Current At-Large Warsaw City Councilman Kyle Babcock told the Times-Union Friday morning that he is seeking the city's clerk-treasurer seat.
A caucus will be Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. in the Warsaw City Council chambers to select someone to serve the remainder of Elaine Call's term. Call is the the city's current clerk-treasurer.
During Wednesday's city council meeting, Call announced she was resigning from the seat after serving in the position for 25 years. She stated her reason for resigning was to spend more time with family and her grandchildren. Call will continue serving as clerk-treasurer until March 5.
A candidate must file his or her declaration of candidacy for a vacant office to be filled by a political party caucus with Randy Girod, Kosciusko County Republican chairman, at least 72 hours before the caucus is scheduled to begin.
The form is available from the Kosciusko County clerk's office.
Babcock, 47, Warsaw, said he picked up the CEB-5 form Friday from the clerk's office.
He also said he plans to formally file this coming week by composing a letter expressing his intentions to run for clerk-treasurer. He will submit the letter to Girod and the 13 Republican precinct committee members who will select a new clerk-treasurer during the caucus in February.
Babcock previously filed in the clerk's office Tuesday for the at-large state convention delegate seat.
Candidates interested in seeking the clerk-treasurer seat must have resided in Warsaw for at least one year, and be 18 years old or older.
Babcock was elected to serve in the at-large city council seat in January 2007.
He is married to Jayne, and they have two children, a daughter, Hannah, 12, and Lucas, 5.
Babcock's mother, Sheila Hodges, former Wayne Township trustee, and Mike Hodges, former five-term Warsaw mayor, were married when he was 6 years old and he saw first hand their commitment to Warsaw, he said.
He currently buys and sells domains and is a life insurance agent.
He said he has discussed his intentions to run as clerk-treasurer with his business partners, and they support his decision to run as a full-time clerk-treasurer.
"Warsaw is my home and I was born here and I'm raising my kids here and I love this city and want to make it better," Babcock said.
Babcock said he had a number of people calling him and encouraging him to seek the clerk-treasurer position. He said he hopes to follow in Call's footsteps.
"Elaine has served honorably as a public servant for the last 25 years, and has developed a well-oiled machine with the four employees in the clerk-treasurer's office," Babcock said.
Babcock said he has a good working relationship with the mayor, clerk's office and department heads.
He said if he is selected he hopes to have an open-door policy to encourage residents to come in with concerns and ideas.
Babcock was appointed in September 2008 by Governor Mitch Daniels to serve on the Distressed Unit Appeal Board.
He said he feels serving on the board qualifies him for the clerk-treasurer position.
The nine-member board reviews cities, towns, libraries and school board budgets. The entities are required to appeal to the board for property tax relief from property tax caps.
He serves on the board for the Department of Local Government Finance and is the president of the Indiana State Board of Accounts.
Babcock also has attended Indiana Association of Cities and Towns training sessions, and has been acquainted with other clerk-treasurers in the state.
Babcock said he feels his technology background will serve him well if he is selected to serve in the clerk-treasurer seat.
The city doesn't currently have a chief technology director, and, he said, if he becomes clerk-treasurer he can modernize the office and seek to improve office technology.He currently serves on various boards including Multi-Township EMS, Warsaw Board of Zoning Appeals, Warsaw Community Development Corp. and the Warsaw Greenway Committee.
He served as a city council representative on Warsaw Park Board in 2008, and served on Warsaw Aviation Board and Wayne Township Advisory Board.
