Primary results put new faces on the Daviess County ballot

By Sally Petty, Staff Writer

May 06, 2008 11:28 pm

— Daviess County primary elections brought out 40 percent of voters Tuesday, according to Clerk Sherri Healy, yet the process went smoothly.
There was a small problem with a machine in Elmore Township, but it was fixed promptly, said Healy. She had not heard of anyone in the county having trouble with the state law requiring voters to present a photo ID.
She attributed her successful first election as clerk to a good election board, staff and technicians.
“I didn’t have to worry,” she said. “Everything ran pretty smoothly.”
However, she does plan to approach a few things differently in the November election, such as emphasizing some points in election training.
The county council will see at least two new faces as long-time incumbent Marion Barber decided not to run, and Janet Goodwin, with 1,697 votes, came in fourth of five running for three open at-large spots.
“God’s got other plans for me,” said Goodwin. “I don’t feel bad. ... I wish everyone good luck. I’ll always be pulling for Daviess County.”
Republicans running in November will be former auditor Jo Ann McCracken, with 1,823; former Southern Indiana Development Commission director Jo Arthur, with 1,785; and incumbent Mike Sprinkle, with 1,724. The fifth candidate was Mike Russell, who received 1,033 votes. He could not be reached for comment by press time.
McCracken, Arthur and Sprinkle will run against Democrats Ed Hopkins and George Wilz in November.
After the results were in Tuesday night, McCracken said she was excited about the possibility of getting back into public service. She had spent most of the evening picking up campaign signs and listening to the results come in on the radio.
“I appreciate the support I received,” she said.
Arthur, winning her first foray into politics, said she had been nervous most of the night but was looking forward to November. Her family ate their traditional “election night pizza” before gathering at the courthouse to watch the results come in.
Mike Sprinkle was out picking up campaign signs when the vote tallies came in. He said he was ready to tackle any new mandates that come down from the state level.
“I’m appreciative of all the votes we got,” said Sprinkle. “I’m very glad and very willing to serve the residents of Daviess County if elected for another term in the fall.”
To replace retiring commissioner Steve Myers, Michael Taylor beat Cole Wolford in the Republican primary 1,639 to 1,351. Taylor will run against Democrat Dennis Breeden for the 3rd District seat in November.
Taylor listened to the results come in on the radio while driving a tractor to plant corn. He said he felt good about the win after a hard-fought but clean race and will take a little break before beginning to campaign for November.
Although Wolford lost the race, he said he will now get behind Taylor to put a Republican back in Myers’ seat.
Republican party chairman Martin Mumaw said he had spoken to all the Republican candidates about supporting their former opponents for the November election, and he felt the party had a strong field of candidates to face their Democrat challengers in the fall.
In the 1st District, Rev. James Payton beat Roger Cox 1,700 to 1,388 in the Democrat primary. He will face Republican incumbent Tony Wichman.
“I want to thank everyone who voted for me,” said Payton.
He had been listening to the results come in on the radio and called it “quite an experience.”
“It’s awesome and humbling at the same time,” he said.
Cox said he didn’t have much to say except his opponent ran a tight race. He had his eye on the presidential race and said he was glad Barack Obama was doing better in Indiana than expected.
In other county races, incumbent Dr. Stephen Cullen beat paramedic Sarah Elrod in the Republican race for coroner 1,794 to 1,399, and incumbent Dennis Helms beat Shawn Gabhart in the Republican race for surveyor 1,529 to 1,490.

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