Published: February 04, 2008 10:48 pm         

Several file for County Council seats

TERRE HAUTE — Incumbent Judge Phillip I. Adler has filed as a Democrat for re-election to Vigo County Superior Court Division 2, a position he has occupied since Jan. 1, 1997.

Three challengers wanting seats on the County Council also are among the recent filings for the county primary May 6.

Adler served as county prosecutor from 1987 to 1996 before becoming a judge. He was president of Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Association in 1992 and in 1997, and he received the Eugene Feller Award, the highest state award that can be bestowed on a prosecuting attorney.

In 1998, at the request of the Indiana Supreme Court, Adler initiated a pro bono program for District 7, a six-county area that includes Vigo, Clay, Parke, Putnam, Sullivan and Vermillion counties. He served as chairman of the district for nearly 10 years.

In 2001, Randall T. Shepard, chief justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, nominated Adler for the Pro Bono Publico, the state’s highest pro bono award. Adler received that award from the Indiana Bar Foundation.

Adler, 61, was honored again for his pro bono service last year by the Indiana Pro Bono Commission, and Shepard.

“Our District 7 pro bono program has been a success and a model for the state. The real credit goes to the volunteer attorneys, who for no pay help income-eligible citizens navigate through the judicial system,” Adler said.

Since taking office, Adler said he has “cut in half the time that litigants must wait for a jury trial and I will continue to work toward speeding up the process. I pledge to continue to listen patiently to the cases presented to me and to treat everyone respectfully and courteously and to render decisions quickly, based upon the facts and the law.”

Adler is a 1971 graduate of Indiana University’s School of Law.

In other races, incumbent County Councilman Mark D. Bird, 54, who serves as chairman of the council’s budget committee and is a member of the personnel committee, has filed for re-election as a Democrat to one of three at-large seats on the council.

Bill Thomas, who is a past president and member of the West Terre Haute Town Council from 2004 through 2007, has filed for one of three at-large seats on the County Council as a Democrat, along with Democrat John R. Prather.

When Thomas, 54, was elected to the Town Council, that council had to find ways to pay off nearly $69,000 in fines and interest to the Internal Revenue Service because the town previously had paid employment taxes late. The council also had to solidify payments on the town’s wastewater treatment project.

“We had no money to start working with, so we had to cut back. We cut out the town [police] dispatch, which we felt was more of a luxury. We put $170,000 back into the general fund, which when you have a $450,000 annual budget, that is a lot of money,” he said.

Thomas said West Terre Haute also had been spending up to $30,000 a year to service and repair police vehicles. The town bought new vehicles, eliminating high maintenance costs. While on the Town Council, Thomas also worked to bring the town’s wastewater treatment bond and interest payment back into the black.

Now Thomas looks to bring that experience to a county level.

“I want to make sure the money is there for the right projects and would like to get involved with economic growth in the county,” Thomas said.

Prather, 65, of Lewis is retired from Bemis Inc., where he worked for 36 years. He starting out in working in the factory before retiring at age 57 as a product manager.

“My concern is it seems that we get a lot of officials elected and they say they will do a lot of things, then do the opposite when elected,” Prather said. “I had some people ask me to [run]. I wasn’t going to do it, but I thought I might as well give it a go,” he said, adding it is his first attempt for an elected office.

Prather is a 1969 graduate of West Vigo High School and attended Indiana State University. Prather said he is a 32nd degree Mason, Vigo Masonic Lodge No. 29 and a member of Scottish Rite, and is a past president of Lewis Community Center.

Democrat Brandon S. Niece filed as a Democrat candidate for county recorder. Dr. Roland Kohr, a Democrat, has filed for re-election as county coroner.

On the Republican ticket, Jeffrey Harpole, a minister, filed for County Council. Harpole lost in the 2006 election to Kathy Chalos Miller for the District 3 seat on the council. Recently, Harpole was part of a recount commission for the Terre Haute mayor’s race.

At the state level, Democrat incumbent Reps. F. Dale Grubb and Clyde Kersey have filed for re-election, with Grubb of Covington filling for the District 42 seat in the Indiana House of Representatives and Kersey of Terre Haute for the District 43 seat.

Feb. 22 is the deadline to file a declaration of candidacy for anyone wanting to run in the May primary.

Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.