Election Board To Meet March 22 Over Sign Complaint
March 11, 2024 at 5:55 p.m.
A formal complaint about County Coroner Tyler Huffer’s election signs has led to a special meeting of the Kosciusko County Election Board to discuss the matter.
The meeting will take place at 10 a.m. March 22 in the office of the Kosciusko Clerk of Circuit And Superior Courts.
Julia Goon, Prairie Township trustee, filed the complaint against Huffer for “fraudulent campaign advertising.”
Huffer’s signs read “Re-elect Tyler Huffer for county coroner.”
Goon states, “He was not elected by the people of Kosciusko County, he was elected by a caucus. Therefore, he was appointed to finish the term of County Coroner Tony Ciriello, that was elected by the people of Kosciusko County.”
Ciriello resigned as coroner, effective Dec. 31, 2022, after being elected to the Kosciusko County Council. The Republican caucus to replace Ciriello took place Dec. 1, 2022, which Huffer won.
Goon stated in her complaint that she feels that Huffer is being “unethical” in his campaign signage and is “misleading the voters of Kosciusko County.”
Goon was appointed, not elected, to finish the term of the Prairie Township Trustee June Thomas to fulfill the last two years of her term in January 1981, Goon states in her complaint, and “I know the difference.”
In a telephone call, Huffer stated, “I was told I am correct and I’m anxious to hear what the election board decides.”
Kosciusko County Republican Party Central Committee Chair Mike Ragan stated it was his position that if a person is selected by precinct committee men and women by secret ballot, which is what occurs in a caucus, they have been elected.
Ragan said, “It is in the election law that if you are an incumbent, regardless of how you became an incumbent, and you seek another term, you are running for re-election.”
As an example, he brought up the presidential race between Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. Ford was appointed to be vice president after Richard Nixon’s vice president, Spiro Agnew, resigned in 1973, but Ford’s campaign was “Re-elect Ford,” Ragan said.
He said he appreciated Goon expressing her concerns, but “it is our position he was elected” by the caucus.
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A formal complaint about County Coroner Tyler Huffer’s election signs has led to a special meeting of the Kosciusko County Election Board to discuss the matter.
The meeting will take place at 10 a.m. March 22 in the office of the Kosciusko Clerk of Circuit And Superior Courts.
Julia Goon, Prairie Township trustee, filed the complaint against Huffer for “fraudulent campaign advertising.”
Huffer’s signs read “Re-elect Tyler Huffer for county coroner.”
Goon states, “He was not elected by the people of Kosciusko County, he was elected by a caucus. Therefore, he was appointed to finish the term of County Coroner Tony Ciriello, that was elected by the people of Kosciusko County.”
Ciriello resigned as coroner, effective Dec. 31, 2022, after being elected to the Kosciusko County Council. The Republican caucus to replace Ciriello took place Dec. 1, 2022, which Huffer won.
Goon stated in her complaint that she feels that Huffer is being “unethical” in his campaign signage and is “misleading the voters of Kosciusko County.”
Goon was appointed, not elected, to finish the term of the Prairie Township Trustee June Thomas to fulfill the last two years of her term in January 1981, Goon states in her complaint, and “I know the difference.”
In a telephone call, Huffer stated, “I was told I am correct and I’m anxious to hear what the election board decides.”
Kosciusko County Republican Party Central Committee Chair Mike Ragan stated it was his position that if a person is selected by precinct committee men and women by secret ballot, which is what occurs in a caucus, they have been elected.
Ragan said, “It is in the election law that if you are an incumbent, regardless of how you became an incumbent, and you seek another term, you are running for re-election.”
As an example, he brought up the presidential race between Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. Ford was appointed to be vice president after Richard Nixon’s vice president, Spiro Agnew, resigned in 1973, but Ford’s campaign was “Re-elect Ford,” Ragan said.
He said he appreciated Goon expressing her concerns, but “it is our position he was elected” by the caucus.