Wayne Township Race In SpotlightIn a unique race in recent Kosciusko County politics, the attention of many voters has been cast on a battle for Wayne Township trustee.
Typically overlooked and often misunderstood, the role of the trustee has been in the spotlight this year for voters in Warsaw and Winona Lake, which make up much of Wayne Township.
Part of the reason might be the lack of any high-profile, active contests on the county level, where Republicans have won every contest since Democrat John Hamersley was elected sheriff in 1974.
But much of the attention was created by Shari Benyousky, a 48-year-old English professor who has run an aggressive campaign in her attempt to be the first Democrat to win the Wayne Township trustee’s race in modern history.
She faces Republican Jeanie Stackhouse in Tuesday’s election.
Benyousky, a lifelong Republican, said she was motivated by Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign to run for elected office and was urged to run for trustee by Brian Smith, county chairman of the Democratic Party.
She researched the job of trustee by looking into other trustee offices and sought advice from numerous people, including former member of Congress Jill Long Thompson.
Benyousky has made it a point to reach out to Democrats and Republicans and argues the role of trustee has little to do with partisan politics.
She created a unified campaign team with Democrat trustee board candidates Jim Falkiner, Lori Roe and Laura Deal-Decker, and worked with them through the summer and fall.
The campaign included two memorable twists.
Through their research, Benyousky and Falkiner realized the township had more than $1.2 million set aside and began asking whether taxpayers were paying too much or the trustee’s office was providing too little in services in the form of poor relief.
Republicans – including Stackhouse – argued a large reserve is needed for emergencies such as economic downturns or large-scale layoffs.
Nonetheless, with Benyousky and her team in attendance, the township board in October voted to cut its levy by 30 percent, and rely on more of its reserve funds.
The debate over the reserve funds quickly became the focus of letters to the editor, and in a rare move, Benyousky was endorsed by Bruce Woodward, one of three Republicans running for Wayne Township Board.
That eventually led to a repudiation of Woodward’s campaign by county Republican Chairman Mike Ragan, who slated Woodward this summer.
Stackhouse, comparatively, has relied on her experience in the trustee’s office.
Stackhouse has worked as an investigative clerk for eight years, and handily defeated Kerry Stogsdill in the primary, winning 65 percent of the vote.
Since then, she has had the strong support of Republican Party leadership, has done some campaigning and appears to have matched or exceeded Benyousky in the battle of the yard signs.
In recent months, Stackhouse canceled two interviews with the Times-Union, said she was too busy to reschedule and then said she preferred to have questions submitted ahead of time.
Both candidates responded to a series of questions. Below is a summary of those replies.
In terms of experience, Stackhouse points to her eight years as an investigative clerk, which she said has given her an understanding of office operations and state law regarding township assistance.
Benyousky pointed to her 25 years as a college professor in which she’s helped students succeed. She said she’s ready to learn and partner with nonprofits, schools and businesses to make the office more effective in providing assistance to low-income folks.
Both were asked what the biggest challenge is facing the office.
Stackhouse said the biggest challenge is serving the homeless. Oftentimes, the homeless shelter is full or those in need have been turned away for breaking rules or because they have a criminal record.
Benyousky said the biggest challenge is transitioning to modern technology. The office, she said, needs to update its attitude and functionality.
Both were asked how they view the role of the office.
Stackhouse said the main role is to help those with assistance and mentioned the limits set by the Salvation Army and Combined Community Services and limited resources of some area churches.
Benyousky said the office has a servant’s role and should be proactive in creating solutions to problems in the community by partnering with other groups to fill existing gaps in the social service network.
Both candidates were asked if the office is doing enough.
Stackhouse pointed to the township’s role in establishing a third fire station in the Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory and restoration of Pleasant Grove Cemetery.
Benyousky said the office is not doing enough and needs to modernize and update its outlook. The trustee needs to widen the focus from serving those who walk in the trustee’s door seeking help to one that looks at the wider problems of the community such as lodging and opioid abuse.
Both candidates were asked if they would consider making changes.
Stackhouse declined to offer an answer, referring to her previous answer about the office policy.
Benyousky outlined three changes. Those include looking for changes in communication when an emergency arises on days the office is closed (the office is open Tuesday and Thursday).
She also said the office needs to partner with local organizations to eliminate redundancies in paperwork and resources for those who qualify for more than one type of assistance.
Thirdly, Benyousky said the office needs a new way of looking at those who need help. She said staff should offer less “shaming and more teaching and assistance.” The trustee, she said, needs a new vision that looks at all people and considers them worthy of dignity and respect.
In addition to Woodward, other Republicans running for township board are Gordon Nash and Josh Spangle.
Trustee Sheila Burner chose not to seek re-election.
