Tyler Wade tries to retain 4th Ward City Council seat

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Tyler Wade, a lifelong Greencastle resident and current Fourth Ward city councilman, is seeking election to his first four-year Council stint on the Republican ticket in the May 5 city primary election.

"I grew up on the city's south side, in the same house four generations of relatives called home," Wade said. "My great grandparents, Cliff and Dorothy Monnett, owned and operated Monnett's Market.

"Greencastle is where I graduated from high school in 2008 and it is the place I returned after earning degrees from Wabash College and Miami University," Wade added. "Greencastle is where my family lives and where I go to church. After I accepted a position in the Wabash Admissions Office, I had the choice to move. But I did not because Greencastle is home."

Wade, 25, was appointed to the Fourth Ward Council seat last fall after T.J. Smith resigned.

"From the moment I took office in October," he said, "I have spent hours meeting with constituents, business leaders, department heads and city officials learning firsthand the hopes and fears of Greencastle residents.

"As a newcomer to the City Council, I have a lot to learn in a short amount of time. But with energy and passion for my hometown, I am excited at how far I have come in the last few months and energized at where we can take this city in the future.

"Time and again, a new generation of individuals has stepped up to build a better tomorrow," he said. "These last eight years have seen tremendous development in infrastructure. We now have a downtown on the precipice of revitalization, quality of life improvements in expanding parks and multi-use trails, and a partnership with DePauw University that is stronger than it has ever been. These accomplishments are fantastic. We should celebrate how far we have come since the departure of IBM in the late 1980s."

And now is the time for a new generation of leaders to shape this city's future, Wade said.

"As the youngest member of the City Council in at least four decades, I am uniquely positioned and anxious to identify, develop and encourage the leaders of tomorrow. I recognize I do not have all the answers. But we have a lot of talented people here in Greencastle who do have the answers and we need to get those folks together."

The candidate said education, economic development and financial responsibility are the biggest challenges the city faces.

"Changes to the tax code in the state legislature, health insurance and inflation have put the city in a difficult position," Wade noted. "We need to be creative and identify ways to cut costs and generate revenue so we can balance our budget, making the same tough choices that hardworking Hoosier families face every day.

"With DePauw, Ivy Tech, Area 30 and the Greencastle Community School Corporation, we are blessed with outstanding educational institutions. Let's commit to getting these parties together with business owners and community leaders to establish goals for workforce development. Attracting the right mix of jobs and families is vital.

"We just need to make sure we tell the Greencastle story."

Wade says he sees a Greencastle that is "on the edge of something awesome."

"With passion, courage and common sense, we can be the next great city," he said. "We can attract families and businesses that seek to balance small-town living with easy access to Indianapolis, Bloomington, Lafayette and Terre Haute.

"No one will work harder to build relationships, bring people together and chart the course for our city's future," he offered. "I promise to build a better tomorrow for all who call Greencastle their home."