John Ditmars, alongside his wife, Sandy, is sworn in to the Johnson County Council by Judge Peter Nugent Tuesday evening. Ditmars was elected in a local Republican Party caucus to fill a vacant seat on the council representing District 2.
Local Republicans selected a longtime county resident and banker to fill a vacancy on the Johnson County Council representing District 2.
John Ditmars was elected in a Republican Party caucus Tuesday evening to represent Franklin Township and southern Pleasant Township on the county council.
Ditmars won 15 votes of 22 cast by precinct committee members. He won against two other candidates, Kim Livorno with two votes, and Joe Sayler with five votes.
He fills the seat left vacant by Charlotte Sullivan, who never served on the council, but was elected for the first time in the November election. Sullivan moved to Florida last summer after the candidate withdrawal deadline, so she remained on the ballot unopposed in November with the intention to resign this month.
Ditmars is from Franklin, and has lived in the community his entire life. He’s worked in banking for 40 years, currently serving as senior vice president and regional market leader at First Merchants Bank in Greenwood.
His career in banking is coming to a close this year, and he’s retiring March 1. His upcoming retirement was one of the reasons he decided it was time for him to look for a way to get more involved in serving the community. He also will have more time to fully devote his time to the council after retiring, he said Tuesday.
“I’ve always been involved in community activities … I think on the council, I can join and contribute. Not right away because it’s going to be a learning curve, but I can hopefully make a difference in what they’re doing,” Ditmars said.
Family, experience and business approach are three key points he said will be important to him while serving on the council. Ditmars is a “conversative in nature” and “naturally inquisitive.”
With his experience in banking, Ditmars brings to the table knowledge of budgeting and finance. The county council is in charge of drafting and approving the annual Johnson County budget, and it oversees the finances for all county departments regularly.
“I think I can look for the ‘reasonableness test.’ Is it reasonable, you know, the debits and credits, is there enough money to do what we’re trying to do?” Ditmars said.
He isn’t going in with an agenda or holding negative opinions on how the county is functioning. His goal is to contribute to improve the community, he said.
Ditmars will join the county council at its first meeting of the year on Monday.
