Kosciusko County GOP coroner candidates Tracy Cutler-Wilson, left, and Tyler Huffer answered questions during the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce Candidate Forum on Wednesday, April 24, at Warsaw City Hall. They are running in the Tuesday, May 7, primary. InkFreeNews photo by Leah Sander.

By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — Tracy Cutler-Wilson and Tyler Huffer shared on Wednesday, April 24, why they should be chosen by voters as Kosciusko County coroner.

The two, both running as Republicans in the Tuesday, May 7, primary, answered four questions posed by area media representatives during the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce’s Candidate Forum at Warsaw City Hall. InkFreeNews Editor Deb Patterson was one of those giving questions to Cutler-Wilson and Huffer, who had 90 seconds to answer each one.

The two first answered the question: “Please introduce yourself and tell why you are running for office.”

“I just have compassion for that job, taking care of the families in one of their most uncomfortable, unexpected moments in their life,” said Cutler-Wilson. “I just want to continue to do the job, get back into the office and continue to do the job that I had done for quite a number of years and take care of the families of Kosciusko County.”

Huffer said he was “born and raised here in Kosciusko County.”

“I live on Chapman Lake,” he said. “I was previously a township trustee and township board member for Plain Township.”

“I was elected by the Kosciusko County Republican Party to serve as county coroner,” Huffer added. “The reason why I am running for office is to be able to continue the good work we’re doing in our office. We’ve made many improvements and many changes that needed to happen.”

Huffer said his deputy coroners had helped him with those changes.

“We have implemented policies and procedures, and I want to be able to continue to make the improvements that are needed to make the coroner’s office the best it can be for Kosciusko County,” he said. “We are making good changes and those are the reasons why I want to see myself be elected again to continue those improvements.”

The second question Cutler-Wilson and Huffer answered was: “What do you believe are the skill sets needed to effectively manage the coroner’s office?”

“We have recently improved our coroner’s office by getting internet to our main office. We did not have internet prior,” said Huffer. “We are currently consolidating our two offices into one … (That is to have) better communication amongst all staff members, not just myself, but our clerk for our office and deputy coroners. Also we now all have county emails, so we have made improvements in communications.”

“Along those lines, we have digitized our case management system … for calls that we get,” he added. “We have improved management that way. We also have streamlined our office by improving communication amongst not just our office, but the prosecutor’s office, NET43, along with all law enforcement agencies that ask for access to our coroner reports.”

Cutler-Wilson said she thought a skill set needed was “clear and decisive communications.”

“I believe all parties involved in the office need to understand each other clearly, understand what the roles are, how to handle the cases that come in with the deputy coroners, make sure that it doesn’t depend on the person going out and handling the case, that all cases are handled the same way, no matter who is going out there, with the same care and compassion from one person to the next,” she said.

The third question for coroner candidates was: “What ideas or policies will you implement to continue the improvement process in the coroner’s office for the good of the Kosciusko County taxpayers?”

Cutler-Wilson said she didn’t know what had been changed in the coroner’s office since she’d last served as deputy coroner in 2022.

“I do believe that there is grant money out there to help offset some of the cost of our taxpayers for the county, and I would like to see that continue no matter who is in the office,” she said.

Huffer said when he started as coroner in January 2023 he “met with all the deputy coroners to see what they wanted to see improved.”

“We implemented that month policies and procedures. We worked with other county coroners’ offices to get these policies and procedures to put them into place,” he said. “We’ve also sought grant money and (received it).”

He said the office had received more than $3,000 “in free products from the state health department.”

The two also answered the final question of: “Why are you the best candidate for this position?”

Huffer said he was a better candidate due to maintaining consistency and continuing “improvements that have been made.”

Cutler-Wilson said she was a better candidate due to “experience.”

“I have probably 17,18 more years of experience in the office of doing cases, attending autopsies, looking at toxicology reports,” she said. “I’ve spent 20 years as a paramedic on an ambulance … A lot of the medical issues or traumatic issues that our deceased have, I’m familiar with, seen it, heard it, know where to go to look if I don’t understand the disease process.”

“I’ve been in communication with all our doctors in the county,” Cutler-Wilson continued. “I’ve worked with NET43 in the past. I’ve worked with all policing agencies in the past. I just think it comes down to experience and care and compassion for our families. I believe the coroner’s job is a twofold aspect. You take care of the deceased, and you also take care of their loved ones that are left behind.”

“Previous cases from 10 years ago, I’m still in contact with those families because we’ve made such a big impact in their lives at (the time of) their most desperate, awful need,” she said.

People may view the livestream from the forum by going to https://bit.ly/koscandidateforum.