Hammond breaks into Allen County Council at-large race

ALLEN COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) — Following Tuesday’s primary election, the Allen County Republican Party held its traditional Coney Dog Luncheon on Wednesday.

There, the winners from the previous evening addressed the crowd about their victories and how they plan to move toward the November election.

Indiana senator nominee Jim Banks and 3rd congressional district nominee Marlin Stutzman were there as well as Allen County commissioner nominee Ron Turpin.

One person who spoke following a big win was Lindsey Hammond, a candidate for one of the three Allen County Council at-large seats.

She was facing three incumbents, but managed to defeat Kyle Kerley to get on the November ballot.

“I feel that when nobody is courageous enough to step up and run against the incumbents, that takes the voice away from the voters. It takes the choice away from the voters,” Hammond told WANE 15.

Hammond explained how she is the founder Indiana Freedom Coalition and believes in working with the community. She chose to get into local politics during the COVID-19 pandemic.

After talking with people throughout the community, she said people feel voiceless and her goal is to win in November so she can be a voice for people on the Allen County Council.

“We’re just going to keep going out there and letting people know we want — I want to be their voice on council. I want to give them a voice and I want to involve the community,” she said. “So, I want more communication and engagement with the community and I want to empower them to be part of the process and bring them to the table because I believe government working with the community in collaboration is what’s going to give us the best result.”

Hammond’s son Logan, 15, is her campaign manager. She said he’s very bright, has a lot of ideas, and is the one who pushed her to run in this race. She added that he hopes to have a future in politics himself.

Hammond joins incumbents Ken Fries and Robert Armstrong on the republican side. The three democratic nominees are Stephanie Henry, Nena Bailey, and Kevin Hunter.

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