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Fries, Kerley Selected For Allen County Vacancies

Zach Bernard/WBOI News

Allen County Republicans selected the replacements for vacant at-large County Council seats previously held by Justin Busch and Eric Tippmann, who won elections for other political offices.

Two stages, countless rounds and four hours of caucus votes later, Allen County Republicans selected Ken Fries and Kyle Kerley from a field of nine candidates.

Fries has experience holding office in the county, serving as Allen County Sheriff before running an unsuccessful campaign for state senate in 2014. Considering Council is primarily a fiscal body, he says his work in law enforcement makes him best suited to manage the budget.

“We have limited tax dollars, and almost 70 percent of their budget goes to the criminal justice system, that starts at the dispatcher and goes all the way to the court system. 70 percent," Fries said. "That’s what makes me uniquely qualified for this position.”

Kerley touted his own experience, highlighting his work on Fort Wayne’s Legacy Committee. He was also active in pushing back against the failed North IV annexation proposal in 2016, and describes that as his political calling.

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“It would negatively affect the people in the county, it would negatively affect the schools, and I worked hard and lobbied the City Council, and we effectively blocked the mayor’s attempt to annex that area,” Kerley said.

181 ballots were cast. In their victories, Fries earned 103 votes while Kerley brought in 93 votes. In both cases, Adam Welch was the runner-up.

Zach joined 89.1 WBOI as a reporter and local host for All Things Considered, and hosted Morning Edition for the past few years. In 2022, he was promoted to Content Director.