By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — Heather James is one step closer to becoming Winona Lake’s next clerk-treasurer.

She won the 2023 GOP primary over incumbent Laurie Renier by getting 346 out of the 509 votes cast or 67.98%.

Heather James

James currently serves Ward 4 on the Winona Lake Town Council, having first been caucused in to the seat in 2017.

She’s lived in Winona Lake since 2008. James is married to Chad James, and they have four children.

She couldn’t be reached as of press time Tuesday for comment, but in response to a series of questions InkFreeNews posed to both clerk-treasurer candidates before the primary, James said her vision for the office for the next four years if elected was “to create a positive environment with structure, transparency and clear communication.”

“To promote transparency and share relevant information with the residents, I would like to create a newsletter to be distributed on a regular basis. I will work to build strong relationships with the town departments and continue working with the council to maintain the reputation of Winona Lake,” she also said in her question response.