Republicans elect new Boone County Council member

Maria Flora, The Lebanon Reporter, Ind.
·2 min read

Dec. 16—Lebanon businessman Dan Lamar is the newest Boone County Council member.

The Boone County Republican Party elected him during a caucus Thursday night.

The election took place in the Connie Lamar meeting room of the Boone County Courthouse annex, a room named in memory of Lamar's first wife.

The council, including Dan Lamar now, meets monthly in that room. "God love her," he said. "She's always been looking over me."

Connie worked for many years in the Boone County Auditor's office and served two weeks short of two terms as auditor before her death. She was 46.

"I'm very proud of what Connie did and who she is and was, and I'm very blessed now to have Sue in my life," Lamar said. Sue Lamar is his second wife.

"She and Connie were friends," he said. They met through St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Lebanon. "We raised our families together in church," he said.

Dan Lamar is also a member of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic men's service organization, and enjoys singing in church.

Dan and Connie bought a former insurance agency in 1996 and remained it Lamar and Lamar Insurance. Their son, Jeremy, was to take over when Dan retired.

But Jeremy died in 2018, leaving his father without a partner. Lamar sold the business to WalkerHughes Insurance in 2019 and remained on staff as an agent. He has since semi-retired but still cares for his client's accounts as a consultant.

He served 10 years, three as president, on the Lebanon Utilities Board of Directors. He also serves on the Oak Hill Cemetery Association and the Boone County Senior Services, Inc. boards of directors and the Boone County Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals.

Lamar was raised on a farm near Elizaville and worked for the family company, Lamar Construction. They designed, sold, and built grain handling systems.

Indiana Supreme Court Judge Steven David wrote a letter of recommendation for Lamar to the Republican party and wants to swear him into office, but a date had not been set as of Friday.

Lamar will replace former council president Elise Nieshalla, who resigned earlier this month when Gov. Eric Holcomb named her the state's new comptroller.

Lamar is the third replacement on the council this year.

Holcomb named farmer Don Lamb as the Department of Agriculture executive director and Marcia Wilhoite died in spring. Ken Hedge was elected to replace Lamb, and Shari Richey was elected to replace Wilhoite, both via caucus.

The at-large seats held by Lamar, Hedge and Richey, are all up for re-election in 2024.