Republican Lynda Dunbar, owner of Treasurers on the Square, defeated Democratic incumbent Theresa Glenn by 183 votes, to become the new clerk treasurer for the City of Greencastle Tuesday.
Dunbar won majorities in six of the eight wards. She lost by one vote in one ward and tied in another.
Dunbar said she was confident that she had a good shot of winning.
"I own a business in town, so a lot of people know me and see how I run by business and handle situations," she said. "I also have a degree in accounting and a business background, which will be important to becoming city treasure."
Democrat Jinsie Bingham also took pride in securing her second term representing the third ward on the city council. Bingham defeated her opponent, Jade Griffin, by 18 votes. She said she encouraged Greencastle residences to vote by making phone calls and going door-to-door, because she knew people were less likely to do so after Mayor Murray and all the other city council positions were unopposed this year
"Its always a surprise to win, because I had no expectations for what was going to happen," she said. "I'm just delighted to have this opportunity."
Bingham said her motivation for running for a second term was to assist with the Stellar Grant and continue the kind of services the city council offers to Greencastle community, such as leaf collections, streetlight construction and waste services, which, with various tax cuts have become a very intricate practice. Bingham has lived in Greencastle's third ward all her of her life and considers herself an asset to the community.
"It's a wonderful thing to blend in [the stellar grant] for both the university and the community," she said. "We worked together to win that grant, and this is the first time Indiana ever issued a grant like this."
Dunbar also anticipates working on the stellar grant by implementing her accounting experience when filling out paperwork and keeping track of bills and payments.
"One of my goals is to be able to do as much work on [the grant] and to be as helpful as I can in one area," she said. "I want to find a way to make things simpler and regulate how we spend taxpayers money."
Dunbar decided to run for office when she moved back to Greencastle in 2002, after moving away when she went off to college. When she returned, she ended up running her own business, Treasures on the Square, and had an urge to involve herself in the city council.
"I love the city of Greencastle," she said, "I grew up here, its a great place to live, and I plan to raise my kids here and become involved as much as possible."