TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — The race for the District 2 Commissioner seat in Vigo County has ended and Republican incumbent Chris Switzer is the winner.
Republican incumbent Chris Switzer and democratic candidate Courtney Weger were vying the seat.
Switzer won with 24,843 votes or 62.13 percent to Weger’s 15,142 votes.
In the run-up to the election, Republican incumbent Chris Switzer says his number one issue to address is recidivism and overcrowding in the county jail by means of a community corrections program.
“Oftentimes we find people that are in jail with mental health issues, alcoholism, or addiction problems, and they don’t need to be in jail for those reasons,” Switzer said. “We’re trying to find a way to increase that programming, and we’re chasing a grant at the state level for $5 million to be able to put into that community corrections program, into that building to pursue something bigger, so trying to get people back into the workforce and have a healthy and happy lifestyle.”
On Tuesday night, Switzer said he is grateful to be re-elected and get back to work.
“It’s awesome. You know I did a lot of digital advertising, media advertising this year, but didn’t put out too many signs and stuff like that, but did have a lot of conversations with folks throughout the community and I felt the love immediately when I was talking to people,” Switzer said. “I’m glad to see the commissioner’s office stays intact and there was a lot of republican wins tonight, so that’s really cool for Vigo County.”
Switzer says that he already has ideas for what he hopes to accomplish over his next term as a commissioner.
“Just to continue that momentum that we built over the past four years,” Switzer said. “The economic development we’ve had, continuing that community corrections process with potentially a new building, addressing the mental health needs in the community, and raising the median income in this community I think is vital, so we’ll continue that conversation.”
