Hagerstown Republicans elected two new city council members and re-elected one.
Seventy-nine people attending a meeting on August 13 elected Allan Bullock, Chris Blaase and Dillon Pitcher as council members. Bullock, the current council president, will serve a second term, while Blaase and Pitcher will take office for the first time on January 1, 2025.
Blaase received 64 votes, Bullock 61 and Pitcher 48. The total number of votes for the other candidates Bradley Clark and Leslie Rogers was not disclosed.
Since the Democratic Party did not nominate council candidates and no independent or at-large candidates ran, the Republican town meeting served as the election. There is only one candidate for two other town offices, treasurer and town judge.
The Wayne County Board of Elections may decide that no municipal offices will be placed on the ballot in the November 5 general election.
More than 100 people crowded into the Hagerstown fire station, 79 of whom had registered to vote. The verification of voter IDs delayed the start of the convention by 40 minutes.
Convention Chairman Jeff Huffine gave each candidate five minutes to speak and then brought all five before the audience for a 15-minute question-and-answer session.
Bullock, 32, is a history teacher at Hagerstown Jr.-Sr. High School and assistant fire chief. The council has started some projects in his first four years that he wants to finish, he said. He plans to stay on the council for only two terms.
Blaase, 60, is a retired Hagerstown police officer and now a teacher at HHS. In 26 years with HPD, he has “learned quite a bit about city government” and hopes to use that knowledge to continue serving the city.
Pitcher, 31, has been a Cambridge city police officer for 10 years and runs a social media consulting business for law enforcement. “After being in the executive branch of government, I want to experience the legislative branch,” he said.
Clark, 30, an insurance agent, graduated from HHS, went to college, got married and lived in Richmond before returning to Hagerstown with his family two years ago. “I fell in love with this place,” he said, adding that he will serve with integrity and passion.
Rogers, 49, a former public school teacher who now teaches special education, said, “My goal is the future,” adding, “(I see) the improvements we’ve made here since I grew up” and wanted to see them continue.
During the question period, local resident Ed Nugent asked about the candidates’ stance on increasing city utility rates, pointing out that the council sets rates for local electricity, water and sewer without regulation by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.
Bullock said he believes the city council has done a good job of keeping prices down. For example, the city has started a project to replace old water pipes. More money is needed to pay for that. The city had planned to increase electricity rates this year, but postponed it so that the water price increase would not hit residents as hard.
Blaase also spoke about water prices. “We have to plan for the future. If that means a small increase, we have to do that.”
The other candidates said that interest rate increases are sometimes necessary, but they would try to keep them as small as possible.
Brent Meadows, who lives near the city, asked if the city had any expansion plans.
Blaase and Pitcher both said residents in areas being considered for annexation often oppose it because their property taxes would increase. Pitcher said people who live within two miles of the city have complained to him that the city has planning authority there, but they have no voting rights with city officials.
Bullock said that while the council has considered small incorporation projects, it comes at a cost to the city because it must provide police and utility services. He encouraged residents of the two-mile outlying area to participate in the city’s Advisory Planning Commission and Zoning Appeals Board.
Rogers said she would be in favor of some annexation.
The new council members will replace Becky Diercks and Fred Dill, who both decided not to seek re-election.
A version of this article appears in the August 21, 2024 print edition of the Western Wayne News.
