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Oswalt announces plans to seek full four-year city council term

Photo by Cindy Klepper.
Bill Oswalt.

William R. “Bill” Oswalt, who was appointed to the Huntington Common Council last June, has announced that he plans to seek election to a full four-year term.

Oswalt will be a candidate in the Democrat primary. He is the first of either party to announce plans to seek a city council seat in 2015.

A United States Air Force veteran who served from 1965 to 1969, Oswalt retired from Norfolk Southern Railroad in 2006 after a 41-year railroad career. He currently drives a school bus for the Huntington County Community School Corporation.

Oswalt was appointed to the third district seat on city council following the death of Councilman Jim Long. The third district encompasses the city’s east and southeast neighborhoods.

He says he wants to continue his service with a full term.

“I’ve always been very active in Huntington,” Oswalt says. “I’ve always thought I could be a positive person toward the growth of Huntington … I think there’s a lot of major things, positive things, going on, and I want to be a part of it.”

Oswalt says the council should work to keep people in Huntington and bring jobs to the city. And, he adds, the city is moving in the right direction by demolishing deteriorating buildings. The city’s parks, too, deserve attention, he says.

“I think it’s very important to keep our parks open for the kids,” he says. “I would really like to see a park advisory board of some type.”

A 1959 graduate of Huntington Township High School, Oswalt has also taken numerous classes in transportation management, bookkeeping, accounting, tax preparation and computers. He is an Eagle Scout and remains active with Troop 126 as a volunteer.

He is a member of American Legion Post 160, Amity Masonic Lodge 483 and Mizpah Shrine. He is a member of Christ the King Episcopal Church and has served in numerous church offices. He has helped coach youth basketball, baseball and bowling.

Oswalt has been active in the Democrat party, including a four-year stint as chairman of the Huntington County Democrats.

He and his wife Carmen have two adult children and four grandchildren.