SILVER LAKE - Chad Miner was elected to the Silver Lake Town Council Tuesday night.
The caucus to replace Ron Jones, who resigned from the council, took place Tuesday night at Silver Lake Town Hall.
The three people who filed for candidacy were Gary Kneller, Stanley Williams and Miner. Each candidate had three minutes to speak, and votes were cast and tallied immediately after.
Kneller, the first candidate to file, spoke first. Kneller said he thinks the current board is doing a great job, but there are some points which he said need to be improved.
"We're overspending in this town," Kneller said.
Kneller also talked about some of Silver Lake's small businesses that have closed over the past few years.
"We need to get small business back in this town," Kneller said.
Williams was the next to speak, and he made his speech very brief.
"I won't repeat everything Gary said, because I agree with him about 100 percent," Williams said.
Williams served on the Silver Lake Town Council once before. He said he hoped to do as well as he did in the past if he were elected to the board again.
Miner was the last to speak. He and his wife have lived in Silver Lake for about seven years. He said Silver Lake is a great place to be. Miner practices law at Miner and Lemon in Warsaw.
"I'd like to be more involved in the community, and I want to put my talents to good use," Miner said.
Miner agreed with Kneller and Williams about the need to bring small business back to Silver Lake.
"Small business is a huge driving force in a community," Miner said.
Miner ended his speech by saying, "You don't have to be in Silver Lake long to know that the citizens here are very serious about local government ... I want to give everyone a fair opportunity to be heard."
The votes were cast and tallied, and resulted in a tie. The rules of the caucus made it necessary to vote again, and the second round ended in a tie as well. The rules regulated that Kosciusko County Republican Chairman Randy Girod break the tie.
Girod said he did not like having to be the tie breaker, but he declared Miner as the new town council representative.
"When you already have two experienced people on the board, I like to have someone come in with a fresh perspective," Girod explained.
"Sometimes in politics it's important to pass the baton," Girod said, adding that he did not mean to reference any of the candidates with that comment.
"I think a community should be judged by the people who are willing to get involved," Girod said.
Miner will be inaugurated to the board by the end of the week.
