By Daniel Human
TIPTON — Tipton County Sheriff Frank Fritch’s name has become a common sight on election ballots during the last three decades.
He will step down after five terms in office, which started in 1982, he said Wednesday. He said he plans to retire from law enforcement and spend more time with his family.
“I’ve spent over half my life here,” he said. “I’ve got 32 years of service in.”
Tipton County elected Fritch as sheriff in 1982, ’86, ’94, ’98 and 2006. Indiana law limits sheriffs to serving two consecutive terms.
Fritch, a Democrat, originally intended to step down before the 2006 election. But when Democratic sheriff candidate Matt Thompson died in a vehicle accident during his campaign, Fritch stepped back into the race.
Three candidates applied Wednesday, the first day to do so, to run for sheriff in the May 4 primary election.
The applicants included:
• Democrat Harley “Butch” Groover, a captain for the Tipton County Sheriff’s Department.
• Democrat Matthew Tebbe, a deputy for the sheriff’s department.
• Republican John Moses, a sergeant for the Tipton Police Department.
Groover, who has worked in law enforcement for 33 years, changed to a Democrat after he ran as a Republican in 2006.
He doesn’t plan to make any drastic changes to the department if he is elected, he said. His top priorities would be hiring a full-time detective and improving the county’s domestic violence prevention program.
Moses, who has worked in law enforcement for 24 years, said he plans to keep his platform similar to the one he used when he ran for sheriff in ’06.
“I wanted to [run] a second time. It was so close the first time,” he said.
His first goal would be to update the sheriff’s department’s technology if he is elected.
Tebbe did not return a voicemail message left at his office Wednesday afternoon.
Fritch said he does not plan to publicly endorse any of the candidates.
• Daniel Human is a Kokomo Tribune staff writer. He can be reached at 765-454-8570 or at daniel.human@kokomotribune.com.
