As the new year begins, Logansport may choose a new mayor this November in the city’s general election. Currently, nine candidates have announced their candidacy for mayor, five Republicans and four Democrats. Chris Martin leads the Republican primary as the incumbent mayor. Former mayor Dave Kitchell, who lost to Martin during the last election by only 57 votes, will be running as a Democrat in what may turn out to be a rematch election.

“Serving as your Mayor has been the greatest honor of my life,” Martin said in a press release. “I hope each and every one of you can see the passion I bring to this job and our city. The last three years haven’t been easy, but I believe our results speak for themselves.

Other candidates seeking the Republican nomination are James McKeever, a former code enforcement officer in Johnny Quinones, Berney (Willie) Sadler, and prominent local photographer Rich Voorhees.

Candidates seeking the Democrat nomination include city councilman Larry Hood, former councilman Terry Doran, and City Council President Jacob LeDonne.

Martin further stated in the press release that he will focus on economic development, housing projects, city services, and continuing progress in his second term. However, Kitchell says the current administration has resulted in a loss of integrity for the office, which he will restore if elected.

“I went to the Red Ribbon Week celebration this year. There was nobody from the city administration there,” Kitchell said. “The county had people there. The sheriff was there, and lots of people involved with it in the county government, but our city administration didn’t care.”

If re-elected, Kitchell has said he will expand the workforce and add skills by expanding the internship program at Cass

County Career & Technical Education Center, a program started by him. He said he also wishes to create a youth scholarship program and add an additional resource officer for the high school. 

A news release by Voorhees invoked a similar tone with the current administration. Voorhees stated if he were to be elected, he would re-establish an identity for the city.

“We need a community conversation on the direction of this city,” Voorhes said. “For far too long, decisions have been made with little or no public engagement, and the result has not always served the residents of the community well.”

Democratic candidate Doran said he has wanted to be mayor for decades. He wants to revisit old projects, attract businesses and residents from nearby major cities, including Chicago, and highlight parts of town that have not received as much attention as the east end.

Finally, Hood said he was frustrated with the administration’s current spending. Hood wants to get Logansport caught up with improving what is already in the city instead of introducing new projects such as parks.