Veteran, former KFD employee chosen to fil council vacancy

Jun. 15—A local veteran and former Kokomo Fire Department employee will fill the recently vacated District 1 Kokomo City Council seat.

Dave Capshaw was elected by Howard County Republican precinct committee members Monday night at a party caucus, according to a press release. He was sworn in Tuesday and will serve through 2024.

Capshaw is a political newcomer, though he has spent the majority of his life serving the public in one way or another.

He enlisted in the United States Navy on Aug. 27, 1968, serving for four years. He then joined KFD, retiring after 20 years. He also worked as a service repairman for Sears.

More recently, Capshaw served as the state Veterans of Foreign Wars commander from 2019 to 2021, the first Kokomo resident to do so. It's that job, managing a multi-million dollar budget for its 60,000 members, that he said has at prepared him somewhat for the duties of a council member. The city council's primary jobs are to create ordinances and pass the city's annual budget.

He told the Tribune Tuesday he chose to put his hat in the ring for the District 1 seat after he was encouraged by some to do so.

"I'm looking forward to starting a new chapter in my life," Capshaw said. "I never really thought of being in an elected office, but this opportunity came up, and I thought I'd do it."

Capshaw will serve the remainder of Jason Acord's term. Acord resigned late last month after it was discovered he did not actually live in District 1. The Tribune confirmed that Capshaw's residence on North Purdum Street is in District 1.

Capshaw was noncommittal when asked if he planned on running for the same seat in 2024.

"We'll see how the next year and a half go," he said.

Acord's resignation marked the third resignation from the city council since 2020.

In January 2020, Republican Greg Jones resigned from the City Council less than three weeks into his term after bigoted Facebook posts he made in 2015 were discovered, in which he called Muslims "Goat-Humpers" and referred to Islam as "a Theocratic Moon Cult." Jones apologized for the posts and told the Tribune at the time he no longer espouses those opinions.

Councilman Roger Stewart, R-District 4, was elected by local GOP precinct committee members to replace Jones. Shortly thereafter Stewart faced backlash from national Muslim civil rights organization Council on American-Islamic Relations after it became know he, too, shared anti-Muslim posts on his Facebook page.

In one of the posts, Stewart shared a post in February 2019 that read: "I refuse to bend, twist or change to make Muslims feel comfortable in MY COUNTRY. They either adhere to our laws or leave! THIS IS MY COUNTRY! Understood???"

Stewart also shared a post that called anyone who took the Oath of Office on a Quran, the holy book of Islam, as a traitor, accompanied by a photo of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota, who is Muslim.

Stewart apologized for the Facebook posts but refused to resign.

Last July, longtime Councilperson Cindy Sanders resigned after suffering a stroke. Former Kokomo Police officer Greg Davis was elected shortly after by party precinct committee members to serve the remainder of Sanders' term.

Tyler Juranovich can be reached at 765-454-8577, by email at tyler.juranovich@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @tylerjuranovich.

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