Johnson County Commissioner Ron West answers an audience question during a voter forum on April 23 at the Johnson County Museum of History in Franklin.
Daily Journal file photo
Ron West withstood a primary challenge to win the Republican nomination for Johnson County Board of Commissioners District 3.
West won with 57% and challenger Stephen “Steve” Powell earned 43% of votes cast around the county. District 3 represents the northern third of Johnson County on the board — White River, Pleasant and Clark townships. Though the three commissioner districts are separated into thirds of the county, each commissioner represents the whole county. All Johnson County voters who took the Republican ballot were eligible to vote for the office.
West, a retired business owner, has served on the board for three terms now, with three prior terms on the Johnson County Council.
The 81-year-old Greenwood resident sought another term to see through large projects the commissioners are currently working on. Some of those projects include overseeing infrastructure buildout around the new I-69 corridor in White River Township, making sure the under-construction mental health building at Johnson Memorial Health gets off the ground well, and seeing through the in-the-works project to redesign the county’s community corrections facility.
“I’m thinking of another term, primarily because there are three projects that I’ve been involved with for a number of years. I would like to be a part of seeing those things brought to fruition,” West said in a previous interview. “The one thing that I have espoused all along as a county commissioner, is I’m helping somebody every day, or I’m trying to. … But as commissioners, we’re working with somebody almost every day and that’s the beautiful part about the job.”
Powell, a 78-year-old resident of Greenwood, is retired from a career in communications and government relations. He stays active in the community with various organizations and as president of the Greenwood Rotary Club, though. Powell sought the office with the angle of rethinking how the county tackles some issues and with a belief in term limits.
Powell stepped into the race after years of watching slow progress for county infrastructure and quality of life outside of the cities. He vowed to serve no more than two terms, didn’t accept any campaign donations, and chose to not buy any yard signs.
The District 1 seat is also on the ballot but current District 1 Commissioner Brian Baird was not challenged in the primary.
Neither commissioner seat currently has a Democratic or third-party challenger, though there’s still a chance a candidate could file for the November election.
How you voted
Steve Powell: 43.1%
Ron West: 57%
