MADISON COUNTY — Incumbent Tom Shepherd wants to finish what he started.
Candidate Lee Walls wants to make changes.
Shepherd and Walls are opposing each other in the upcoming Republican primary race for Madison County surveyor.
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The county surveyor is elected for a four-year term. A big part of the job involves working on reducing flooding while maintaining clean water in lakes, ponds, regulated drains, rivers, streams and wetlands.
Shepherd, 69, was elected in 2016. He lives in Anderson and has been married for 51 years. He and his wife have four children and 10 grandchildren. He is a graduate of Anderson Highland High School and Ball State University.
In 2016, Shepherd defeated Democrat Patrick Manship, who had won the previous seven elections.
Shepherd is hoping to finish a list of projects he started in 2016 and, if re-elected, has no plans seek the position in 2024. He said believes he can finish his projects in two terms.
“When I first got in office they said there was no way I was going to get all of that done in one term,” Shepherd said.
For many years, a lot of county drains have been neglected, he said, and he would like another term to continue growing the maintenance on drainage systems.
He said it costs money to maintain the neglected drains. He spent $350,000 on improvements his first year on the job, doubling what was done the previous year. He spent $500,000 on improvements Year 2 and $1 million last year.
The funds are obtained through county tax assessments and do not come from the county’s general fund, Shepherd said.
He said he welcomes county residents with questions about what’s going on in the surveyor’s office to call the office at 765-641-9638.
Walls, 48, is a Frankton farmer married to Tasha Walls, a teacher in the Madison-Grant school system. They have three daughters. He is a graduate of Iowa Remsen-Union High School in Remsen, Iowa.
He was born in Elwood and lived in Frankton for 13 years before moving to Iowa when his father changed jobs. He moved back to Madison County in 2002.
Walls, who is on the county drainage board, said he’s not “a government lover.” He said he started going to town and county meetings for that reason and in June of last year became a part of the drainage board.
“I never wanted to be involved in government until I saw what went on in government,” Walls said. “My goal is to change that.”
He said he believes some drains have been over-assessed.
“Our people work hard for their money, I work hard for my money and I expect the government to take care of me and represent me. That, in my opinion, is not being done. I feel like the money needs to be better controlled.”
The Indiana primary election, originally scheduled for May 5, has been postponed until June 2 because of the coronavirus pandemic.