Jeff Plasterer sees big things ahead for Wayne County, and he’d like to remain part of that.
During the Dec. 6 Wayne County commissioners meeting, Plasterer announced that he will run during 2024 for reelection to his District 3 commissioners seat. Plasterer began representing District 3, which includes the western third of the county, during 2021, and he became the commissioners’ president this year.
“We have a lot of things going on, and I’ve been right in the middle of all of those,” Plasterer said. “I would dearly love to be able to see those things through. I really feel we are on the verge of some real strides and improvements to Wayne County, taking some major steps forward.”
Plasterer served 22 years on Wayne County Council before resigning that seat to become a commissioner. He won a three-way Republican primary in 2020 after Denny Burns decided not to seek a fourth District 3 term. Plasterer ran unopposed during that year’s general election.
Plasterer, who retired as president of the Eastern Indiana Regional Planning Commission last year, helped lead the county’s application for the Hoosier Enduring Legacy Program. The county, city of Richmond and six towns were accepted into the program that identifies projects for American Rescue Plan Act dollars. The resulting strategic investment plan involves more than $25 million in investment across 33 projects throughout the county.
Candidate filing for the 2024 primary election begins Jan. 10 and ends Feb. 9.
Commissioner Mary Anne Butters previously announced that she would not seek a fourth term representing District 2, which is the middle north-south district. She wanted to give ample time for interested residents to consider running for that seat.
Brad Dwenger’s District 1 commissioners seat is not up for election during 2024. Dwenger won the seat from Ken Paust during 2022 and is completing his first year as a commissioner.
A version of this article appeared in the December 20 2023 print edition of the Western Wayne News.