First-time Commissioner candidate to run against 30-year incumbent

Submitted

Charlie McMillan Jr. of Noblesville has announced his candidacy for Hamilton County Commissioner, District 2.

McMillan

McMillan, 56, a Noblesville Township resident, is a registered Republican, a Noblesville native and a 1981 graduate of Noblesville High School.

McMillan is currently chairman of the Hamilton County Board of Zoning Appeals, South District, where he has served on the board since 2014. He was also selected for the seven-member Hamilton County Plan Commission Comprehensive Plan Update Committee to help facilitate the county’s 2020 Comprehensive Plan.

The county’s three commissioners are elected from separate districts (in which they must reside) but by a vote of the county as a whole and serve for a four-year term. The Hamilton County Commissioner, District 2, seat represents the City of Fishers, City of Noblesville, and both Delaware and Noblesville townships. The seat is currently held by Republican incumbent Steven C. Dillinger, 73, Noblesville, who has served as County Commissioner, District 2, for 30 years since 1989.

This is the first Primary Election since 2012 that Dillinger has had an opponent.

“I am not a career politician,” said McMillan, who was encouraged by fellow Republicans and a state-level office holder to run for this public office. He said, “I was encouraged to run for County Commissioner, District 2, because of my strong ties to the community, my integrity, my transparency, my work ethics, my dependability and my people skills. I was encouraged to run because I offer a new face and new views, drawing from my years of living in Hamilton County and my vast knowledge of the county and county projects.”

He said, “Hamilton County is a great place to live. And I’m ready to work for the next four years to make Hamilton County even better.”

McMillan’s priorities will focus on public safety and health, roads and bridges, growth and development, housing needs, parks and the 4-H Fairgrounds, and the White River.

“I have a broad knowledge of commissioners’ purposes and duties. I have experience in solving problems, leading boards, dealing and communicating with the public and working as a team,” McMillan said. “For all of these reasons and more, I felt the need to step forward and offer the voters of Hamilton County a choice.”

He is past president of the board of directors for Hamilton County Theatre Guild, which operates The Belfry Theatre, a 55-year-old community theater in Noblesville.

McMillan has been a volunteer for Noblesville Schools since 2011.

By trade, McMillan is an Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) master automotive technician for McMillan’s Auto Care & Towing, a 35-year-old family-owned business in downtown Noblesville.
He was a member of Indiana State Police Emergency Response team, 1986-88, under the direction of Indiana State Trooper Mike Burns, and was an off-road specialist with 4-wheel-drive vehicle and winch recovery and snowmobile training, and is an Indiana Skywarn Spotter (volunteer-trained weather spotter).

He has been a role player/actor for Noblesville and Westfield police departments for officer training in police hostage negotiations.

McMillan has more than 200 hours as an airboat pilot and was responsible for removing thousands of pounds of tires and trash from the White River during White River Cleanup events.
He completed a Certified Emergency Vehicle Operations Course (EVOC) at Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in Plainfield, Ind.

McMillan is a past member of Hamilton County Fraternal Order of Police, No. 103; and Noblesville FOP, No. 198; and past board member of Noblesville Eagle Lodge No. 450. He is a member of Moose Lodge 540 of Noblesville.

He is a lifetime patron member of the National Rifle Association and volunteered at the 2019 NRA Convention in Indianapolis, working for the Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program that teaches children in pre-K through third grade important steps to take if they find a gun. He is a member of the 2A Project, a new kind of gun-rights organization started in Carmel.

“With President Trump in office, and candidates emerging from all backgrounds and walks of life, there is an interest for many, including me, to run first time for office and challenge the incumbent. I am here, running for office, because I know that I can make a difference in our county. My dad’s brother, Uncle Ralph McMillan, was Noblesville Police Chief from 1974 to 1976, and he made a difference. If he were alive today, I know he would encourage me to go for it.”

For more information on McMillan’s political campaign, visit charliemcmillanjr.com or his Facebook page, Charlie McMillan Jr. for Hamilton County.