Longtime incumbent facing challenger in primary

0
2698
Bill Bolander

HANCOCK COUNTY — Incumbent Bill Bolander is no stranger to politics. The longtime county Republican is making his seventh and what he called his final campaign bid to retain his seat on the Hancock County Council, a position he’s held through the past six elections.

Bolander represents District 4 and said he wants one more term to finish up some of the major decisions county officials are mulling over.

“These are pivotal times we’re living in now, and I think my past experience will help with that,” Bolander said.

If Bolander is to win another four-year term on the county council, he’ll have to get past Republican challenger Scott Wooldridge in the primary this spring. Wooldridge said he’s running because it’s time for change and to have someone on the council who represents the will of the community.

Scott Wooldridge

“A lot of people have come forward and asked me to run for county council, so the support is there,” Wooldridge said.

While he noted it’s not always easy to run and beat an incumbent, someone whose been around as long as Bolander, he feels the county needs to get some new voices on the council.

“I did pause before entering the race because it is tough to run against an incumbent, and this was a tough decision to make, but in the end I had so much support from people asking me to run that I decided to go ahead and run,” Wooldridge said.

Wooldridge ran for political office before, including the Hancock County Circuit Judge seat in 2018 as well as a county council seat — an 11-person, at-large opening in 2016 — and lost both bids. Still, he wants to serve to make sure the people in the county have someone who will listen to their issues.

Wooldridge noted it’s not always easy to throw your hat into the ring and not get enough votes in the end, but he feels now is the time to try again because he believes the county needs good decisionmakers.

With a background in law and finance, from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, Wooldridge feels not having success in his previous two political bids were great learning experiences.

“I know a lot more now than I did back then,” he said.

Bolander hopes his record will speak for itself as voters gear up for the May 3 primary election and said while he understands Wooldridge desire to serve, he thinks the county needs an experienced politician in the seat.

Bolander describes the county’s growth spurt as one of the major reasons residents need an experienced council member to return and handle the changes he said the council has been preparing for.

“We’ve been working on those economic development deals so we can start getting some more funding in here for our fire and police,” Bolander said. “If the county doesn’t grow and we don’t get that money, there will be things we can’t do down the road.”

He noted the major septic problems in some of the smaller county areas such as Charlottesville and Mohawk in Buck Creek Township.

“If we can get some extra money, we might be able to do something for those areas,” Bolander said.

Bolander said he’s proud of the fact he helped with getting the Sheriff’s pension fund on good footing, making it more sustainable, and had a hand in the decision to build the new Justice Center (new jail) so there will be room for specialized programs for helping people with addictions and mental health issues.

“Before, in the old jail, we couldn’t do that because you’d put those people in a program, but at night they’d go back to the guys who had no desire to get help or be in a program,” Bolander said.

Wooldridge, who said he is in favor of responsible growth, is running on a list of major issues that include upgrading the county roads, enhancing public safety for the county fire and Sheriff’s departments, responsible land usage (referring to planning commission decisions), listening to and working for the people, and making sure tax abatements work well for the county as well as they do incoming businesses.

“My opponent is on the planning commission with a vote there, and many times he does not go with what most of the community members want,” Wooldridge said.

Wooldridge note he is the president of the Sheriff’s Merit Board and worked with county council officials for pay raises for officers.

“We’re way behind with comparable counties,” Wooldridge said.

For Bolander, it’s about keeping what he believes are positive strides officials have made in the county moving forward and, if re-elected, he said he plans to do that.

Bolander noted county officials have a salary committee looking into the pay of county employees to make sure they can hire and keep top talent.

“If we don’t pay people well, we will not get and keep quality employees,” Bolander said. “When you hire quality people, you don’t have to hire as many because they get the job done.”

Bolander recalls the first race he ever ran for came about when a retiring council member approached him decades ago and asked him to replace him. He’s been a county official ever since.

“I’ve never had the desire to run for commissioner or any kind of state position,” Bolander said.

Bolander says that being a council member gives him the opportunity to have a say in local decisions while also being able to work in the insurance industry and spend time with his family.

Wooldridge, who is married with children, said he enjoys working in the field of law but wants to be a part of making decisions that affect the community he lives in and making sure votes are cast with the majority of the community, particularly when it comes to growth.

“I’m concerned about all the speculation warehouses going in and the tax abatements,” Wooldridge said. “My guess is that 80-90 percent of the population in Hancock County are against speculation warehouse.”

The council consists of four members elected from specific districts and three members elected at-large. They have responsibility for the county’s finances and act as a check on the power of the commissioners. They set tax rates, adopt an annual budget, and more.