by 

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

A group called Save the Nickel Plate Road has officially filed as a Political Action Committee (PAC) for the May 8 Republican primary election. The purpose is to elect five slated candidates pledged to work toward saving the Nickel Plate Railroad through Hamilton County. Save the Nickel Plate has a public rally scheduled for April 12 beginning at 6 p.m. at the Mill Top Conference Center, 802 Mulberry St. in Noblesville. The event is open to the public for refreshments and music.

During the program the organization’s endorsed candidates will be introduced. They are: Brad Beaver, candidate for State Representative; Matt Milam, for County Commissioner; Fred Glynn and Mark Hall for County Council and Brian Baehl for Fall Creek Township Board. There is no admission charge, but donations of $20 will be accepted. Officers of the PAC are Joshua Spencer, chairman, and Mike Bowen, treasurer. They filed their organization forms on March 9.

The community debate over the future of the rail line has been ongoing for about a year. Current plans determined by city and county officials include converting the railroad to a pedestrian and bike greenway south from Noblesville to 96th Street, and maintaining the tracks north of the city for excursion train travel planned by the County Tourism Bureau.

Slating candidates for elective office has a controversial history in Hamilton County, and has had mixed results on Election Day. Back in the late 1960s an organization was formed with the intent to changing the composition of the Board of County Commissioners. It was successful except that the winners betrayed the slate organizers after election thus causing great controversy.

Then in the 1980s the Republican Party organization tried slating. It was the first and only time the party tried to influence the outcome in the primary election. The attempt failed, and has not be tried since.