FORTVILLE — Three Republicans are running for the two District 1 seats on Fortville Town Council in the upcoming May primary. Incumbent Michael Frischkorn is facing off against Tonya Drake Davis and Libby Wyatt.
The Daily Reporter recently interviewed all three candidates. Here is what they said about their qualifications for the office:
Tonya Drake Davis
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Davis said she was motivated to run for the council seat out of a desire to be more involved in the town she’s been a lifelong resident of.
“I think I can make a difference,” she said.
She’s operations manager for Shade By Design, an awning company her brother owns. Davis has worked for the business for 27 years.
Davis said she’s gotten to know a lot of fellow businesspeople over the years and that it’s important for the town to take care of them. She wants to increase local government transparency and give Fortville business representatives a voice as the town continues to grow and change.
Some Fortville residents are uneasy about the expected changes, Davis said. She added she can communicate with them in a way that will make the transition easier for them. Davis said she cares about them because she’s been one of them her whole life.
“I truly feel like I have an investment in the town,” she said.
Davis said she’s qualified for the position because she’s used to being a leader and decision-maker in her professional life. She added she’s an effective communicator, prefers action over delegation and is good at understanding multiple sides of an issue.
Should she win, she would pursue resolving parking issues on Main Street and work toward maintaining Fortville’s small-town charm as it continues to grow, she said.
Davis ran as an independent for town clerk-treasurer in 2015 but lost to Republican Sherry Durbin.
Michael Frischkorn
Frischkorn may be new to running for public office, but he’s not new to the Fortville Town Council. He was appointed to fill a resignation from one of the District 1 seats in late 2016. Recently, he started his second year as president of the council.
Frischkorn is an operations manager at commercial real estate services firm CBRE’s Indianapolis office. He also is an attorney and formerly served as deputy director of economic development and redevelopment in Anderson and worked in redevelopment for the city of Carmel as well.
Maintaining residents’ accessibility to local government has been important to him during his time on the council, he said, as well as providing opportunities for residents to give feedback to town officials. He said keeping residents informed of what’s happening with the town, particularly all of the changes expected as it continues to grow, has been a priority for him as well.
Frischkorn said he recognizes there’s often a fear of the unknown and change but emphasized change is also inevitable whether it’s good or bad.
“The growth is happening,” he said. “It’s either going to happen to you or with you.”
Leaders’ role in ensuring the changes associated with that growth are positive lies in setting standards that ensure investments in the town are protected, Frischkorn continued.
“You can’t think short term in government; you just can’t,” he said. “It’s not about the next year; the next election cycle; the next five, 10 years because you’re really trying to think of the next 50 years. In 50 years, are the things I do now going to have any impact?”
Frischkorn said if he’s elected to another term he’d like to pursue making parts of town more pedestrian-friendly and continue being involved with the town’s participation in the state’s Stellar Communities program, which will leverage funding for improvement projects in Fortville along with Greenfield and Hancock County. He also wants to see the town continue toward creating its own plan commission and board of zoning appeals.
Libby Wyatt
Wyatt owns StoreHouse, a storage and furniture business at 11 S. Main St. that also offers consultation, interior design and organizing services.
She started her business in Fortville about three years ago while living in McCordsville. After getting to know some of Fortville’s business owners, she started attending town council meetings with them to keep abreast of town happenings. After moving to Fortville to live, that interest grew, she said.
Now that interest has grown into a desire to represent residents on the five-member town council.
“Really what makes anybody qualified to be part of a town council is just an interest in supporting and developing the community,” Wyatt said. “I feel like I am a good voice. I have positive energy, I’m creative and I support the community.”
Wyatt said she also supports how the council has been running the town as of late.
“I think the town is growing in a positive way,” she said.
She said she wants to be part of positively influencing the changes coming to the town in the future.
Wyatt has never held or run for public office before. She’s joining the Fortville Public Library Board, is a member of the Psi Iota Xi sorority and is helping to turn the town’s former Carnegie library into an art gallery. Wyatt is also one of the organizers of Art Battle Fortville, a local art competition.
“Being involved in all of these groups and meeting all of these fantastic people in the community — I feel like I have a vested interest,” she said.
The first-time candidate said she doesn’t look at her campaign as a political endeavor, but rather a civic one.
“Really I just want everybody to get along,” Wyatt said. “I want people to feel like they’re being heard.”
While Fortville Town Council District 1 spans the town’s south and east sides, all eligible Fortville voters can cast ballots for all seats in the upcoming contests. Lenzy Hendrix, Fortville Town Council’s other District 1 representative, did not file for reelection. No Democrats have filed for the seat in the primary.
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Age: 47
Party: Republican
Occupation: Owner of StoreHouse in Fortville
Political experience: None
Family: Husband Jeff, one son, two stepchildren
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Age: 55
Party: Republican
Political experience: None
Occupation: Operations manager, Shade By Design
Family: Husband Kent
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”THE FRISCHKORN FILE” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Age: 39
Party: Republican
Political experience: Fortville Town councilman since 2017, former Fortville Redevelopment Commission member
Occupation: Operations manager at CBRE in Indianapolis
Family: Wife Haley, three children
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Fortville Town Council District 1 spans the town’s south and east sides, but all eligible Fortville voters can cast ballots for all seats in the upcoming contests. Voters will nominate two candidates in the May primary. Lenzy Hendrix, Fortville Town Council’s other District 1 representative, did not file for re-election. No Democrats have filed for the seat in the primary.
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