With the Republican primary on May 7, both Republican candidates for county coroner - incumbent Tyler Huffer and Tracy Cutler-Wilson - responded to four questions during Wednesday’s candidate forum.
The first question asked was why each candidate was running for office.
Cutler-Wilson said she has passion for that job, “taking care of the families during one of the most uncomfortable, unexpected moments in their lives.” She wants to get back into the office and continue doing the job she did for a number of years.
Huffer said he was born and raised in Kosciusko County. He previously was the Plain Township trustee. The reason he’s running for office is to continue the work that he’s doing. They made many changes and improvements that needed to happen. There were policies and procedures that were put in place during his tenure and he wants to continue making the improvements that are needed for the office.
The second question asked what skill sets were needed to effectively manage the coroner’s office.
Huffer said, recently, the coroner’s office was improved by adding internet service to the main office as the office hadn’t had that service before. Also, they are consolidating their two offices into one. It will help with better communication with staff members. Other improvements include digitizing the office’s case management for the office’s calls. Huffer said there were other ways the coroner’s office has improved its communication skills with other offices as well.
Cutler-Wilson said one of the skill sets needed is clear and concise communication. All parties involved in the office need to understand each other clearly and understand what their role is and understand the cases that come in. They also need to make sure all cases are handled the same way, no matter who is handling the case, with care and compassion.
The third question asked what ideas or policies each candidate would implement to continue the improvement process in the coroner’s office for the good of the Kosciusko County taxpayers.
Cutler-Wilson said she had a few ideas. She’s not sure what exactly was implemented or changed in the office since she was let go from her position as deputy coroner on Jan. 1, 2023. She thinks she has to see all the changes Huffer has actually implemented in the office.
Cutler-Wilson said she believes there’s grant money out there to offset some of the costs to taxpayers of the county and would like to see grant money being sought continue no matter who is in office.
As far as implementing and improving, Cutler-Wilson said she’s not sure how the office is right now, so “I’m not really sure.”
Huffer said when he took over as coroner Jan. 1, 2023, he talked with the deputy coroners to see what they wanted to improve. They said office policies and procedures. They worked with other county agencies and county coroner’s offices to get the policies and procedures put in place. The office has also sought and received grant money for improvements.
The last question asked why each candidate thought they were the best one for the position.
Huffer said he will continue with the position and make sure the office continues to run smoothly with the improvements that were made in the office.
Cutler-Wilson said she thinks she’s the best candidate because it comes down to experience. She has probably 17 or 18 more years of experience in the office of doing cases, attending autopsies and looking at toxicology reports. She’s spent 20 years as a paramedic. A lot of the medical and traumatic issues the office sees, Cutler-Wilson said, she’s familiar with and knows where to go if she doesn’t understand something. She’s been in communication with all the doctors in the county and has worked with NET43 in the past.
She thinks it comes down to experience and compassion for the families. She thinks the coroner’s job is two-fold, where the coroner takes care of the deceased, as well as the family.