine
Early voting is slated to begin April 5.
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Stay tuned: The Daily Reporter will feature candidate questionnaires and issue story for all contested races in the coming weeks.
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