Finley And Nichols File To Fill County Council Seat Vacancy
KOSCIUSKO — A caucus to fill the vacancy of Robert Sanders on Kosciusko County Council as councilman-at-large will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 7, in the Kosciusko Circuit Courtroom, Kosciusko County Courthouse, 100 W Center St., Warsaw. Two individuals have filed to fill the opening.
Sanders’ seat opened after he died from a heart attack on May 14.
Paul Finley
Finley was raised in Detroit and then Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. He came to Winona Lake in 1985 to attend Grace College. There, he received degrees in Accounting and Business Administration and an MBA.
Finley works as a Controllerfor D & D Electric and Core Mechanical Services. He also works part-time at Midwest Structural.
He has volunteered for many years as a treasurer for his church, Christ’s Covenant Church and Heartline Pregnancy Center. Finley said those experiences have helped him learn more about fund accounting, appropriation and more importantly to highly respect each person equally no matter what their status is in the community.
“I am a big-picture person. I have enjoyed helping business owner grow their businesses, which in turn grows our local economy.”
Finley says he has no issues or political agenda to promote, he just wants to work hard with other council members to serve and represent the people of Kosciusko County.
“As a County Councilman, I will give the very best I have to fulfill the duties of the office.”
Finley’s wife Kay, of 27 years, is a CPA and Vice President of Finance at Helvey and Associates. Their son, Zarek is a law enforcement officer.
Tressa Nichols
Nichols is originally from Arizona, but has lived in Indiana for 17 years. She went to Eastern Arizona College majored in Advertising Design.
Nichols is a homeschooling mom of six. In her spare time, she is an Assistant Director of Public Affairs for the LDS Church in South Bend and choir director for the South Bend Indiana Stake of the LDS Church.
This is Nicholas fourth opportunity running for public office in a year because of unusual circumstances. She ran for County Council and State Delegate in the Spring of 2016 and County Chair in the summer of 2016, when the County Chairman stepped down. Nicholas is honored to serve as a State Delegate for the Republican Party.
Nichols has been involved in local, state and national politics, testifying against Common Core at the Sate Senate Hearings in 2013. She has worked on campaigns for Congressional Representatives Marlin Stutzman; State Representatives Curt Nisly and Christopher Judy; Fort Wayne Councilman Jason Arp; and candidate for Congress Pam Galloway.
Nichols enjoys County Council and continues to attend meetings. Nichols said she has missed only three meetings in 1 and 1/2 years. Nichols was asked by Congressman Jim Banks to sit on his Faith Leadership Advisory Council and serve as secretary of the Kosciusko County chapter of the National Federation of Republican Women.
If Nichols were to fill the vacancy, she says she would like to put more focus on educating the public on how the county functions.
“I think there is a disconnect between what people believe their elected officials do, and what actually happens. I think that needs to be fixed. Road funding will continue to be an issue in the coming years, and I will follow that closely,” said Nichols.
Aside from the roads, a major priority for Nichols will be to protect religious freedoms at the county level. Nichols said most people don’t realize our religious freedom is being attacked locally, as well as at the state and national levels.
Nichols and her husband Brian have six children: Reagan, Thomas Jefferson, Margaret Thatcher, James Madison, George Washington and Samuel Adams.
Declarations of Candidacy are available at the office of Kosciusko County Clerk of the Circuit Court, 121 N Lake St., Warsaw, and must be filed with the Chairman Michael Ragan no later than 72 hours prior to the commencement of the caucus. Chairman Ragan can be contacted by mail at 1458 East CR 75N, Warsaw, IN 46582 or by email at [email protected]