Blodgett is new Commissioner
Apr. 1—GREENSBURG — There's a new Decatur County Commissioner following a Republican caucus held Thursday evening.
Tony Blodgett was chosen to replace Decatur County District 1 Commissioner Charles "Chuck" Emsweller, who died earlier this year.
Blodgett served as the Decatur County Jail Commander until joining the Westport Police Department in 2019. He left the WPD to follow other business opportunities in 2021.
Blodgett was chosen from a list of nine candidates: Doug Banks, Robert Darby, Rob Duckworth, Barb Lecher, Bill Metz, Tim Reece (who was a no-show for the proceedings and was removed from the list), Wayne Shake and Brian Wenning.
Each candidate was allotted three minutes to address the assemblage by introducing themselves.
Six secret ballot voting rounds saw all but two members of the candidate list eliminated: Duckworth and Blodgett.
During the seventh and final round of voting, Blodgett received a simple majority (11/20) of the tally and, in keeping with Indiana Republican Party caucus protocal, Duckworth was eliminated.
Before closing the caucus, Decatur County Republican Party Chairman Nate Harter thanked those involved for making the caucus "the least painful of these processes" saying "I think it went smoothly."
"I'm excited to get to work and start learning the job," Blodgett said afterward, adding that he looks forward to getting out and talking to the people.
"We'll do what we need to do to stay viable and moving ahead," Blodgett said.
Contact Bill Rethlake at 812-651-0876 or email bill.rethlake@greensburgdailynews.com
