A Whiteland Town Council incumbent will face a challenger in the May Republican primary.
David Hawkins is seeking a third term on the town council representing Ward 1, and is challenged by Tim Brown, who also ran for the seat against him in 2019.
Hawkins has been on the town council since 2016, and he says he’s grown with the town since he’s been on the council. He wants to run for one more term to continue to see Whiteland through its period of growth.
“I just feel that there’s more to happen within the town on the positive side. I want to see the growth continue, and I want to see it completed. So, I figured, one more time,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins also sees a divide among the five sitting council members, who have been getting into more arguments with each other recently during town meetings. With the council in the state that it is, he said that was another reason he felt the need to continue.
Brown is running for this seat to represent Ward 1 for the second time, after he lost to Hawkins in the 2019 Republican primary. Brown is not a politician, he said, and he’s running because he wants to do right by the citizens of Whiteland. He has been a member of the town planning commission for several years.
“The real reason I’m running is to work for the community, to be a representative for the people,” Brown said. “I guess, to just see if there’s anything I can help with.”
Three seats on the Whiteland Town Council are divided into districts — where council members live in and represent their designated areas of town on the council — and two seats are at-large representing the whole town. Even though the council is divided into these districts, voters will get to vote for all five seats on the council, no matter where they live in town.
Ward 1 encompasses the north half of Whiteland, including most of the properties north of Whiteland Road, and the Mohr Logistics Park near Interstate 65. Voters who live in Ward 1 will also vote for council seats in Wards 2 and 3, as well as the two at-large. Ward 2 is the only other contested Whiteland race in the Republican primary on May 2.
Republican voters in the primary will select the candidate to move to the November general election. No Democrat has filed for the Ward 1 seat, but there is time for candidates to be slated for the Democratic ticket this summer after the primary.
The Daily Journal asked Brown and Hawkins questions about their priorities and goals for the office. Here’s what they said, edited for length, grammar and clarity:
What would be your top priorities if you are elected?
Hawkins: Completion of the industrial parks. The growth of the parks, and getting some good representation in those parks as far as the companies that are coming in to bring in people who are working in those areas. Hopefully, those people will move to Whiteland and the growth will just keep going. And with all of that, we’ve got to have the infrastructure and be able to handle everything that is required with the growth. I think that’s a big issue.
Brown: The top priority is to, when new projects come in, take everything into consideration. Listen to everybody who comes to the meeting to speak, and take everything in consideration before I make a decision. I’m the kind of person who has to take everything in, do my research and then make my decision. I want to make the correct decision and the best decision for the Whiteland townspeople because that’s who we represent … I would like to livestream the meetings. I know the town is set up for that, and they are working toward that goal, but that would be one of my big pushes for the town. People could watch the meeting evening if they can’t be there in person.
What are the biggest issues facing Whiteland? Where could the council improve?
Hawkins: The divide among council members. (Hawkins declined to comment further on the record).
Brown: I don’t know if there are really any issues. We just have to always be mindful of infrastructure, schools, fire departments, police departments to make sure that we have enough people staffed to handle all the new growth that comes to Whiteland. So far, they have handled everything well.
What do you think about Whiteland’s growth in the last five years? Has it been managed well? Do you think the town should continue this pace of growth?
Hawkins: We’re beyond the small town image now. When I moved here, 25 years ago, we were a farm town. And that’s why I moved here. In the beginning, I was against the change. Then I had people start asking me to run for the council. I started looking into it, and I got involved in it and decided to run … And so in the process of that, I’ve grown with the town and it’s just been an amazing growth for the town, as well as myself. In seeing what can happen and how prosperous our town can become, that’s been my reason for staying in and holding on to it.
Brown: With the growth by the interstate, I think if we have to have industrial, we have to have that growth out there. It is the greatest place for it because of the interstate … Do I think the growth is a good thing for Whiteland? Yes, I do. I mean, it does help with bringing more people into the Whiteland area and taking care of it. My biggest concern is just making sure that we do our due diligence and making sure that the town’s getting their half too because it does increase sewer flow, water flow, stormwater flow. Just making sure that we are taking care of the town in that way. With more growth, we just need to make sure it’s the right fit for Whiteland. I mean, that’s what we’ve got to be concerned with is if it meets the overall plan of the town of Whiteland.
Backyard chickens have been a hot topic in town recently. Do you or do you not support allowing residents to keep chickens in their yards?
Hawkins: I don’t believe in it because of the disease and the amount of chickens that they’re wanting to have. You have six chickens on a quarter acre, that quarter acre does not include the size of the house. The quarter acre is the open area and not counting the house. So is there still a quarter acre there and they’re wanting to let six chickens or 12 chickens in a lot, a little over a quarter acre. Also if it goes through, it’s also going to be an extra expense on the town. Because you have to have people do the inspections. You have to have new vehicles. You have to have safety clothing for them. Where’s that money going to come from? It’s going to be a big expense that the town can’t afford. We’re not made of money … so how do you justify spending money that we don’t have on extra people, extra vehicles, to do inspections and all that. If there’s a violation, how do you police that violation? Another thing that comes out of it is trash. Where are they going to put the waste? Where are they going to put a diseased chicken? Is the town willing to take that chance on someone throwing a diseased chicken in the trash, and the trash company picking up on it and contaminating their landfill? They carry E. coli, that’s probably the number one, but there are 101 different diseases the chickens can carry.
Brown: At this time I’ve not done enough investigating to say yes or no. Yeah, I mean, to be honest, because there’s so much you got to look at; the neighborhoods, the areas and stuff like that and take all of it into consideration. Before I could make a decision on that, I’d actually have to research everything on my own. So as of right now, I have no comment on the chickens.
What are your thoughts on the idea of merging Whiteland and New Whiteland?
Hawkins: Can I plead the fifth on that? No comment.
Brown: I don’t think five councilors should have the right to vote on that. I think we should send a poll out to the residents to decide … they need to send it out to the public needs to vote on it. Everybody needs to realize on both sides, whether you’re New Whiteland, or Whiteland, we work for the townspeople.
