Babcock, Thallemer Win At-Large Race In City Council Primary Election
Posted
Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
Kyle Babcock and Joe Thallemer received the highest number of votes for the Warsaw city council at-large seats during Tuesday's primary.
Candidates on the ballot for the at-large seats were Babcock, Dewey Lawshe, Daniel Slone and Thallemer.
Babcock ran for the at-large seat for the first time and received 34.78 percent of the votes. He was at the justice building Tuesday night when the results were announced, and said he was excited to have won one of the at-large seats in the primary.
"I thank the voters who voted for me and enjoyed meeting the residents and learning about issues that are important to them," Babcock said.
He said he had visited 1,007 Warsaw homes since April on bicycle, asking Warsaw residents about issues important to them.
Thallemer received 35.37 percent of the at-large votes, and said he hopes to continue to serve his district. He said if he is re-elected in the fall, he looks forward to working on projects such as the Zimmer expansion and considering revisiting the city's comprehensive plan.
Thallemer said he is happy for Babcock winning the other at-large seat in the primary.
George Clemens received 63.96 percent of the votes in the District 3 race, defeating Gary Parker who received 36.04 percent of the votes.
Clemens said he did not go door to door campaigning as his opponent had and is humbled to receive the votes.
"I hope to keep serving and being an ambassador for my district and look out for the city's needs and concerns," Clemens said.
Bill Rhoades received 51.47 percent of the District 5 votes, defeating David Lee who received 48.53 percent of the votes.
Rhoades said if he is re-elected in November, he hopes to continue to serve his district and address residents' concerns.
There were 12,125 registered voters, but only 1,543, or 12.73 percent, of the voters turned out for the primary.
Warsaw Mayor Ernie Wiggins said he was disappointed with the voter turnout and hopes there will be a larger turnout in the November election.
He said he was pleased with the city's primary results.
Wiggins said he appreciated Babcock's campaigning efforts, and said Babcock has been an asset to the Warsaw Redevelopment Commission.
He also said Clemens, Rhoades and Thallemer have done a good job serving the city, and he hopes voters continue to show support for the candidates in the November election.
