Longtime Bluffton Mayor Won’t Run Again

Bluffton’s mayor will not be seeking a seventh term. Ted Ellis, who was first elected mayor in 1995, previously served nine years on the Wells County Council. His current term runs through the end of next year.

The Bluffton native is an Indiana University graduate and was a president of the National League of Cities and treasurer of United Cities and Local Governments. Ellis is a Sagamore of the Wabash recipient and is currently moderator of the First Baptist Church in Bluffton and a director for the Ossian, Indiana State Bank. Ellis, a Democrat, is also a life member of the American Mensa Society.

In a statement posted by our partners at WPTA 21 in Fort Wayne, the 71-year-old said "six years ago, I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. While I am generally healthy, we know that the disease will progress and I plan to make the most of my retirement years."

Congressman Jim Banks (IN-3), whose district includes Bluffton, said "Mayor Ellis is one of Indiana’s longest-serving mayors and I thank him for his many years of dedicated service. I congratulate Mayor Ellis on more than two decades of serving the Bluffton community, and I wish him a restful retirement."