On Monday, March 13, the Darke County Republican Women introduced at the Shawnee Prairie the local GOP candidates for the Primaries in May 2023.
The candidates for the positions of the city auditor and the 3 wards are running unopposed, for the position of Mayor of Greenville there are 2 candidates.
Kim Davis is seeking the position of city auditor (the current auditor Roxann Williams will leave this position at the end of her term). Davis started back in 1994 as a clerk and is currently deputy auditor. She is fiscally responsible and promises to work closely with the administration, the council and all the departments.
Chris Norris is the candidate for the 4th ward. Norris was appointed when John Baumgardner stepped up to the President of the Council seat and is now seeking election for a full term.
Clarence Godwin is currently 1st Ward and is looking for re-election. Godwin stated that water bills in Greenville are low compared to other cities. He said: while we pay in Greenville 35 per month water/sewer, just 10 miles away, Union City IN, charges 100+ per month. Godwin also talked about the deregulation of the electric and gas and urged people to sign up for the city aggregation for power/gas to save a lot on their bills (Power is about 50% of what you pay with AES). Clarence supports the low-income-housing project
Delores Ely is the candidate for the 2nd Ward. Ely was appointed into this position and is now running to be elected for a full term. She opposes the low-income housing project at that point and asks for more research and exploration. Ely also urged people to visit the Council meetings and to talk to their council member.
All council candidates stressed that they work well together.
The two candidates for the position of the Mayor of Greenville are John Baumgardner and Jeff Whitaker.
Baumgardner is currently President of the City Council. He broke his presentation down into three parts: his personal story, his work history and his vision for Greenville when he would be elected Mayor. Baumgardner will be retiring from Aramark after 37 years working for this company. He currently manages about 40 accounts with over $35 million in sales. He and his family own several rental properties and businesses in the community, one of them being Troy Sunshade, which he bought and turned around from a company with 10K loss per month to a profitable business, with now 35 employees.
John Baumgardner wants to run the city like a business not as a government. The serious drug problem (and with that crime and homelessness) in Greenville is one of Baumgardner’s top concerns and judges, prosecutor, court system, probation and other county officials need all to work together to solve this problem. Baumgardner wants to make Greenville attractive to keep the Youth in our area resp. bring them back after College and Universities.
Jeff Whitaker is currently Council Member at Large, who appreciates the tremendous support he got from friends, ex co-workers, church members, etc.. Jeff also talked about his story and his work history before he talked about his plans as a Mayor.
Whitaker moved from Melbourne (Florida) to Greenville about 10 years ago to be closer to his wife’s family. He said the fact that he lived in other communities gives him a different perspective on what needs to be done here in Greenville. Whitaker was able to gain over sixteen years of administrative experience, handling the investment program in the St. Clair County (Illinois) Treasurer’s office.
Whitaker promised that providing the Greenville residents always with safety, security and clean, safe and healthy drinking water will be at the top of his priorities. He also, like Baumgardner stressed that the drug problem needs to be addressed.
Whitaker said he will also prioritize the maintenance of our streets, sidewalks, and all of our city’s infrastructure to the very best of our financial capability. As Greenville’s number one physical asset, it’s imperative that we take the very best possible care of it.
Featured photo L-R: John Baumgardner, Clarence Godwin, Delores Ely, Kim Davis, Chris Norris, Jeff Whitaker