A few candidates have filed to serve Hagerstown and Dublin residents before the fall election.
Residents from those two towns must file candidacy forms by noon Aug. 1 at Wayne County’s voter registration office inside the courthouse, 301 E. Main St., Richmond.
Different filing deadlines apply for towns with populations of less than 3,500 so that primary elections aren’t needed as they are in larger communities.
If more candidates from one party file for a particular race than the number of available seats, nominating conventions will be conducted to narrow the field.
When conventions are needed, the deadline for Democrats, Libertarians or Republicans to conduct the convention is Aug. 21.
Once a convention takes place, if there are no candidates facing off from opposing political parties, the town doesn’t have to conduct an election.
However, voters in those communities still have reasons to go to the polls even if the town election is finalized at the convention.
Western Wayne and Nettle Creek both have contested school board races. Local voters also can choose candidates for state and national offices.
Voter registration ends Oct. 7 at the courthouse. Applications also are available at indianavoters.in.gov.
Hagerstown
So far, six candidates have filed for town offices.
Four Republicans have filed for three at-large seats on council. They are Chris W. Blaase, Allan Bullock, Bradley Robert Clark and Dillon Pitcher.
Incumbent Julie Neal seeks reelection as clerk-treasurer.
Hagerstown voters also choose a judge of the town court. Incumbent Susan Bell has filed. Initial hearings and trials are conducted one Tuesday per month.
Dublin
Dublin has three town council seats on the 2024 ballot.
The seats have been known as Districts 3, 4 and 5, but each candidate will run at-large this year.
Incumbent Nathan Ulerick has filed to run again. The other seats currently belong to Dan Wicker and Brietta Pitcock.
Dublin officials decided to stagger the five-member council’s terms in recent years to ensure a smooth transition between elected officials.
Clerk-Treasurer Julia McCarty said all three councilors elected in 2024 will serve four-year terms.
A version of this article appeared in the July 10 2024 print edition of the Western Wayne News.