April 4, 2018 at 5:30 p.m.
Johnson to fill seat on Hope Town Council
Ed Johnson, a Democrat, will fill the Ward 1 seat on the Town Council being vacated by long-time council member Jonathan Titus, who decided not to see re-election.
Johnson, 74, is a lifelong resident of Hope who graduated from Hauser High School. He is married to Barb and has four children and six grandchildren. He retires from the city of Shelbyville as a building commissioner after seven years. Previously he was a building inspector for the city of Columbus and Bartholomew County for 15 years and a building code instructor for the state of Indiana for 15 yeas. He served as volunteer fire chief in Hartsville for 30 years.
Hobbies?
This year my hobbies have been to renovate half of the Yellow Trail Museum in Hope. And also during that period of time I took on the job of helping the Hope Fire Department finish their fire department. We own a farm, and I'm trying to keep that going. I don't farm; I just pull weeds and keep the buildings up. I'm also restoring tractors we've owned.
What brought you to politics?
I've always been involved with politics. I've been precinct committeeman and then I went into being involved with the advisory board to the trustee in Hawcreek Township for many years, probably 30 to 40 years. It's been a long time.
What defines your approach to politics, and serving the Hope community?
I would like to make Hope a better place to live. I would like to also get some small and large businesses established in Hope to keep it a surprising little town.
Without getting too political, what are one or two things you would like voters to know about you and your platform?
I will listen to people. I will try to do what's best for the town of Hope and the people I serve.
What do you hope to accomplish while in office?
One of the things I would like to clean up some of the trash and get better control on weeds to increase the values of properties people own. Also, the main thing is I would like to see growth in the business sector and make Hope a comfortable place for them and make them successful. I would like to see growth in the residential sector. If you have growth in business you will have grown in residential also. I'd like to make Hope a nice place to bring young people in and help the schools to grow. Keep it so it is a good place for people to live and serve in the community.[[In-content Ad]]
