There's Not a New Sheriff in Town

Tuesday was a good day to be an incumbent officeholder in Putnam County.

Both incumbents contested in the primary election — county clerk and recorder Dan Kuhn and sheriff Kevin Doyle — earned the Democratic party’s nod in a bid to seek re-election to their offices.

Doyle overwhelmingly defeated Granville police chief Kevin Moore, 1,229-275, winning the most votes in all eight precincts.

“There is no way I could have done this without the tremendous support of my family and friends,” Doyle said.

Kuhn had a decisive win against county board member Chauntelle Biagi-Bruer, 954-523. Kuhn earned the most votes in six out of eight precincts.

After spending 11 years in office, Kuhn said the position of clerk is more than just a job to him.

“I feel like I have a lot of ownership in it,” he said. “I’ve dedicated 11 years of my life to this.”

Kuhn said the voter support means a lot to him because it shows they have confidence in him.

At this point, neither Doyle nor Kuhn has a challenger slated for the general election ballot in the fall. If an independent candidate wanted to run he or she would have to collect signatures to get on the ballot, Kuhn said. If a Republican candidate wanted to run — since none ran for the primary election — they would have to hold a caucus, he added.