Local primaries set up November races

All eyes were on the projection screen in a Monroe County Public Library meeting room Tuesday night as each precinct finished counting its votes and the results of the county's primary elections were continually updated on the screen.\nAround 6 p.m. Tuesday, candidates, their families, friends and party leaders gathered at the library, their party's headquarters and the County Clerk's Office to see who would compete for various offices Nov. 5.\nCOUNTY SHERIFF\nIncumbent Democrat sheriff Stephen Sharp beat four other opponents with 64 percent, while Indiana State Police evidence technician J.D. Maxwell won the Republican Party nod with 45 percent in a four-man race.\nSharp said jail overcrowding was a big issue. He said right now, inmates in the work release program are in a lockdown situation. They must be searched and checked several times in the process of working, which Sharp says is very time-consuming and, therefore, costly. He noted that the cost of feeding, housing and giving medical care to an inmate is very expensive. He said they need to get away from the lockdown and move them into a dorm-like situation since they are not maximum security prisoners.\nHe also thinks there is a disproportionately low number of officers and deputies on the road for the size of the county due to underfunding.\nMaxwell was unavailable for comment at press time.\nProsecutor\nCurrent Monroe County prosecutor, Republican Carl Salzmann, discussed his desire to move to an e-government system.\n"(We) need to get up to date and up to speed," Salzmann said of the prosecutor office's technology. He said although they have good communication now, he would like to see information flow electronically between the police department, dispatchers and the court system.\nIf Salzmann is re-elected in the fall, he will focus on "maintaining (the office's) healthy financial condition," he said. \nHe said the proposed juvenile justice facility is long overdue. \nSalzmann took office in 1995 and is running for his third term. He will face Democrat Pat Shrems in the November race. Both candidates ran uncontested Tuesday.\nShrems thinks the prosecutor's office could stand some improvements. While he thinks the concept of a new juvenile justice facility is a good one, he has many unanswered questions about the proposed facility. \n"There is no consensus on what is going to be built," he said.\nHe also sees a problem with the way the prosecutor's office handles the domestic violence problem in Monroe County. \n"(The prosecutor's office has) been unwilling to commit to aggressive prosecution of domestic violence," Shrems said. \nHe also said the prosecutor needs to be more involved in the actual day-to-day law enforcement and needs to pay more attention to how bonds are set and prioritize those cases. \nCounty Council\nAll three Republican County Council candidates, Trenton A. Jones, Dist. 2; Marty Hawk, Dist. 3; and Dexter Luck, Dist. 4, faced no primary competition. But Democrats vying for three Council seats saw left-leaning, environmentalist candidates beat more business-friendly candidates in two races and a labor candidate in the third. Environmentalist Lucille Bertuccio took 52 percent to incumbent David Hamilton's 48 percent in District 1. No Republican filled to run in the district. In District 2, environmentalist Bill Hayden beat business-oriented Travis J. Vencel, 60 percent to 40 percent. . Pro-labor candidate Robert D. Lentz decisively beat City Hall employee Patrick Stoffers, 61 percent to 39 percent.\nSome candidates ran unopposed in the primary race because another member of their party did not challenge them. \nCounty Commissioners\nBrian O'Neill, incumbent president of the board of county commissioners, had no competition Tuesday, but will face Republican Herb Kilmer in November. Kilmer defeated Republican Party chairman Jay (Marty) Stephens, with 66 percent to Stephens' 34 percent.\nO'Neill outlined four serious county government issues that he hopes to tackle if he is re-elected. He wants to work to alleviate jail overcrowding, reducing urban sprawl, promoting e-government and a cleaner environment. O'Neill also referenced recent tax increase debates for the county, saying an increase is needed to raise revenue for vital public services, including ambulance service, central emergency dispatch, jail overcrowding and animal control.\n"People who want those services are going to have to support it," he said.\nKilmer, who served as a MCCSC board member for two terms, said his campaign this fall will focus on creating jobs.\n"I want to bring back jobs for the average person who grew up here," Kilmer said.