After a recent merger of Franklin, Union and Needham townships, a pair of candidates are facing off in the Republican primary for the Union Township seat on its board.
What is now referred to as the FUN Township came to fruition on Jan. 1. While Franklin Township will experience relatively few changes, Needham and Union township residents will have access to new services, such as a Franklin township office that provides housing, utility and burial assistance, transportation to job interviews in Johnson County, and a community pantry with clothing, food, toiletries and diapers.
Dawn Barr is the incumbent. She took over for Norma Deer, a board member who passed away in 2018. She successfully ran for election afterwards, renewing her seat for a four-year term, which started in 2019. If elected to a second full term, she would aim to assist any residents in need of services by supporting the township trustee and advising the board of any additional opportunities for those residents, Barr said.
“My goal is just to do my very best in assisting the community and trustee and coming up with more ways they can benefit from my assistance,” she said.
The merger benefits the township because now, disadvantaged residents have greater access to clothes, food and household supplies, Barr said.
“It was a lot of work on the Franklin Township office doing this merger … the weight bared on them getting this in order as well as the other trustees. They did an awesome job at it,” she said. “It’s not just helping people monetarily, (Franklin has) big clothes drives twice a year and that’s awesome to see. I really feel that type of system will benefit Union Township, where we didn’t have that before.”
Barr is committed to helping the residents of Union Township because she’s called the area home for more than three decades, she said.
“I have lived in Union Township for 31 years. I love Union Township and Union Elementary (School). My husband and my brother and my kids went to school there. It’s such a close-knit community. You’re friends with most of your neighbors; that’s one of the things I like about living where I live,” Barr said.
“I just love it out here and I can’t imagine living anywhere else. I like to support our local community.”
Justin Griggs moved to Union Township eight years ago, and is running for office to help support the residents of the place he’s come to love, he said. He previously ran for Johnson County Council in 2018, but was unsuccessful.
“I want to make sure I am available to help the township trustee balance the budget and be a steward of the township and direct anyone who might need services to the appropriate resources,” Griggs said.
“I would just oversee the actions of the trustee and make sure the budget is balanced. I don’t plan to overstep my authority and I think things have been going well for Union Township, but I think there might be some challenges with this merger.”
The key challenge will be in finding a way to do more with less, as the merger decreases the number of board members and township trustees serving what used to be three townships, he said.
With the merger, there will be one trustee for that area as opposed to three.
Since he moved to Union Township, the Bargersville police officer said the community has remained true to its roots.
“It’s a great place. People look out for one another,” Griggs said. “We still have that small community feel.”
The primary election is May 3.
THE GRIGGS FILE
Name: Justin Griggs
Residence: Bargersville
Family: Wife, Hannah; two children
Occupation: Bargersville police officer
Educational background: Brown County High School; Trine University, Angola; Indiana Law Enforcement Academy, Plainfield
Political experience: Ran for Johnson County Council District 1 seat in 2018
THE BARR FILE
Name: Dawn Barr
Residence: Bargersville
Family: Husband, Chris; two children
Occupation: President and property manager of Premium Property Management Group.
Educational background: Elkhart Memorial High School; Vincinnes University; IUPUI
Political experience: Union Township Board of Trustees, 2018 and 2019-2022.
