Commissioners Make Appointments, Question Matt Miller’s Political Affiliation

This week the Marshall County Commissioners made a couple more appointments.

Jeff Kutch has moved out of the county and resigned his position on the Marshall County Board of Zoning Appeals.  The replacement will be Trent Bennett who had previously served on the county BZA.

Debra Haschel recently resigned from the Argos Public Library Board.  Her term would have ended Dec. 31, 2022.  Lacy DeWitt was appointed to complete her term. 

County Auditor Julie Fox told the commissioners there was a question on the politics of Matt Miller who currently sits on the County Board of Health.  Fox said the question was if he was an independent or a Republican.  She said he has only voted in one primary election where you must declare your party.  He pulled a Republican ballot. 

While Mr. Miller is a regular General Election voter, he has only participated in one primary and didn’t vote in the most recent primary.    

The auditor said she wasn’t comfortable in making the determination of Mr. Miller’s political party affiliation.   

The make-up of the County Health Board is determined by State Code.  It says a local board of health is composed of seven members, not more than four of whom may be from the same political party.  The membership of the board must include four people knowledgeable in public health, at least two of whom are licensed physicians.  The other two appointees may be any of the following: registered nurse, registered pharmacist, licensed dentist, hospital administrator, social worker, attorney with expertise in health matters, a school superintendent, a veterinarian, a professional engineer or an environmental scientist.  Also included on the board are two representatives of the general public.  The final member can be another representative of the general public or from the list of those knowledgeable in public health. 

The make-up of the Marshall County Health Board is Dr. Craig Miller (R), Dr. John Larson (R), Dentist Tom Pedavoli (R), Veterinarian Georgette Samuelson (I), and General Public members: Allison Shook (D), Tracy Fox (D) and Matt Miller (R).

The County Commissioners asked County Attorney Jim Clevenger to review the state statute and report back on the political makeup of the board.  They are also interested in how to determine if Mr. Matt Miller is a registered Republican or Independent.