On Tuesday, April 3, WGRE, the Greencastle League of Women Voters, and the Banner Graphic hosted a debate panel for the May primaries coming up. Debating were the republican sheriff candidates, the Putnam County Council—District 3 lone democratic candidate, the Putnam County Commissioner—District 2 republican candidates and lone democratic candidate, and lastly, the Putnam County Recorder lone republican candidate. The debates happened in that order, and a panel of three asked questions: Matty Tinkle from WGRE, Brooke Cox from the League of Women Voters, and Jared Jernigan from the Banner Graphic. Hannah Swarm was a moderator on the panel. The format of the debate was that if there was a contestant within one’s own party, there would be four questions asked, and each candidates got two minutes to respond. Following the response, each candidate would then get one minute to add on or rebut the other’s comment. There were also opening and closing statements of two minutes. If there was no contest, then the candidate got three minutes to explain who they were and what their stance was. The two republican sheriff candidates, Jerrod Baugh and the incumbent Scott Stockton both had different personalities during the debate and it showed early on.
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Baugh, a more down-to-earth type of person, tried to relate to the community. He did this through telling us about all of the things he has done in the county, especially when it comes to being a 4-H shooting instructor and helping start the DePauw Trap and Skeet Club. This had the opportunity to relate well with the community since so many in Putnam County like to hunt and fish and shoot for leisure. Stockton, on the other hand, took more of an arrogant approach, and talked about all of his successes and how he has helped out other departments. He tried to make it sound like he had done nothing wrong and only helped the community, but as Baugh pointed out, several sheriff’s deputies had actually left under Stockton. Stockton also kept forgetting the time and went over. He made a scene out of this by making jokes, but it almost made it seem like this was not a serious debate to him, although I’m sure it was. This could be a flaw for him come election time because if he is forgetting that, who knows what the voters might think he might also forget. Matt Cummings the lone democrat running for Putnam County Council—District 3 who was in attendance only got three minutes to speak, and he quickly stood out to the audience of about fifty or sixty people because of his energy and passion. He was the only candidate to get up and walk around and show energy in his speech. This is good for those voters who want a young and energetic person to take a stance, and it possibly shows he will do more to get it done. There is also the experience factor that one might question because that energy might fade when he realizes how tough local government actually is. Tracy Bridges, the incumbent republican running for Putnam County Recorder, and Steve Cash, the lone democrat running for Putnam County Commissioner—District 2 were the only others to have just three minutes. Bridges talked about how she wants to be elected again and loves the job, and Cash talked
Baugh, a more down-to-earth type of person, tried to relate to the community. He did this through telling us about all of the things he has done in the county, especially when it comes to being a 4-H shooting instructor and helping start the DePauw Trap and Skeet Club. This had the opportunity to relate well with the community since so many in Putnam County like to hunt and fish and shoot for leisure. Stockton, on the other hand, took more of an arrogant approach, and talked about all of his successes and how he has helped out other departments. He tried to make it sound like he had done nothing wrong and only helped the community, but as Baugh pointed out, several sheriff’s deputies had actually left under Stockton. Stockton also kept forgetting the time and went over. He made a scene out of this by making jokes, but it almost made it seem like this was not a serious debate to him, although I’m sure it was. This could be a flaw for him come election time because if he is forgetting that, who knows what the voters might think he might also forget. Matt Cummings the lone democrat running for Putnam County Council—District 3 who was in attendance only got three minutes to speak, and he quickly stood out to the audience of about fifty or sixty people because of his energy and passion. He was the only candidate to get up and walk around and show energy in his speech. This is good for those voters who want a young and energetic person to take a stance, and it possibly shows he will do more to get it done. There is also the experience factor that one might question because that energy might fade when he realizes how tough local government actually is. Tracy Bridges, the incumbent republican running for Putnam County Recorder, and Steve Cash, the lone democrat running for Putnam County Commissioner—District 2 were the only others to have just three minutes. Bridges talked about how she wants to be elected again and loves the job, and Cash talked