Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
State Sen. Kent Adams (R-Warsaw) announced today he will not seek re-election to the Indiana Senate District 9 seat in the May 4 primary election.
"When I first went to Indianapolis, I didn't plan on making it a career," he said this morning. Adams and his wife, Nancy, are parents of five grown children. The couple have 15 grandchildren.
Adams will be 68 when he completes his third term at the end of 2004.
"I don't want to be carried out of there," the former teacher and Indiana State Trooper said.
Adams is serving on the Eric Miller gubernatorial campaign along with ex.-Gov. Otis Bowen. Adams has no plans to accept an appointment should Miller gain the state's top office.
"I'm not doing it (working on the campaign) because I want anything. Maybe I'll be a greeter at Wal-Mart," he said, tongue-in-cheek.
"I have a desire to spend more time with our family and their activities. Being closer to home will allow me to do this," he said.
Adams was first elected in 1988 to the Indiana General Assembly, where he served two terms in the House of Representatives and was named Outstanding Freshman Legislator in 1989. He also has been honored as an Indiana Chamber of Commerce Small Business Champion in 1992 and 2001 and was the recipient of the Warsaw/Kosciusko County Chamber of Commerce 1999 Government Excellence Award.
Adams, known as a fiscal conservative with a strong family base who believes in a strong economic-business environment, was elected to the senate in 1992.
Adams said his decision not to seek re-election gives potential candidates plenty of time to organize a campaign. His district includes portions of Elkhart, Marshall, Kosciusko and St. Joseph counties.
"This gives someone else an opportunity to establish a network in the four counties. I have no ideas who might have an interest, who might pop up."
Currently, Adams serves as chair of the Interstate Cooperation Subcommittee and is a ranking member of the Environmental Affairs and Natural Resources committees.
He also serves on the Pensions and Labor and Governmental Affairs and Interstate Cooperation committees.
He is a member of the Kosciusko County Historical Society, Kosciusko County Retired Teachers Association and a board member for the Bowen Center for Human Services and the Warsaw Community Development Corp.
"I'm very thankful to the citizens of the district who have allow me the privilege of serving them over these past 16 years," he said.
