Keith Claassen will be appointed to the Etna Green City Council at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Kosciusko County Republican Central Committee Chairman Mike Ragan confirmed Monday.
Claassen was one of three applicants for the position, but Ragan said Claassen was the only one with experience who met the criteria. “He seemed like the best choice,” Ragan explained.
The other two candidates did not meet the requirements to run for the council seat but still applied. Ragan did not disclose the names of those two candidates.
In the November general election, Claassen received the fewest votes of the four candidates for the three council seats. Incumbent Republican Jason Hanes and Libertarian Susan Klinefelter received 43 and 55 votes, respectively, while Republican Heath Roberts received 50 votes. Claassen received 35 votes.
On August 7, Hanes resigned from the board, effective immediately. Since fewer than two people would be eligible to attend a meeting of county commissioners to fill the vacancy, Ragan appointed a qualified person to the office for the remainder of the term. Eligible applicants for the position had to be city residents and Republicans in good standing.
In a phone interview Monday evening, Claassen, 64, said he has served on the city council for about 20 years since 2004. He was appointed to the council when Andy Cook resigned to become a city clerk.
“I have some experience with the council, know what it can do, what can be done and what cannot be done,” said Claassen.
When asked why he ran for election this time, he said that when he ran for city council again in 2023, fewer than 60 people showed up. Since the beginning of the year, people have come to him to talk about the city thinking he was still on the council and were surprised to learn that was not the case. People told him they did not show up and vote for him because they did not think they had to, he explained.
Once he’s on the council, one of the priorities, he said, is for the city to hire another employee certified in water and/or wastewater to assist Superintendent Brian Long. Long is on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and can’t take vacation, Claassen said. If the city loses Long, all utility rates will go up and that’s not good for anyone, he said.
“He’s an excellent guy and we don’t want to lose him. That’s the most important thing. We have three utilities in town and each one has to make enough money to function properly. They have to be managed properly,” Claassen said.
Claassen is appointed to the Etna Green City Council
