Incumbents ousted in Gosport, Indiana, amid festering tensions
Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct where the Gosport Republican Convention to select town board and clerk-treasurer candidates was conducted and how long the stump speeches were.
GOSPORT — Flaring tensions between town council members and the clerk-treasurer in Gosport have taken a toll, affecting the division between between church and state in an unexpected way.
Shouting, accusations and contentious exchanges, mostly between town board president Gerry Lunsford and clerk treasurer Donnie Hall, pepper the every-other-Tuesday night meetings at the community center next to Gosport Elementary.
The men, both Republicans who live in the Owen County town of 850, used to see one another on Sundays at Gosport Christian Church, where Hall was a deacon and Lunsford served as an elder.
They don't cross paths on the Sabbath anymore. The animosity in recent months, Hall said, made it impossible for the two men to be cordial, put aside their differences and worship together.
"I came out after Sunday school one morning and he was there, so I just kept on going and walked out the back door to the Methodist church," Hall said.
He planned to be seated in a pew at Gosport Baptist Church the next week. But Hall returned to the Christian church, he said, after finding out Lunsford had resigned from his elder role.
Parting political ways
It won't be long before the two men will no longer be expected to conduct town business in a civil manner. They won't be seated at the same table during board meetings.
That's because town residents voted Lunsford out during an Aug. 19 town convention held on a sultry Saturday evening. This candidate nomination process replaces primary elections in Indiana towns with fewer than 3,500 residents, and is conducted by party officials.
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Citizens in attendance sat inside Lighthouse Fellowship Church, where they listened to 3-minute stump speeches from each candidate. Then they cast ballots for the ones they want on the November ballot.
Lunsford didn't get enough votes. Neither did Larry Norman, who's had his share of harsh words with Hall during his tenure on the board. A few town residents recently questioned his purchase of a $427 glass table for town hall.
The third current member, Mike MiIler, was the lone incumbent who got enough votes to be a candidate in November.
Miller, proprietor of Pengin Cycle Werks on Main Street and the youngest board member, usually holds his tongue and doesn't engage in the bickering during the twice-monthly meetings.
A two-vote margin
Hall said he hadn't considered seeking re-election, but decided he would after his relationship with the board deteriorated.
They accuse him of not being present at town hall during the day. They say he can sometimes be found at the local tavern, where he drinks coffee, not alcohol, resident Mary Craft pointed out during a recent meeting.
They said Hall circumvents the board's authority so he can do things the way he wants instead of at the board's direction. They shout at him during public meetings.
"I'm not going to let them talk to me like that and get away with it," Hall said after a contentious meeting in July. "I just might be going down there to sign up (as a candidate) tomorrow."
He did, then put yard signs up around town. Hall figured he knew enough people and had the support of Gosport's old timers.
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Since his opponent was endorsed by the board, he campaigned the day of the convention just in case, going door to door asking people to come down when voting started at 7 p.m. to cast a ballot for Donnie Hall.
As the time grew near, Hall didn't see many friendly faces in the room. "I said it didn't look good for the home team," he said. "Then at about quarter till 7, people I know started to stream in."
Hall won by two votes.
Elections in Gosport and Spencer
Hall is unopposed in the Nov. 7 election. There will be three Republican town board candidates on the ballot: Miller, Billy Welch and Herald Hill. There are two Democrats running: Ernie Arnold and Marian "Millie" McGee, proprietor of the town diner.
The town of Spencer, which has about 2,200 residents, will have a municipal election in November as well to choose a clerk-treasurer and three board members. Incumbent Cheryl Moke, a Democrat, is unopposed for clerk.
Republicans Donna Greene and Ryann Reagan, and Democrats Evan McKalip, Michael Spinks and Jon Stantz, are vying for the three town council seats. Spinks and Stantz are incumbents.
Contact H-T reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812-318-5967.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Owen County officials ousted after shouting at Gosport town clerk
