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Dear Editor:
A lot has been made about Republican Kate Snedeker running as an independent candidate for Westfield City Council District 5 against the Republican primary winner Mike Johns.
Johns recently filed a complaint against Snedeker’s candidacy to the Hamilton County Elections board, which in turn, voted 3-0 to allow Snedeker to remain on the November ballot.
Oddly, the loudest opposition was made by a group known as the Fiscal Conservatives Of Hamilton County, who have just one of their Leadership Team, Ron Thomas, currently residing within the city limits of Westfield. Thus, Thomas is the only one that can actually vote in Westfield city elections.
It makes one wonder just why they are so interested in a Westfield City Council spot.
Also, in the 2003 Westfield Town Council general election, Ron Thomas, who has run as a Republican in the past for an at-large spot on the city council, along with two other people, ran as write-in candidates, with Thomas defeating the Republican primary winner in District 1. The other two write-in candidates lost by very slim margins.
In 2011, Republican Todd Hoard, who had run against Mayor Andy Cook in the 2007 Republican primary, ran against Cook once again, but this time as an independent candidate in the general election. Hoard lost both of those elections.
I don’t recall any outrage when these people ran against their own party’s primary winner. Is it because Mike Johns won his election with less than 40 percent of the total vote in a three-way race, and fears going head-to-head against Snedeker? Snedeker has actually served in government at both the state and local levels in non-elected positions. She’s running a positive campaign vs. the negative campaign that Johns and the Fiscal Conservatives ran during the May primary.
When comparing resumes, Kate Snedeker is the right choice to keep Westfield moving forward.
Bill & Sandy Kirsch
Westfield
This hit piece offers more of an indictment of Ron Thomas than it gives substantive reasons to vote for Mike Johns’ opponent. An opponent who refused to debate Mike in a public forum.
Mike Johns will provide fair, common sense leadership. He will listen to and respect taxpayers. And, he will listen to and respect those with whom he has a difference of opinion. Mike has the intelligence, knowledge, experience, and temperament to be an outstanding city councilor. Finally, Mike follows the rules and will be transparent and ethical.
Mike Johns for Westfield City Council District Five!
And if Independent Kate (insert last name here) is so purely 100% Westfield, she should return the money she received from non-Westfield residents here:
https://secure2.hamiltoncounty.in.gov/CampaignFinance/documents/G-J/Healey%20Snedeker,%20Kate/r_Healey%20Snedeker,%20Catherine,%20CFA-4%202019%20Pre-Election_Redacted.pdf