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Thaddeus Du Bois, 52, North Webster, has not only filed his candidacy for the Kosciusko County Council at-large seat caucus on Feb. 10, but he’s also filed for the council District 1 seat currently held by Kimberly Cates.
The deadline to file for the Republican caucus is 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 7, but the deadline to file for the local May primary is noon Friday, Feb. 6.
In the caucus, Du Bois is the fifth person to file. He joins candidates Will Stockdale, Kyle Tom, Rob Parker and Travis Trump. The caucus will take place at 6 p.m. Feb. 10 in the old courtroom of the county courthouse.
The at-large council seat became open Monday, Jan. 12 after attorney John Barrett’s resignation due to the number of conflicts of interest he would have as a public defender. Barrett was elected by a Republican caucus Jan. 6 to serve on the council after the resignation of DeLynn Geiger, effective Dec. 12, due to his desire to spend more time with family.
Asked Monday in a telephone interview why he was seeking a seat on the council, whether that’s the at-large or District 1 position, Du Bois said the caucus was shot number one.
“If I fail at getting a seat that night, then there’s a second chance but this one is going to require an actual campaign and that would be running for county council District 1, which is currently held by Kim Cates,” he said. “That’s the strategy. A double tap - boom, boom - and see if I can get in.”
Initially, Du Bois said he was going to drive down to Indianapolis on Monday and file for Indiana House District 18, currently represented by David Abbott. Abbott has filed for re-election and Du Bois said he knew that his chances for winning that were “practically zero.”
“All of this came about because of the sewer board,” he said.
The county council appointed two board members to the Tippecanoe-Chapman Regional Sewer District Board, as did the commissioners. Du Bois said when he called the council and asked them if they could ask the board members they appointed to resign, he said he was told the council didn’t have the authority to do that.
When he met with a Marshall County commissioner over the weekend, Du Bois said he learned they were able to defeat the sewer board there and how, which led Marshall County to begin dissolving the sewer district.
Du Bois also found out about Indiana Senate Bill 187 (https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2026/bills/senate/187/details) that would say the sewer district board members serve at the will of the county commissioners and can be removed by the commissioners at any time for any reason.
“That would give the county commissioners authority over the sewer board, which we’re hoping for, and since the county council appointed two of those members, my hope is that also would give county council authority over the sewer board, which then reaches one of my goals, even though it appears I lost the East Webster fight, but it would accomplish one of my goals of removing those members from the board and replacing them with septic sympathizers,” Du Bois explained.
He said he wasn’t seeking a council seat for that one issue, though, but it was his number one issue. He also has neighbors that aren’t happy with what’s happening with the sewer district out there.
He stated he also wants to serve Kosciusko County.
Never having been on the county council before, he admitted there’s a lot that he has to learn but he enjoys learning and is excited about that.
“I don’t say yes to everybody. I question stuff. I don’t just accept status quo, I question things. Can we do it better? Can we think outside of the box? Is there a better way? A faster, easier, more efficient, cheaper way? How can we make things better?” he stated.
Du Bois owns his own landscaping business. He and his wife, Kira, have four children.
The council member shall be elected by a secret ballot of the majority of the voting caucus members to fill the office vacancy. Candidates must reside in Kosciusko County and be a Republican in good standing.
Declarations of candidacy are available at the office of the Kosciusko County Clerk of the Circuit Court, 121 N. Lake St., Warsaw, and must be filed with Kosciusko County Republican Party Chairman Mike Ragan no later than 72 hours before the start of the caucus (6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 7). Ragan’s phone number is 574-265-1430.
Eligible candidates will be allowed a maximum of three minutes to address the voting caucus.
