Two newcomers vying for a seat on the Greenwood City Council will advance to the fall election following Tuesday night’s Republican primary.
Of the 16 total candidates who ran for the six districted and three at-large seats, seven incumbents retained their seats. This includes three unopposed candidates.
The nine-member council sets annual spending for the city, makes policy changes, adopts new local rules and ordinances, approves new taxes and appoints members to various city boards. The candidates who won the Republican nomination this week will advance to the November municipal election.
Gibson secures nomination
Council member Linda Gibson will retain control of her District 1 seat for now after she held off challenges from the owner of Hurley’s Outdoor Services and a retired radiology technician Tuesday.
Gibson has served on the council since 2008, when she took over for her husband who died in office. Together, they’ve had a voice on the city council for nearly 50 years.
She will advance to the General Election and is currently unopposed for the seat.
District 1 covers everything southeast from the County Line Road interstate interchange to near Madison Avenue. Further south, it follows the Louisville & Indiana Railroad to Smith Valley Road, before going as far south as Laguna Lane.
Newcomer ousts Bates
An educator is one step closer to taking a seat on the city council next year after ousting a long-time incumbent.
Terri Manship, a director and teacher at Knightsbridge Academy, will face Democrat Nathan Cardenas in the November election after beating long-time council member Ron Bates. Bates has served on the council since 2003.
Manship ran for office because she wants to leave the city better off than the way it was when she moved to Greenwood in 1970. She wants to see people want to be in Greenwood again, she said earlier this year.
District 4 is Greenwood’s most developed district, serving the northwest corner of the city, from U.S. 31 to State Road 135, and from Main Street to the county line. Only residents living within those boundaries will get to vote in this race.
Hopper keeps hold of west side seat
J. David Hopper was renominated to his District 5 seat after thwarting a challenge from a certified public accountant and former mayoral candidate Dale Marmaduke.
The incumbent in District 5 since 2012, Hopper said he saw Greenwood on an increasingly upward trajectory. He sought reelection because he still had work to do, and wanted to make sure his district is developed responsibly with high-quality projects, he said earlier this year.
District 5 is the city’s most western district stretching from County Line Road in the north to Whiteland Road in the south, mostly centered around State Road 135.
3 at-large candidates advance
Two incumbents and one newcomer will progress to the fall general election where they will face off against any independent or Democratic candidates who may file or be slated by their party.
Six Republicans ran for the three at-large seats on the council. Erin Betron, Mike Campbell and Steve Moan will be the three who advance to the November election.
Betron, a veteran who joined the council in February after being selected in a caucus, ran for office as another way to serve. Campbell, who has held one of the seats since 2012, sought reelection because he wants to make Greenwood a better place to live, work and play, he said earlier this year.
A former school board member and current member of the city’s redevelopment commission, Moan said earlier this year he wants to bring a “common sense” perspective to the council. He previously ran for City Council District 4 in 2019.
The three candidates chosen will also be facing a contested race in the fall. Libertarian James Sceniak announced he was running for an at-large seat earlier this year.
HOW YOU VOTED
District 1
Hurley Davis: 20%
Linda Gibson: 51%
Robin Klutzke: 29%
District 4
Ron Bates: 34%
Bob Lynn: 12%
Teri Manship: 54%
District 5
J. David Hopper: 65%
Dale Marmaduke: 35%
At-Large
Erin Betron: 18%
Mike Campbell: 24%
Bogdan John Golinksi: 5%
Steve Moan: 24%
Brian Moore: 12%
Ronald Palmer: 17%
