FORTVILLE — Three candidates are running for Fortville Town Council District 1, but only two can emerge victorious from next month’s general election.
Each of them gave Fortville residents a sense of the kind of representative they’d be during a forum on Tuesday, Oct. 8, sponsored by the League of Women Voters Hancock County.
Republicans Tonya Davis and Libby Wyatt along with independent Justin Crawford, none of whom are incumbents, are on the ballot.
Fortville Town Council’s District 1 is on the south and east sides of town, but all residents registered to vote can cast ballots.
Betty Tonsing of the League of Women Voters moderated the forum at the Fortville Municipal Building.
Smoking stances
The Fortville Town Council approved a resolution supporting the county’s smoke-free ordinance before the Hancock County Commissioners voted to include an exemption for a Fortville business. All three of the candidates said they were fine with plans for a downtown Fortville cigar shop, Maduro on Main, to add a smoking room with its own ventilation system. They also indicated they don’t see a need for the town to pursue its own smoking rules.
Wyatt owns Libby’s Ice Cream & Gifts, which is next door to Maduro on Main, and the two businesses share an interior door. She said Maduro on Main owner Larry Harnish spoke to her and the building’s landlord about his idea before going to the county commissioners.
“He feels it’s going to increase or help his business,” Wyatt said. “I don’t feel like it’s a bad idea. I don’t think government should tell everybody what to do all of the time, and to say that the town should be smoke-free I think is overstepping government’s boundaries.”
She added she’d rather cigar smokers enjoy their purchases from Maduro on Main in a room in the back of the building rather than outside near the entrance to her ice cream shop.
Crawford, who works as a firefighter in Noblesville, said he doesn’t think the town necessarily needs “to go above and beyond what the county does” as far as smoking. He added Maduro on Main’s plans to allow smoking inside would actually expose fewer people outside to secondhand smoke.
Davis, a nearly lifetime resident of Fortville and operations manager of awning company Shade By Design, said “the county has a great ordinance.”
“I think a business owner has a right to make that decision,” she said. “…This is America; that’s what we’re about. You make a decision based on what’s good for your business. People have a choice to go in or not go in.”
New council, new direction?
Fortville’s five-member town council will get a total of three new members in January. Becky Davis defeated current District 2 councilman Tim Hexamer in the Republican primary and is uncontested in the general election. Michael Frischkorn, a current Republican District 1 councilman, lost to Tonya Davis and Wyatt in the primary. Lenzy Hendrix, an independent also currently representing District 1, is not seeking re-election.
The three candidates at the forum were asked if there was anything they’d like to change about the current town council’s direction.
Davis said the ability to negotiate is most important to her.
“Sometimes I think that doesn’t happen up here,” Davis said, sitting at the long table council members occupy during their meetings.
Wyatt said getting to know her neighbors, including current town council members, has been one of the most exciting parts about running for town council.
“I think that the past town councils have done a good job, and I think everyone’s heart is in the right place,” she said.
If elected to the council, Wyatt would like to work toward getting along and trusting one another.
“That starts with open communication, working together,” she said. “If we can trust each other and show that we’re all in it for the same reason and the right reason, then our community is going to.”
Crawford said the direction of a mostly new council will naturally evolve. It ultimately depends on who gets on the council, what members’ views are and if those views align with residents’, he continued.
“If you don’t have the votes, you’re going to have to try to work with the people that aren’t necessarily in line with you to try to make sure that you’re moving the town in a direction that is positive for everyone,” Crawford said.
Trailing ahead
Candidates’ answers differed somewhat when asked if they had any visions for town trails and parks.
Crawford said he lives near one of Fortville’s parks and that he and his family visit it often. He stressed the importance of planning connectivity between communities.
“I think we need to talk to the surrounding communities and make sure that we’re planning with all of our neighbors,” he said.
Crawford also thinks user fees for an upcoming town dog park are a good way to supplement the town parks budget.
Wyatt supports a trail project leading to the Mt. Vernon schools campus along County Road 200W. She added she’d like to see a friends-of-the-park group form to support the town’s green spaces.
“Right now, they’ve got a nice budget and are doing quite nicely with gifts that have been given to the park,” she said.
Davis called the town’s parks beautiful but said more important issues demand more concern.
“I do think we have problems with our sidewalks and stuff here in town that are a little bit more important to me than the trail system is,” she said. “…I would rather see the money spent on our sidewalks and the things that are happening here in town first, and then look at the trail system after that.”
‘Voice of the community’
All of the candidates answered with different strategies on how they’d be a “voice of the community” and proactively reach out to residents.
Wyatt said she’s fortunate in that regard to run her business on Main Street with a door open to the public.
“It’s having the right information and sharing it with the community,” she added.
Crawford, whose children are enrolled in the local school system, said attending school events allows him to interact with many members of the public.
“I think we need to make sure that we’re weighing not just the loudest voices, but the majority of the voices all the time, and making sure that we are prioritizing who is being affected by the decisions that we make,” he added.
Davis suggested creating a town newsletter and splitting the town into areas that council members would canvass to reach out to residents directly.
“I don’t have a lot of time, but I would make the time to do that because I think it’s important,” she said.
Putting in the hours
How much time candidates would be willing to dedicate to town council duties was another topic of discussion at the forum.
Crawford said while he works 24-hour shifts as a firefighter, his off days leave him with plenty of time to pledge to town responsibilities. He added he’s already been committing time in that regard.
“I’ve had countless meetings at this point with different officials in town, making sure that I’m brought up to speed and I know what’s going on,” he said.
Wyatt said she’ll devote “whatever it takes.”
Davis gave a similar answer.
“I’m a master multi-tasker,” she said. “Nonstop, all day long, that’s how my life is. Always has been. I’m willing to dedicate whatever it takes. Because I’m a business owner, I can set my time how I need to set it in order to accommodate what I need to do here for the town. If I wasn’t willing to give it, I wouldn’t be here.”
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.
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Hancock County early voting sites:
Hancock County Courthouse
Weekday hours: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 8 to Nov. 1
Saturday hours: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 26 and Nov. 2
Last day of early voting: 8 a.m. to noon Nov. 4
Fortville Community Center
Weekday hours: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 21 to Nov. 1
Saturday hours: 8 a.m. to noon Oct. 26 and Nov. 2
Hancock County Public Library, Greenfield and Sugar Creek
Monday through Thursday hours: 2-7 p.m. Oct. 21-Oct. 31
Friday hours: 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 25 and Nov. 1
Weekend hours: 1-4 p.m. Oct. 26-Oct. 27; Nov. 2-3
Source: Hancock County Election Office
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The League of Women Voters of Hancock County and the Daily Reporter are sponsoring candidate forums leading up to the election. The events are free and open to questions from the public.
Greenfield: 7-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 15 at the Hancock County Public Library Greenfield branch, 900 W. McKenzie Road. The candidates for mayor will attend.
New Palestine: 7-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29 at New Palestine Town Hall, 42 E. Main St. The candidates for town council will attend.
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