The Daily Journal from Franklin, Indiana • Page 1

rritcharclv Gqntz score wins impress ive Gantz also promised to be "available to the people" and By BOB NEAL Journal Staff Writer Johnson County will have a Democratic sheriff and a lew Republican prosecutor next year. Republican candidate D. Charles Gantz of Greenwood, who upset Johnson County Prosecutor Joe N. Van Valer in the May primary election, defeated opponent Frank Arkenberg of Franklin 9,875 to 9,614 in the general election Tuesday. Tom Pritchard of Franklin, a former Johnson County deputy sheriff, defeated John W.

(Jack) Means of Whiteland, 10,876 to 8,063. Independent candidate Charles. Fowler received 678 votes in the sheriff's race. Pritchard carried 24 of the 32 Johnson county precincts, receiving the majority of his total vote from Franklin, Needham, Hensley, Union and Blue River Townships. Means' support came from Clark and Pleasant townships.

In the county's largest precinct, White River 2, Means edged Pritchard by six votes. Although Gahtz carried only 15 of the 32 Johnson county precincts, he received much support from the heavily populated Northern Johnson county In the populous White River Two precinct, Gantz outdistanced Arkenberg by a vote oMKW to 611. Gantz also received 439 votes to Arkenberg's 153 votes in the Pleasant Eight precinct. Gantz credits his victory to "a lot of work" and feels that some Democratic support helped him achieve his 261 vote victory. "Frank (Arkenberg) pushed awful hard in the last few days," Gantz remarked.

"He waged a good, clean and hard campaign and was a credit to his party," Gantz said of his Democratic opponent. Gantz, had promised in his campaign that, if elected, he would "cut plea-bargaining to a bare He reiterated that pledge today and added that he will vigorously prosecute drug violators. "There will be no mercy to those persons wio sell drugs," he stated. wife and two small children into the presently-vacant sheriff's quarters of the Johnson County jail. The candidate added, however, that this promise hinged on the county commissioners' willinpess to "make the sheriff's quarters liveable" in the century-old jail.

Pritchard had also said he would not ask the county commissioners for additional funds for more deputies in the near future, but would augment the present sheriff's force with special deputies. These special deputies would not be paid by the county and would handle routine jail tasks as well as serving in uniform on patrol. Like Gantz, Pritchard had also promised to make himself "more available to the public." The newly-elected sheriff also promised to "spend more time on the road with my deputies." "I think that Tom and I can work well together to bring effective law enforcement to Johnson county, despite the differences in our political parties," Gantz said today. said today he will open the prosecutor's office on Saturdays to persons who cannot get to the office during the week. Gantz also said he expects to implement a program of community involvement in the prevention of crime.

This program would utilize existing community action groups in establishing county-wide crime prevention programs. Like Republican Gantz, Democrat Pritchard vowed to "make changes" in county law enforcement. Pritchard's 2,813 vote margin over incumbent Means represents a telling victory for Democrats in an office that has been traditionally Republican. "In my particular race, I feel that the voters were more concerned about the local issues, and decided to go out and vote to show that concern," Pritchard said Tuesday night. "I feel that the vote shows that the people were more concerned this time around with the man running for the office than his party," he added.

In his campaign, Pritchard had promised to move his hum iv irai 15 Vol. 12, No. 92 Franklin Greenwood, Indiana, Wednesday, November 6, 1974 Democrats capture A i jf- A five county races I b.crJLs ineligible to serve office. In the county council races, four Republicans and two Democrats were victors. The Republicans, were all incumbents, and the Democrats all newcomers to county politics.

In a contest which pitted two close friends against each other, Democratic candidate John T. Thompson scored a 120 vote victory over Lenzie Randolph for the county council race in the fourth district. mi 1 The biggest victory by an incumbent candidate was Appropriate supporter This GOP elephant was a familiar sight throughout Johnson county during the general election Tuesday. The toy elephant was on display for Republican D. Charles Gantz, winner of the Johnson county prosecutor's race Tuesday.

sGantz defeated Franklin Democrat Frank W. Arkenberg. (Daily Journal photo) New sheriff elated by victory Tom Pritchard flashes a broad smile to campaign workers at Johnson County Democratic headquarters shortly after his victory over incumbent sheriff John W. Means. Pritchard gathered 10.876 votes to Means' 8,063.

(Daily Journal photo) defeats Evans By TERRY ANDERSON Journal Staff Writer The Democrats have invaded the Johnson county courthouse for the first time since 1958. Scoring big victories in several key county contests, Democratic candidates gained control of two of the five major county offices. They also captured one county commissioners office, and placed two Democrats On the county council. 4 Not since 1958 have Democrats won so convincingly on a county-wide More than 20,000 county voters cast their ballots Tuesday. That figure is approximately 62 per cent of the 32,000 registered voters eligible to vote.

In one of the key Democratic victories, Democrat Kedric, Sturgeon upset Incumbent Norman McMillin for the race for County Commissioner, of the second district. Sturgeon, a science teacher and guidance counselor at Franklin Junior High School, collected 10,242 votes to 8,986 for McMillin. Went home Interestingly Sturgeon didn't discover, he had won until this morning. He said that when the computer broke down around 9:50 p.m., he decided to take his wife home. "When we got home," he said, "I turned on the radio and WIFN, said I lost.

I thought to myself they must be wrong, but when they said it again, I figured they knew what they were saying so I went to bed." Sturgeon said he thinks that he can work with the bther two county commissioners, and that party affiliations shouldn't interfere at all. He credited bis victory to hard work by the precinct workers throughout the county. "For an example," he said, I ran last time I lost White River Township precinct two by an 8-1 margin, this time I only lost by 200 votes a big improvement." Sturgeon received 53.2 per cent of the vote compared to 46.7 per cent for McMillin. Sturgeon campaigned primarily on the issue of the alternative hospital route and the county commissioners lack of in promoting the long-sought route. Four years ago Sturgeon and McMillin squared off for the commissioners seat in the second district, but McMillin was victor.

The Sturgeon victory broke the Republican strangle-hold on the county commissioners office, and made the ratio two Republicans and, one Democrat TAnother key race was for the important office of County Clerk, in which Democrat Betty Sheek defeated Republican adversary Davids Foster. Mrs. Sheek who lost a bid for county auditor four years ago, picked up 10,105 votes, approximately 51.8 per cent of the total, compared to 9,386 votes, or 48.1 per cent of the vote for Foster. In the county auditor's race which sparked with, unusual controversy, incumbent June Wood fought, off a bid by Democratic opponent Jim Staples, to win her second term in office. Mrs.

Wood collected 51.5 per cent of the vote, while Staples grabbed 48.8 per cent of the ballots. Mrs. Wood had been the target of a charge from Johnson county Democratic Chairman Thomas Taylor that she was constitutional Mullendbre upset incumbent Bray by 14-vote margin recorded in the Johnson county recorder's contest. Mrs. Mary Etta Hougland, a 1,308 vote victory over her challenger.

Democrat Mrs. Helen Goodlive. 7 Mrs. Hougland received 10,806 votes compared to 8,497 for Mrs. Goodlive.

precedent-setting, contest for White River Township Justice of the Peace, 18-year-old Republican incumbent Marc Griffin defeated his 19-year-old opponent Michael Hunter by a slim 22 vote margin. -The victory added to Griffin's set of firsts. He was the youngest appointed official in the history of In May he became the youngest candidate to win a primary contest, and now is the youngest elected official in the history of 'the state. Probably the biggest upset of the election occurred in Blue River Township where long time Justice of the Peace Russell Stott was defeated by R.T. Depp by an overwhelming vote.

Depp received 67.1 per cent of the vote to only 32.8 for. Stott Many candidates agreed By RIC BURROUS Journal Staff Writer Democrat David W. Evans scored one of the nation's most surprising upsets Tuesday as he unseated 12-term Republican Congressman William G. Bray In Indiana's Sixth District Congressional race: Final vote counts show Evans with 77,207 votes to 69,703 votes for Bray, as the 28-year-old Indianapolis school teacher pulled 52.5 per cent of the voter strength to Bray's 47.5 per cent. Evans will be the youngest man ever elected to the U.S.

House of Representatives. He won his race despite spending only $15,000 for campaign expenses. In winning the Sixth District seat, Evans overcame one-in-30 odds against his victory at the start of the and avenged a defeat at the hands of 71-year-old Martinsville attorney in the 1972 GOP landslide. Evans scored heavily In the Marion county precincts in (Continued on Page 12, Col." 8) Elections i (Continued on Page 12, Col. 6) County backs Lugar nee dt-aglci Mullendore was still surprised today, as he assessed what had happened.

"I had no idea I had any problem," he said. "It came as a complete surprise." He said that Needham 1 precinct, was the biggest surprise to him. "I was counting on it," Mullendore said. "I felt like with the tax package and the property tax relief that I'd do pretty well there. I usually do, but something must have happened." Mullendore blamed the Democratic sweep on a combination of factors, foremost of which are Watergate and the economy.

Locally, he said that the failure of William G. Bray to run as well as expected in the Sixth Congressional District also affected the Republican showing throughout the county. Haltom indicated that he was "pretty tired" after the long campaign, but said that "what it (the victory) really means is more work "Winning has a degree of responsibility that goes with it," Haltom said. The other two races for the General Assembly were not so closely contested as the District 53 race. i Moberly wins Shelbyville attorney Stephen Moberly won a -second term of office by a comfortable margin as he defeated Morristown mortician Lowell E.Spencer Jr.

1n District 54. "I'm very thankful to have won in what was a very bad year for Republicans," Moberly said. "I'm really exhausted and looking forward to getting back to a normal life." Moberly said that being in the minority would severely limit whatever powers the GOP might have in the upcoming session, particularly in the loss of committee chairmanships. His Demoqratic opponent said that election night had been a "long night." "It was a lot of fun though," Spencer said. "I really enjoyed it all" He was pleased that the Democratic party had trimmed a sizable portion of Moberly's victory margin from 1972 to 1974.

"I ran because I didn't like the way my party was handling things, because I didn't like the -way the incumbent party was handling things By RIC BURROUS Journal Staff Writer Tuesday's stunning Democratic sweep of the Indiana General Assembly left one Johnson county Incumbent GOP state representative in office and the other on the sidelines for the 99th session of the General Assembly. Democrat Sterling M. Haltom scored an upset as he narrowly edged incumbent Republican H. Jack Mullendore in the 53rd District' The closeness of the Haltom-Mullendore race, -which was decided by Only 14 votes, has Mullendore considering a possible request for a recount of the wtes, though Mullendore said he wasn't sure about what the procedures were with the new vote-counting methods. Republican Stephen Moberly of Shelbyville outpolled Democrat Lowell E.

Spencer in District 54 to maintain his seat in the House of Representatives. Richard D. Bray, Martinsville, captured the third House seat affecting Johnson county voters by defeating his rural Greenwood opponent Democrat Clinton Walls. Mullendore, gunning for his fifth term in the i state assembly, was unseated by Haltom in one of the. closest races in Johnson county and -perhaps state history.

Mullendore counted an eight-vote edge in the Johnson county precincts, but Haltom pulled a 22-vote margin in Greene and Harrison townships in Morgan county to gain the 'final margin. The overall count showed Haltom the Democrat the victor by 7,882 to 7,868. "I'm glad I have a job to go back to," Mullendore said wryly late election night when the final precinct was reported. "I wasn't getting this kind of feedback at all while I was campaigning," Mullendore said Tuesday. He indicated midway through the tallying that it would be a close race.

'Clean campaign Haltom was gratified to win, and said "I don't see how I'll be able to thank everyone who' helped me." Haltom called It "very clean campaign," and said be felt it was important for the people Senate Johnson Bayhrstays in Despite gains by county Democrats, the Republicans held -on to four county offices and retained control of the Johnson County Council by a 5-2 margin. The Democrats did capture the sheriff's race with Tom Pritchard soundly county commissioner race' with Kedric Sturgeon defeating incumbent Norman McMillin; and the county clerk's office with Betty Sheek winning over David Foster. Republicans captured the county, prosecutor's office again, with Charles Gantz to succeed Joe Van Valer, who he upset in last May's primary, after a close contest with Democrat Frank Arkenberg. GOP auditor June M. Wood and recorder Mary Etta Hougland also won their re-election bids over By ROBERT REED -i Journal Editor As far as Johnson county voters were concerned, United States Senator Birch Bayh lost the battle but won the war.

Across the state Bayh defeated Indianapolis Mayor Richard Lugar in Bayh's fight for re-election. But the Democrat incumbent lost in Johnson county by more than 1,000 It was the third straight time Bayh was elected to a six-year term as Indiana's junior Senator and the third straight time he failed to carry Johnson county. But there were some plus factors: -Bayh did carry 15 of the 32 "locar precincts for more than 42 percent of the Lugar aides had hoped for a 2,500 vote margin in this normally G.O.P. stronghold Democrats James Staples and Helen Goodlive, respectively. inaiana -i.

Indiana Democrats won control of the Indiana House, while the Republicans narrowly held on to control of the Indiana Senate. Locally Sen. Robert D. Carton, his 're-election bid. Incumbent Reputftcan State Rep.

Stephen Moberly of Shelbyville, who represents Clark tm.lilii mat hia raalcMicm hiii wtiil annthr Inmimhenf and because I felt I could do something about precincts but recorded substantial totals in most Senator 'Bayh made just about his best showing in Blue River 1 (Edinburg high school) when he got 60 per cent of the vote and won by a margin of 403 to 245 for Lugar. Lee got 22 votes there. Lugar. was strongest in Pleasant 8 (Greenwood city building) where he picked 'up 65.9 per cent of the vote. The margin there was Lugar-394, Bayh-169 and Lee-54.

The American Party factory worker Don Lee made his best showing in Pleasant 13 with 16.5 per cent of the vote. Totals in that precinct (Greenwood Bowl) were Lee-55; Bayh-124 and Lugar-153. All three candidates made campaign visits to Johnson county in recent weeks. Bayh appeared at a Democrat rally October 6 at the fairgrounds in Franklin. He 1 had been ill and spoke only noting, "There are more people at the Democratic rally in Johnson county than along the whole Lugar train stop Lugar tripped through the county, on October 24 in the G.O.P.

motor caravan that toured about a dozen communities. Earlier he spoke at a Franklin Kiwanis club dinner and at a Republican party picnic along State Road 135 Lee visited October 16, stopping for news interviews and some door-to-door campaigning. State-wide, Bayh carried 52 counties Tuesday out of 92. They included neighboring Bartholomew, Brown, Shelby and Marion counties, t- --r but got a plurality of far less than half that Republican H. Jack Mullendore of rural Franklin, lost his reelection bid to Democrat Sterling Haltom of Franklin.

Republican Richard Bray captured the District 52 spot, which includes White River township. Democrats also swept statehouse offices with the re-election of Secretary of State Larry Conrad, Treasurer Jack New, Auditor Mary Currie and Courts Clerk Billie McCullough. -w it, Spencer "I ve never been one to sit back." He said he felt he accomplished much of what he set-out to do. Bray wins In District 52, which covered White River townships and precincts, Richard Bray steadily pulled away from Democrat Walls and wound up the evening with roughly a 1,600 vote margin. Bray, who won his way onto the ticket in the spring primary by defeating incumbent Republican House member Jack mixed emotions about the election.

"I'm very pleased with my own race," he said, but was disappointed over the defeat of his father, 12-term Congressman William Bray. Bray indicated that be hoped to help with the formulation of a new criminal code for Indiana, but had no further plans for his tertri beyond that National of Johnson county to recognize the integrity witn which the campaign had been conducted, on both sides. "It was a hard, clean, hard-fought campaign," Haltom said. "There was no mud-slinging. We campaigned on degrees of philosophy." Haltom added that he felt there were major similarities between candidates for a number of the offices voted on When asked how he felt after his first campaign, be laughed "I don'thave any feeling at the moment It was pretty snug, wasn't it?" Haltom will be joining the.

first Democratic majority in the Indiana House of Representatives since the 1964 Johnson Goldwater campaign. Early indications are that between 56 and 60 seats will be held by the Democratic party in the House. Haltom plans to ask the Democratic leadership for consideration for appointment to the education committee, which be considers-extremely important. He cites his experience in the field of education as his qualifications for that committee. The Bayn-Lugar contest that headed the ticket, saw Democrats win some county-wide races' in Johnson county for the first time since 1958.

American party candidate Don Lee finished a strong third in the county totals, capturing more than 1780 votes. -The election results from the Johnson county clerk's office were as follows: Lugar 9,550 48.1 per cent Bayh 8,500 42.8 per cent Lee 1,789 9.0 per cent Senator Bayh won in the following precincts: Union-1; Hensley-1; Ninveh-1; Blue River-1; Blue River-2; Pleasant-1; Pleasant-2; Pleisant-7; -PleaSant-9; Pleasant-10; White River-3; Needham-1; Franklin-lr Franxlin-e and Franklin-7. r-'Lugar, the Republican leader, won in all other precincts. Lee did not carry any Sen. Birch Bayh, Democrat, won a third six-year terra Tuesday by defeating Indianapolis Mayor Richard Lugar by more than 40,000 votes.

The Democrats also scored victories in nine of 11 congressional districts, among them the 6th district which includes Johnson county. Youthful Dave Evans, Democrat, upset William G. Bray, who was seeking his 13th consecutive terra in Congress. Democrats took -4 Mm uMnManJ Ctvntrrae fc flntnrinff fnitr Ponitfilian goal Walls indicated that he was pleased with the SlfUflg IVlUiiUUJU 11 XJllQfl swim akvUMUwnu seats in the Senate and at least 42 in the House. Democrats also made major gains in the nation's statehouses, winning Lugar won locally and in nearby Morgan, Hancock and Hendricks counties.

voter turnout particularly in his White River, precincts. 25 of the 35 governor's chairs at sum..