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GOP surveyor race has familiar candidates

Jay Poe (left) and Marlin Doctor.
Jay Poe (left) and Marlin Doctor. Photos provided.

If the candidates for county surveyor on the Republican primary ticket look familiar, that's because they are.

The Jay Poe-Marlin "Monty" Doctor matchup is a repeat from 2010, which ended with incumbent Poe returning to the surveyor's office.

Poe, 55, is now in his 24th year as Huntington County surveyor. A 1976 graduate of Huntington North High School, he earned a bachelor of Science in land surveying from Purdue University in 1980. He has also taken and taught many continuing education courses.
He has served on the county's drainage board, plan commission and development plan committee.

Poe is a member of Central Christian Church, in Huntington, and maintains memberships in local, state and national professional organizations.

Doctor, 54, is a farmer and small business owner. He is a graduate of Huntington North High School and holds an associate's degree.

He is a former president of the Huntington County Community School Corporation board of trustees.

Doctor is a member of St. John's Lutheran Church and is active in Big Brothers Big Sisters.

The surveyor serves a four-year term, and there is no limit to the number of consecutive terms.

A surveyor prepares and maintains legal survey records. The surveyor also supervises all legal ditch construction and serves as an ex officio member of the county drainage board and county plan commission.

Each candidate was asked, "Why are you seeking, or seeking to retain, this office? If you are elected, what do you hope to accomplish?"

Here are their answers:

Poe: "A county surveyor works mainly on drainage projects, but also works on developments and deals with ever-changing rules and regulations and our senators' and representatives' attempts to help with matters in the county.

"The largest issue is drainage. As a licensed professional surveyor, I do the surveying, design, staking and construction documents for drainage projects, keeping costs down. If an unlicensed person is elected, Indiana Code requires a licensed professional surveyor to be hired to do drainage projects, with this added cost passed on to the property owners in the watershed. During my tenure as Huntington County surveyor, the Drainage Board has never hired a consultant for this type of work.

"When developers come to Huntington County with their engineers and surveyors, I review the plans for the Plan Commission. Huntington County doesn't give this type of work to consultants like many of our surrounding counties.

"It should be obvious that I can deal with senators and representatives and the state administration. I just convinced them to vote for us to receive $30 million to rebuild CR 900N.

"I believe I have used my credentials and experience to produce results. Example 1: I went to County Council for 18 months in a row to educate them on the need and value of GIS mapping. They gave the money for the project, and our GIS is now used by cities and towns, farmers, contractors, Realtors, bankers, insurance agents, homeowners, economic development professionals, etc. By the way, Sen. Harold Wheeler gave me a check from the state of Indiana for $100,000 for our GIS project, and we obtained grants to cover half of its initial costs.

"Example 2: I was asked by the commissioners to try to get some money to help improve CR 900N. We were just given $30 million to do the work.

"I realize change is everywhere. Software changes, technology changes, state and federal requirements change, expectations change, etc. If your elected officials don't give proven results, they should change too. I believe my credentials and experience have been used to produce proven results. That's probably why the Upstate Alliance of Realtors Inc. has endorsed my campaign.

"I'm asking for your vote so that I may try to continue to provide the citizens of Huntington County with proven results."

Doctor: "I want to bring honesty, integrity, openness to the office; work with people, not against them; stop the practice of clear cutting ditches; and give the people of Huntington a choice."