Ronald Louis ‘Rocky’ Hession
Age: 65
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Education: Central Catholic High School, degree in computer programming with a certificate in bookkeeping. I was certified by the IRS as a registered tax return preparer in 2012.
Occupation: Currently 1) Bookkeeper – Fairfield Township 4 years; 2) Fresh Thyme Deli Clerk – 11 years; 3) Income tax preparer – H&R BLOCK – 26 years; 4) Spouse is self-employed with in-home day care, assisted her for 30 years.
Are you originally from somewhere other than Tippecanoe County? Born and raised here in Lafayette.
What made you want to run for Fairfield Township trustee?
I’ve been training for it for almost eight years.The trustee is entrusted to allocate resources to those in need within the confines of state statutes. They are not to look at them as funds to be used as they want, or for their own gain.
The upheaval that occurred while I was on the board demonstrated what kind of damage can be done by the person with the wrong objectives. I have appreciated being part of the rebuilding since that person resigned. I want to continue the work that has been accomplished by Monica Casanova, the current trustee.
Economic issues came about when Senate Bill 1 was pushed through by Gov. Mike Braun. This is causing a gradually increasing reduction in revenue for the next few years. On top of that the legislature passed a law at the same time which mandated the transfer of 30% of unused funds, which goes to the county for the repair of bridges and roads.
There are already funds allocated for this in the state budget. This means taking money meant to help people and/or to use on repairs or just general maintenance. It essentially means the advantage of having a rainy-day fund; it becomes an open game to be taken by outside interests, instead of having a fund for emergencies. It shows that the current administration does not really care about the people who are experiencing the adverse effects of their legislation because it strips money for things already funded by another source.
The cost of living is rising, and the amount of money that we are spending to assist residents has tripled. The Republicans have a super majority in the legislature. At a time when child-care expenses are climbing, the state is working to reduce day-care assistance, something I see the effects of through talking and working with parents of children my wife transports and takes care of. This is an expense that single parents have a hard time covering, and the state has reduced the ability for people to qualify for this. This is at a time when the state has so much money. It is being held onto when people are facing real needs that are hard to overcome.
Those are just a number of the things that have pushed me to run.
What are some of your major goals, should you be elected?
Reduce costs of the township. I am planning on reducing the salary of the trustee to the lowest allowed by law. We have been running over budget and that needs to end and reserves need to be protected for the future.
The number of townships in Tippecanoe County will be reduced from 13 to six or seven (my estimate). That means most likely we will be absorbing one or two other townships. It is expected that we will absorb township(s) with volunteer fire department(s). This will transform us. Wabash Township has recovered from a battle with a former trustee. It has added an ambulance to its vehicles and they would be a good template of organization to pattern after as we move forward with these events.
Why should people vote for you?
I believe that I am the most qualified person simply because of the events of the last eight years. I had a crash course in how a township should and shouldn’t function. Our former trustee, who pleaded guilty, was convicted, has served her time and is now paying back the funds stolen while she was in office. I have initiated the creation of the last two budgets and am currently working on the 2027 budget. In the next couple of months, Monica and I will work together to finalize this, to be given to the board for approval.
Why do you think township government is important?
The township provides rental, utility, pharmacy and in some times transportation assistance through City Bus passes.
We maintain Greenbush Cemetery. We work together with the Historical Association to preserve the history of the people who helped with the creation of Lafayette, including the gravesite of William Digby, the founder of Lafayette.
We provide cremations and internment of people who could not afford burial. Greenbush Cemetery is no longer able to have burials but the mausoleum in the center has undergone renovations and can now hold cremation urns. We keep the cost of this down by having contracts with qualified mortuaries in Lafayette.
We provide assistance to the Lafayette Fire Department with the purchase of equipment that has been outside the city budget. In return, LFD has provided services for the unincorporated areas in Fairfield Township. We are about to purchase a new tanker truck to be used at LFD Station No. 5. This is to replace a truck over 25 years old.
What do you think is currently working well in Fairfield Township?
I think the township is working very well as a whole, but there is a need for improvement. We have rectified some of the problems that have been neglected by the former trustee, but that has been just the beginning.
Is there anything you are hoping to change about Fairfield Township?
The state has decided to consolidate townships, and I agree that this needs to be done, for economic and logistical reasons. What the shape of it will be is yet to be seen. Change is coming, in a bigger way than normal, and we need to be ready for it. The demand for assistance is growing. The legislature will continue to make changes, and we have to be ready to adapt to it.
We really need to educate the public at large as to the role the township serves. We are actually a part of the county government that assist and co-exist with the city government, much like the city and county police departments do.
Townships are a relatively obscure and not well-known system of government. How does that play into your goals as trustee?
It plays directly into our existence, for Fairfield, Wea and Wabash especially. We share most of the Twin Cities in our boundaries. For people to appreciate what we do, they must see what we do. That is a very difficult task.
Communication and creation of trust is essential between the city and county governments. When I faced writing the resolution that became the template for removing the former trustee from office, I worked with several Republicans who gave their time and support to adopting the resolutions that were needed. They did that knowing that the problem was something that put a black eye, by association, on all agencies. These persons assisted Fairfield and Wabash townships, and we have tried to honor that assistance by not forgetting that we needed to respect the duties and positions that we have.
Do you believe there should be greater public and state oversight for township government?
It is important to remember that the laws when they are written and presented rarely retain their original structure.
For example, two bills were presented in the General Assembly; one from the House and one from the Senate. The House bill wanted to eliminate townships (except in Marion County) altogether. The Senate bill called for consolidation of townships and was written and presented by a former township trustee. Both bills passed their respective assemblies. However, the Senate bill increased from their original draft of 14 pages to a final version of 57. Elements of the House bill were written into the Senate bill. This incorporates good actions from both, making it stronger and better.
I agree that there is a great need for oversight, but that is true of all aspects of government. We see stories of people in all areas of government misusing the trust that they are given. It is up to the voters to be more judicious and thoughtful in considering who they ultimately place in these positions of trust.
Have recent controversies in Tippecanoe County townships affected your campaign and goals? If so, how?
Yes, but no matter what it is because I was in the middle of one that my continued focus is to serve the people whom I represent in the best way that I can. It has given me a realization of how quickly things can go wrong.
When I ran for the Fairfield Township board in 2018, I didn’t have a clear idea as to how the government ran. I was driven by a desire to give back to a community that I grew up in, of which I am a fourth-generation resident. I have worked for eight years to learn, understand and represent this community. That is why I ask for your vote.
Theodore ‘Ted’ Charles Hardesty
Age: 26
Party affiliation: Democrat
Education: Bachelor’s degrees in brain and behavioral sciences and political dcience from Purdue University (2023)
Occupation: Mental health crisis professional
Are you originally from somewhere other than Tippecanoe County?
I am originally from Beech Grove, Indiana, a small city within Indianapolis. I came to Purdue in 2018 and fell in love with the Greater Lafayette community.
What made you want to run for Fairfield Township trustee?
I decided to run for Fairfield Township trustee because the trustee position provides a unique opportunity to join public service with direct support. One of the primary duties of township government is the administration of financial assistance programs. As a child, my family relied heavily on similar programs in order to stay afloat. I understand firsthand that these programs aren’t a handout, they’re a life raft. Given the state of the economy, the budgetary cuts coming due to Senate Bill 1, and federal budget cuts, I want to do everything I can to ensure that the most vulnerable in our community are getting the services they need.
What are some of your major goals should you be elected?
One of my biggest goals as trustee is to make sure that we continue to build toward becoming an information hub for community resources. We, as a community, are incredibly fortunate to have so many wonderful service providers, but I’ve seen in my current professional role that many people across our community are often not aware of them. I want to make sure that the trustee’s office is a place where people can come to find resources, both in person and digitally. Working to pair those in need with resources and giving them the tools to seek out resources themselves is not just the morally right thing to do — it’s the best thing for our community. When community members are efficiently paired with resources, that means our tax dollars are being used efficiently.
Why should people vote for you?
In short, I have professional experience in local government, I have professional experience in social services, and I’m passionate about the work of a trustee. Many see local government positions as cushy jobs where you can put your feet up and feel good about yourself because you have a title. That’s simply not who I am. When I was on the West Lafayette City Council, I fought for my constituents. I called out landlords who were abusing the rights of their tenants, and I then wrote and passed legislation to counter that behavior. I publicly called for the resignation of Purdue’s dean of students and helped lead a protest movement against her and other Purdue administrators after they were found guilty of violating the rights of a sexual violence survivor. I’m not in politics for the game — I’m in it because I care about my community and everyone in it.
Why do you think township government is important?
Township government is incredibly important. It provides hands-on, one-on-one services that no other form of government provides, in my opinion. Let me give you an interesting example. When people think about townships in Indiana, they generally imagine either financial assistance programs or fire protection. However, there are a plethora of other services that the township oversees. If a citizen, at the time of their death, leaves no money for funeral or burial expenses, the township trustee has the ability to step in and cover those costs. Lafayette has a large homeless population. Many of these individuals die with almost nothing to their name and are not claimed by people with the means to pay for burial. The trustee’s office can step in and give these people the dignity they deserve. This is hands-on care — not bureaucratic hoops from a state or federal agency, but direct support from the head of township government.
What do you think is currently working well in Fairfield Township?
This may sound cliché, but it’s the truth: One of the things that’s working best in Fairfield Township is its community connectedness. I’ve lived and worked in numerous communities throughout Indiana, and I’ve never found a place as passionate about supporting their neighbors, staying in touch with their history, and supporting local businesses as the Lafayette community. We have so many amazing resources in this community and so many people eager to help, but like most communities, we often don’t coordinate efficiently.
Is there anything you are hoping to change about Fairfield Township?
If I could fix problems with a snap of my fingers, there are many things I would address in Fairfield Township, including the housing shortage, rising costs, and the addiction crisis. As an administrative office, we don’t have the ability to pass legislation to eliminate these problems. However, what we can do is act in an efficient and compassionate manner that chips away at each of them. We can work through asset management to increase the number of beds in our community. We help our neighbors with rental and utility assistance in their time of need. We can be a place where people go to learn about services that could better — and potentially save — their lives.
Townships are a relatively obscure and not well known system of government. How does that play into your goals as trustee?
Townships are certainly an obscure form of government. Most people have no idea what a trustee does, and many don’t even know that the office exists. One of the primary duties of the township trustee’s office is the administration of financial assistance programs, as has been mentioned previously. I want the trustee’s office to be an information hub for community resources. In order to help as many people as possible through these programs, people first need to know we exist. The obscurity of the position makes outreach critical. I don’t believe it’s adequate to just sit back and let people come to us; we need to be out in the community talking about our services.
Do you believe there should be greater public and state oversight for township government?
There should absolutely be greater oversight of township government. The criminal cases against two former Tippecanoe County–based trustees are clear evidence of that. Since township government is relatively obscure, to use a phrase from earlier, there generally isn’t the same level of public pressure applied to it as there is to other forms of government. This can lead to errors, inefficiencies, and even malicious behavior going unchecked.
Have recent controversies in Tippecanoe County townships affected your campaign and goals? If so, how?
Past controversies have reinforced one of my goals as trustee. I believe that local leaders need to be active in their communities, no matter their position or stage in the political cycle. Community engagement for a candidate shouldn’t end after they win. If your tax dollars are going toward my salary as a public official, then I need to be out in the community talking with you about how those dollars are being used. We should consistently be out in the community building trust. While I would be committed to this principle regardless of the context of the office, local township scandals have highlighted why trust-building is so important. I think Monica and Angel have done a terrific job engaging with the community following the failures of their predecessors, and I want to continue to follow their example.
Ray Dwayne Williams II
Age: 28
Party Affiliation: Republican
Education Bachelor’s degree from Bethel University, applied political science
Occupation: Government administration/safety
Are you originally from somewhere other than Tippecanoe County?
Yes, I grew up in Illinois for most of my childhood living in a small town called Montgomery.
What made you want to run for Fairfield Township trustee?
I am running for trustee because I have seen firsthand what happens when leadership fails, and the real cost our community pays for it. I served during a time when corruption cast a shadow over our county, and I will never forget what it felt like to represent a place I love while it carried that burden.
But this campaign is not about the past; it is about what we choose to do next.
For too long, we have settled for less than what our community deserves. Families are still living in conditions no Hoosier should have to endure. Our growth is outpacing our planning, and when our community needed strong leadership to rise to the moment, it simply has not been there.
I refuse to accept that this is the best we can do.
This is my home. These are my neighbors, my friends and my family. I believe deeply in this community, because I know the strength, resilience, and character of the people who live here.
Now is the time to match that strength with leadership that serves, protects and prepares us for the future.
I am ready to bring experience, accountability and a clear vision to Fairfield Township. But real change does not happen alone. It takes all of us to choose to expect more, demand better and build something we can be proud of.
Serving the people you live alongside is one of the greatest honors there is — and I am ready to do that together.
What are some of your major goals should you be elected?
My first priority is simple: get our budget under control without raising taxes a single dime.
We must prepare for the future while continuing to serve every Hoosier who is eligible for township assistance. No one will be left behind. At the same time, we will build a budget rooted in discipline, cutting waste, not what matters.
That means reducing unnecessary expenses, restructuring where needed, and ensuring every dollar serves the residents of Fairfield Township effectively and efficiently.
My second priority is just as critical: the future of township government.
With growing discussions around consolidation, we cannot afford to sit back — we must lead. These decisions will shape our community for years to come, and we need a strong voice at the table.
That means working with legislators, county commissioners and township leaders across the state. I’ve already begun that work, building relationships both in Indianapolis and here at home.
If we act early and make our voices heard, Fairfield Township will not be overlooked; it will be represented with strength and purpose.
Why should people vote for you?
I’m not asking people to vote for me, Ray Williams, as much as I’m asking them to vote for an idea, for themselves. I believe the power of government should rest in the hands of the people, and that government exists to serve them.
If elected, my goal is not to dismiss what people want or tell them their concerns aren’t necessary. Instead, I want to listen, understand why those concerns matter, and work to address them in ways that are practical, efficient and responsible.
When someone steps into the voting booth and sees the name Ray Williams, I want it to feel as if they’re seeing their own. Because this campaign is about ensuring every Hoosier not only has a voice, but a real seat at the table.
This is about representation in its truest form — a government that listens, responds and works alongside the people it serves.
Why do you think township government is important?
Townships have meant different things to each community and each generation throughout their history in Indiana. Even here in Tippecanoe County, every township faces its own challenges and approaches services like fire protection and township assistance in its own way.
In Fairfield Township, these responsibilities remain essential. For residents in unincorporated areas, township funding helps ensure access to reliable fire protection, something that is absolutely critical for public safety. For those living in incorporated areas, the top priority is often township assistance.
Providing both services is vital to the strength of our community. Fire protection safeguards the physical well-being of our neighbors, while township assistance provides the financial support people need during difficult times. Without it, families could face homelessness or instability that puts children at risk.
Together, these services ensure that our community remains safe, stable, and compassionate, looking out for neighbors when they need it most.
What do you think is currently working well in Fairfield Township?
I believe Fairfield Township has a lot going for it. It has reestablished a strong relationship with the city of Lafayette, which is a crucial component of the township’s overall functionality.
That partnership helps ensure better coordination of services, stronger communication and more efficient use of resources. When the township and city work together, residents benefit from more consistent support, whether it’s public safety, infrastructure or assistance programs.
Maintaining and continuing to strengthen this relationship will be key to keeping Fairfield Township moving in the right direction and serving the community effectively.
Is there anything you are hoping to change about Fairfield Township?
I want to make Fairfield Township no longer Lafayette’s best-kept secret. My goal is to build an office where constituents know they can turn to us for help, no matter where that help ultimately comes from.
Through my experience working in a congressional office and as a legislative assistant in the Indiana Statehouse, I’ve learned how to connect people with the resources they need and ensure no one falls through the cracks.
I plan to expand outreach by using social media and building stronger partnerships with local businesses and nonprofits. By increasing awareness of what our office can do, we can make sure those in need know where to turn.
Fairfield Township should be visible, accessible, and responsive; an office that people trust to show up and help when it matters most.
Townships are a relatively obscure and not well known system of government. How does that play into your goals as trustee?
Townships are often obscure, and that lack of visibility, combined with past instances of scandal and corruption, has led some to see them as a target for reducing government. But the reality is that townships play an important role in communities across our state.
That’s exactly why transparency and awareness matter. If people don’t understand what townships do, it becomes harder to build trust or demonstrate their value. We need to be clear about what townships are responsible for and how they serve residents.
Increasing public understanding won’t happen overnight, but it’s essential. By improving communication, being open about operations, and actively engaging with the community, townships can rebuild confidence and show why they remain a vital part of local government.
If townships want to continue playing a meaningful role, they must be visible, accountable and clearly understood by the people they serve.
Do you believe there should be greater public and state oversight for township government?
Yes, greater transparency and stronger accountability are essential to restoring trust in township government. That starts with clear, consistent paper trails and open access to records so residents can see how decisions are made and how funds are used.
At the same time, the Indiana State Board of Accounts should be given broader enforcement authority and a stronger role in oversight. While many issues stem from gaps in monitoring, they also reflect the need for more consistent standards and real consequences when those standards aren’t met.
By strengthening transparency and empowering oversight, we can reduce opportunities for misconduct and rebuild public confidence. If townships are going to remain a meaningful part of local government, they must operate with clear accountability and earn the trust of the communities they serve.
Have recent controversies in Tippecanoe County townships affected your campaign and goals? If so, how?
While recent instances of corruption were serious, this election is about much more. It’s about giving Hoosiers a voice. It’s about ensuring our budget is disciplined, not bloated or wasteful with taxpayer dollars. It’s about making sure every Hoosier who needs assistance receives it.
It’s also about building a safer Fairfield, strengthening our community, and uniting our home. This campaign is focused on making township government work for the people: efficiently, responsibly and with a clear purpose.
At its core, this is about bringing people together and finding practical ways to make our township stronger, more responsive and better prepared for the future.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Fairfield Township candidates make their cases for election
Reporting by Seth Nelson, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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