By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
By the time most of the precincts were in Tuesday night, it was fair to say that Joan Wolfe had the county auditor’s race locked in.
Wolfe led the race against Leanna Hershey the entire night, more than doubling Hershey’s numbers when the first few precinct results came in before pulling away late into the night. Wolfe finished with 8,217 votes to Hershey’s 3,322 votes.
“This is so humbling,” Wolfe said as she fought back tears. “It was a lot of work and this is such an honor that the people of Crawford County wanted me.”
Wolfe said current auditor Robin Hildebrand and former auditor Don Long served as mentors for her.
“They gave me the freedom and the opportunity to learn as much as I wanted to learn and do as much as they wanted me to do,” said Wolfe. “I’m just honored.”
Wolfe admitted that the win was very important to her now.
“After 27 years in office, it would have been really sad if I hadn’t been able to actually serve. I did 16 townships, all the township meetings. I did four of the villages. I didn’t do the big cities because they already knew me; the administrations already knew me. It was a lot of work,” Wolfe said.
Wolfe’s experience included 14 years as a Deputy Auditor and 12 years as Administrator of the Real Estate and Licensing Division as well as having a familiarity working in the County Auditor’s Office.