Those running for Winamac Town Council seats this year will all be running on an at-large basis. The council districts have been dissolved, since, a few years ago, the town council failed to pass a resolution maintaining them.
Town Attorney Justin Schramm told council members last week that they could decide to reinstate the districts in the future. “So I think we could pass an ordinance in 2021 which would take effect in 2022 for your purposes, if you wanted to go back to those districts or wards,” Schramm said.
Council President Tom Murray said he liked having districts, but Council Member Judy Heater preferred keeping at-large membership. “We’re a small community, and it’s sometimes difficult to get people to run for councils, boards, whatever,” she said. “And I think you’ll have a much better time getting people, maybe even two or three people to run, if we’re at-large.”
It was also pointed out that all of the district seats were already voted on by the entire town, even though those candidates had to live in a specific area. Pulaski County Clerk JoLynn Behny also outlined the change during last week’s county election board meeting.
