A replacement for Warsaw City Councilman Charlie Smith will not be named until after the Nov. 3 general election.
On Thursday, Kosciusko Clerk of the Circuit Court Ann Torpy said she spoke with the Republican Party chairman Randall Girod, and he stated that the party is not planning on holding a caucus to fill the ballot vacancy before the deadline.
The general election ballot will have Smith’s name removed and in that position’s place will be “Candidate Deceased,” as required by Indiana code, she confirmed Friday afternoon.
“The newly appointed person will then hold over the position for the next four years. As stated by the Indiana Election Division, the County Election Board must remove Charlie Smith’s name from our ballot,” Torpy said Thursday.
Smith’s current term would not have expired until the end of this year and he was unopposed in the election.
He and three others – his son, local attorney Scott Smith; former Tippecanoe Valley High School coach and guidance counselor Scott Bibler; and businessman and sprint car driver Tony Elliott – were killed Oct. 2 in an airplane crash on their way from Warsaw to Clemson, S.C., for a Notre Dame football game. Charlie Smith was flying the plane, which he owned.
Services for Bibler are Sunday; Monday for Elliott; and Tuesday for the Smiths.
(Story By The Times Union)
