Caucus Chooses Gearhart For Franklin Township Advisory Board
January 13, 2025 at 8:51 p.m.
MENTONE - The whole process of a caucus electing Ashley Gearhart to the Franklin Township Advisory Board took about four minutes Monday.
Gearhart was not only the sole candidate who filed by Friday’s deadline, but she wasn’t even at the caucus as she had surgery Monday, according to Kosciusko County Republican Party Chairman Mike Ragan. He said she wasn’t required to be there.
Gearhart will need to be sworn in.
She was one of two people who filed in December for the Franklin Township trustee position after the resignation of Melanie Vanlaningham. In the Dec. 30 Republican caucus for the trustee position, Gearhart was up against Franklin Township Advisory Board member Ann Wiesehan, who was chosen as the next township trustee. Since Wiesehan can not sit on the advisory board and be the trustee, Wiesehan resigned immediately from the board. That created the open seat on the advisory board and another caucus had to be scheduled, which was held in the Mentone Community Emergency Services building.
To win the board seat, Gearhart only needed to secure one vote from the two precinct committeewomen, who were Wiesehan and County Treasurer Michelle Puckett.
This will be the first public office Gearhart has held, though she previously ran for Franklin Township trustee in the May 3, 2022, Republican primary against Vanlaningham.
MENTONE - The whole process of a caucus electing Ashley Gearhart to the Franklin Township Advisory Board took about four minutes Monday.
Gearhart was not only the sole candidate who filed by Friday’s deadline, but she wasn’t even at the caucus as she had surgery Monday, according to Kosciusko County Republican Party Chairman Mike Ragan. He said she wasn’t required to be there.
Gearhart will need to be sworn in.
She was one of two people who filed in December for the Franklin Township trustee position after the resignation of Melanie Vanlaningham. In the Dec. 30 Republican caucus for the trustee position, Gearhart was up against Franklin Township Advisory Board member Ann Wiesehan, who was chosen as the next township trustee. Since Wiesehan can not sit on the advisory board and be the trustee, Wiesehan resigned immediately from the board. That created the open seat on the advisory board and another caucus had to be scheduled, which was held in the Mentone Community Emergency Services building.
To win the board seat, Gearhart only needed to secure one vote from the two precinct committeewomen, who were Wiesehan and County Treasurer Michelle Puckett.
This will be the first public office Gearhart has held, though she previously ran for Franklin Township trustee in the May 3, 2022, Republican primary against Vanlaningham.