Tuesday evening the Marshall County Republican Party elected a new Sheriff to replace Tom Chamberlin who passed away after a long battle with cancer.
The six candidates were each given three minutes in front of precinct committee members to tell why they would be a good sheriff for Marshall County.
Twenty-four of the twenty-six precinct committee men and women were at the caucus to help vote in the process of electing a new sheriff.
After the first round of voting Dave Holmes said, no one was even close on getting the majority of votes. After the second round of voting the two lowest vote getters, Duane Culp and Ward Byers were dropped from the ballot. Following the third round of voting John Karris and Neal Wallace were dropped from the ballot leaving Dan Butt and Matt Hassel. The final round of voting ended with Hassel receiving the majority of the votes and being elected Sheriff of Marshall County.
During his speech before the precinct committee members Hassel said, “I believe I’m qualified to be the next sheriff. I’m a 49 year resident of Marshall County, graduated from Bremen High School and
I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Indiana State University.”
Hassel, the current Chief of the Bremen Police Department said, “I’m uniquely qualified to serve as sheriff because the last 14 years I have successfully lead and managed an entire police department and dispatch center serving as the Chief Executive Officer, Chief of Police for the town of Bremen.”
Hassel’s career in public service spans 34 years. In 1981 he started at the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department and has 31 years in the Bremen Police Department. He also has been on the Marshall County Council for 20 years and a vice-precinct committee member in German Township for 16 years.
Matt Hassel said his goals as Sheriff will include reviewing the current practices and policies with a goal of implementing changes if needed to ensure safety and professionalism and efficiency. He also said he would complete the Marshall County Central Dispatch Center for all emergency services in Marshall County that meets the dispatching needs at a reasonable and fair rate for all. Hassel also would like to implement community oriented policing programs and engage in crime and incident prevention programs.
Matt Hassel will immediately resign his position on the County Council and serve as Sheriff of Marshall County through 2018. A swearing-in ceremony will be held Wednesday morning in the courthouse and another caucus will be held in a few weeks to select his replacement as District 1 county council member.
