By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
WARSAW — A candidate for Kosciusko County Council’s District 1 seat says he has sold his house in North Webster and is in the process of buying one south of Warsaw.
Thaddeus Du Bois admits that moving outside of the district he seeks to represent makes him ineligible to hold that seat, should he happen to win the May 5 primary.
Du Bois faces incumbent Republican Kimberly Cates for the seat in the primary.
In an interview with News Now Warsaw, Du Bois was asked if he plans to withdraw from the race and he laughed it off.
“Maybe some people don’t think that’s very funny, but no, I don’t (plan to withdraw).
He said the sale of the future home won’t happen until late May, but added that has not had time to research the issue.
His name will still be on the primary ballot.
Du Bois lives on the east side of Webster Lake, which is part of the Chapman-Tippecanoe Regional Sewer District.
His opposition to hooking up to the sewer district is the main reason he had been seeking the seat and is now the reason he’s moving.
“I feel that it’s just so ethically and morally wrong that I’m not going to comply with it. I really, really don’t agree with it,” he said.
Du Bois said he has not fully researched his status as a candidate because he’s been busy.
Kosciusko County Clerk Melissa Boggs, who oversees elections in the county, said nothing is required at this point if Du Bois loses in the primary, but if he would win on May 5, and then move out of the district, he would need to sign withdrawal paperwork by July 15.
Du Bois also expressed concern with the lack of challengers in the primary. If he would win the primary and then withdraw, he said he hopes somebody else could still step in ahead of the general election and run.
Whether that is possible under Indiana election law was unclear.
“If I were to win, and I think everyone knows it’s a longshot anyways, but jeez-o-pete, let’s compete!” he said.
