GOP selects 3 candidates for Medora Town Council

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MEDORA

The field of candidates for the Medora Town Council is now set.

The Jackson County Republican Party conducted a convention Thursday at the Medora Christian Church 237 Building, and there were six names on the ballot.

Jerry Ault collected the most votes with 38, followed by Rhonda Freeman with 34 and Jim Davers with 26. They will move on to the Nov. 5 general election to face Democrat Robert Thompson in hopes of filling the three seats on the council.

Others receiving votes were Pamela Smith with 16, Sharon Bowers with 14 and Rebecca Zirkel with 10.

The council currently consists of Thompson as president, Bowers and Davers.

Amanda Lowery, chairwoman of the county Republican Party, said 55 voters came to the two-hour convention. There were five additional voters who signed affidavits of GOP support in order to vote because they had no primary vote history, she said. Convention chairman Glenn Bane and Lowery approved their eligibility, and Griffin Morris served as secretary of the convention.

Lowery said there are 157 eligible Republican voters in Medora.

Jackson County Clerk Melissa Hayes said the results have not yet been certified, but she doesn’t foresee any changes. The deadline to have them certified is Aug. 28.

Ault said this is his first time running for a public office.

“We basically want to try to keep the community going,” he said of why he chose to seek a council seat.

“I’d just like to thank the people that voted for me,” he said. “It’s a good feeling that people have confidence in me, and I want to try to help the town prosper as much as I can.”

Freeman said earlier this year, Ault talked to her about running for the town council and sparked her interest. This also is her first time running for office.

“I would just like to see the town grow a little bit,” she said. “I just think there are a lot of changes that need to be made. I think they need to clean the town up a lot. I think they need to clean the creek banks off. I think they need a new fire station. A Dollar General store would be nice. The town needs something down there.”

Davers said he appreciates everyone who voted for him, but he also knows there are many people who work second shift who would have liked to have voted but couldn’t because of the time of the convention.

He said he’s ready to put in the work to earn people’s votes again in November.

“It’s just half over,” Davers said.

Brownstown

convention

From 5 to 7 p.m. today upstairs in the Jackson County Courthouse, 111 S. Main St., Brownstown, there will be a convention for registered Republican voters in Brownstown.

The Ward 1 candidates are Terry Fordice and Gregory Goshorn, and the Ward 5 candidates are Colby Carter and Timothy Robinson.

The top vote-getter from each ward will be on the general election ballot. The winner of the Ward 1 race will face Democrat Pamela Fleetwood, while the Ward 5 winner will be unopposed.

Republican Sally Lawson, the current president of the Brownstown Town Council and representative of Ward 5, chose to not seek re-election. Republicans Sharon Koch (Ward 2) and Gary Drake (Ward 3) and Democrat Mark Reynolds (Ward 4), all incumbents, will run unopposed.

Residents living within the town limits with a Republican primary voting history are eligible to vote. A lack of Republican primary voting history doesn’t disqualify someone from being able to vote, Lowery said. They will just have to sign an affidavit the day of the convention.

If people want to check their eligibility ahead of time, they may call the voter registration office at 812-358-6120.

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