Huntingburg Council candidates file on Independent ticket

Kerry Blessinger (left) and Tim Wehr filed their candidacies for Huntingburg Council as independents. — Kerry Blessinger (left) and Tim Wehr filed their candidacies for Huntingburg Council as Independents.

Two Huntingburg residents filed paperwork to run as Independents in the upcoming municipal election.

Kerry Blessinger will run for Huntingburg Common Council Precinct 4 and Tim Wehr will run for the Common Council At-Large seat.

Democrat Linda Summers currently holds the Precinct 4 and Republican Amy Lehr holds the At-Large seat. Lehr has already stated she would not be seeking reelection and Summers has indicated she may not run either.

The Dubois County GOP has announced a candidate for Precinct 4 seat yet. Vickie Lewis announced her intentions to run for the At-Large position for the GOP.

According to chairman Don Hayes, the party is planning on releasing their candidates’ names sometime next week.

Blessinger and Wehr are both lifelong residents of Huntingburg and decided to throw their names in the upcoming race to be part of the future and continued planning and leadership in the 2014 Stellar Community.

Blessinger operates Blessinger Tax Service, 503 N. Washington Street. He currently serves on the Huntingburg Planning Commission and Utility Rate Advisory Board, both mayoral appointments.

“I like helping out the community,” Blessinger said. “I want to remain involved in its future.”

Wehr is a pilot for Kimball. He has been involved in several civic organizations and was a member of the Citizens Advisory Committee. He is also an organizer of the highly successful Music in the Park events held during the summer.

“I would like to be part of moving the Stellar projects forward,” Wehr said.

Both men stated they filed as Independents because they did not want to be labeled as part of either party. “I always vote the person not the party,” Wehr said. “And, I want to work with both sides.”

“It’s less about the party and more about the people,” Blessinger agreed.

The story originally stated the GOP would be announcing candidates for these two precincts. Vickie Lewis declared her intentions to run for office in January. The story has been corrected.