GOP candidates for Lawrence County offices share views, qualifications at forum

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Dustin Gabhart and Paula Stewart's names.

BEDFORD — Last week, the Lawrence County Republican Party invited candidates for county auditor, county council, and county commissioner to answer questions ahead of the May 7 primary election at StoneGate Arts and Education Center.

Candidates discussed their education and background, budgetary priorities, fiscal priorities for infrastructure and jobs, and interdepartmental communication.

The Republican candidates running for county council at-large seats who attended were incumbents Julie L. Blackwell Chase and Rick Butterfield, and challengers David Holmes, Bill Andrew Raines, Noah J. Browning, Brian Skillman, and Scott Smith. Three of these candidates will go on to serve on the council.

The forum, streamed live on the county party Facebook page, included no voter or media questions; however, Lawrence County Republican Party Chairman Heath Hawkins said former Times-Mail columnist Bob Bridge supplied the questions.

The bulk of the meeting involved questions for the candidates for Lawrence County Council, including their qualifications to manage the county budget and their role as prospective council members.

Rick Butterfield, seeking reelection, said the county auditor is the most important figure in the council’s job.

“I didn’t have a clue as to how things were done in the first budget cycle. I didn’t know what I had to do,” Butterfield said. He talked about going out and seeing what other counties did during the budget cycle. Butterfield compared Lawrence County's 94-page budget to the town of Mitchell's, which he said is nine pages.

Scott Smith advocated for property tax reduction, saying it “is necessary for the county and to assist growth.”

Hawkins asked the candidates which departments and services are a priority. Blackwell Chase said pay rates were important to her. Browning said his priorities are “security, safety, and health.” Butterfield said fire, EMS, and law enforcement are his top priorities, as well as drivable roads to help those departments get to an emergency.

Brian Skillman mostly emphasized his human resources background, mentioning his work in the county's human resources department as integral to his qualification for office.

Bill Raines, however, said taxes will have to be raised to prioritize the departments everyone else wants to improve, saying “$60 million will probably have to be spent for three of the bridges that are currently closed.”

Raines emphasized multiple times throughout the forum that taxes would have to increase to improve the departments and infrastructure mentioned by his peers, meaning tax reduction wasn’t going to happen.

Finally, the council answered questions about job descriptions and communication between departments. Blackwell Clark said paying public defenders was a priority for her because many attorneys left the area to find higher-paying jobs in Bloomington and Indianapolis, causing the county to hire public defenders from outside the county who charge fees beyond the county’s budget.

Smith emphasized quality of life for residents and stated 6.8% of Bedford residents work outside of the town. He said this is a problem for the county overall because he feels that county residents want to, like him, live and work in Lawrence County rather than travel to cities that are more expensive.

Other speakers during the forum included county commissioner Dustin Gabhart, who is running for reelection to the commissioner’s board. Gebhart is challenged by Jeff McKnight who could not attend the event.

Incumbent Paula Stewart — who has already served one term as auditor for Lawrence County — talked about her background in project management, which she said would help guide her as she seeks a second term.

Stern’s challenger, Martha Turner, said her eight years of experience as the county’s bookkeeper should make her more qualified for the auditor position.

Early voting in the primary election is open in Lawrence County Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Voter Registration Office, 918 16th St., Ste. 200, and Saturdays (April 27 and May 4) from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. The day before Election Day, May 6, early voting is open from 8 a.m. to noon. Polls are open across the county on May 7 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Who is running for office in Lawrence County, IN, primary election