Two Declare GOP intentions for Mayor
By Stacey Creasy
Pilot News
PLYMOUTH � Two Republicans have made it official: They want to be mayor of Plymouth.
Monday was the day former Plymouth fire chief Wayne Smith and current Plymouth City Council member Ken Lukenbill officially announced their candidacies for the Re-publican nomination for mayor.
�The No. 1 reason I�m making my announcement today is to stop all the rumors,� Smith said during a press conference Monday.
Smith said his previously-reported decision to run for mayor is nothing new. If former mayor Jack Greenlee would not have run in 1995, Smith was going to run then.
As a good Republican, he stood aside rather than have an intraparty squabble.
This time around Smith had known was going to run for about a year.
�I�ve had a tremendous response from the public to run for mayor,� said Smith.
He cited family members, relatives, friends and people in the community as among those to encourage him to run for office.
Smith believes there are a number of problems facing the city including the budget, crime and communication.
Smith knows the next mayor is going to need to work with the council to make tough economic decisions.
He also knows various crimes are on the rise in the city and there have been communication problems between city employees, department heads and the administration.
Smith served on the Plymouth Fire Department for nearly 30 years, almost 20 years as chief.
During his years on the force Smith had taken about every type of training in the book and had passed that knowledge on to younger firefighters.
He was also instrumental in moving Celebration fireworks out of the city.
Smith also spent five years with the Marshall County Probation office as a volunteer probation officer and belongs to a number of local clubs.
Smith said he and his wife made a decision more than 30 years ago to make Plymouth their home.
He raised two children here and believes he is qualified to lead the city as mayor.
Lukenbill said he has taken a great deal of time making the decision whether or not to run for the GOP nomination.
�I finally decided to make the run,� Lukenbill said Mon-day.
Lukenbill has been one of the council members bringing the city budget to the forefront.
He believes the mayor should be actively involved in the city�s finances and build a consensus among council members and department heads to reduce spending, set priorities and maintain the high quality of service to the citizens of Plymouth.
Lukenbill, 59, has lived in Plymouth since 1972. He married his wife Penny in 1975. They have one son, Adam, who attends Purdue.
Lukenbill is a local attorney who has served four terms on the city council.
He is a former Indiana Deputy Attorney General and works with several church and charity organizations in the area.
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