Scott Willis is on track to become Westfield’s next mayor in January after no one filed to run against him during the Nov. 7 general election.
Willis, who serves on the Westfield City Council, secured the Republican nomination for mayor after defeating challengers Jake Gilbert and Kristen Burkman in the May 2 primary election. The deadline for a state chairman of a political party to nominate a candidate by petition or for an individual to declare an intent to be a write-in candidate was noon July 3, according to the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office.
Willis, who is retired as a colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves, will occupy the top leadership position in Indiana’s fastest growing city next year after longtime mayor Andy Cook declined to run for a fifth term. Cook has served as mayor since 2008.
Willis said earlier this year that if he was elected as mayor, he would focus on transparency and communication.
“It is my hope that every resident of our city will be a collaborative voice in Westfield’s future,” Willis said.
All but two other races will also be unopposed during the Nov. 7 general election and will result in a new slate of elected officials on the Westfield City Council starting in January.
Westfield City Council’s District 1 will be represented by Jon Dartt; District 2 will be represented by Victor McCarty; District 3 will be represented by Joe Duepner; and District 5 will be represented by Noah Herron. All of those candidates are Republicans.
In District 4, voters will decide between Republican candidate Patrick Tamm and Democratic candidate Alexis Lowry. Two Republicans, Chad Huff and Kurt Wanninger, and one Democratic candidate, Gary Lane, will vie for the two at-large seats on the council.
Westfield is also set to have a new clerk-treasurer starting in January after Republican candidate Marla Ailor defeated challenger Tonya Hyatt during the May 2 primary election. That position became up for grabs after longtime Clerk-Treasurer Cindy Gossard announced earlier this year that she wouldn’t seek reelection.
Gossard was initially appointed to the position in 2001 and had been reelected in her role since 2003. She cited a “deteriorating relationship with the mayor and the administration” as one of her reasons for declining to run again.
