By Maria Cook
John Chalfin is seeking re-election as Hamilton County coroner. He is facing a challenge from Democratic candidate Karin Anderson.
Chalfin, a Republican, served as Hamilton County deputy coroner for seven years before being elected to his position in 2014. He has enjoyed a varied career, having worked as an electrician, Ivy Tech Instructor and EMT. He served in the United States Navy and as a firefighter for the Cicero Fire Dept. and the Lawrence Township Fire Dept., which has since merged into the Indianapolis Fire Dept.
“They were looking for someone to be deputy coroner, and they went around to some of the fire departments and were asking if they had anyone with medical experience, because they wanted to reinforce the medical side,”Chalfin said. “I was approached and was asked if I was interested and I said yes.”
Chalfin said his proudest accomplishment as coroner was helping to secure a proper morgue for Hamilton County. It opened Sept. 10 at Riverview Health in Noblesville.
“We were asking for a morgue for years and we finally got one. It was very necessary to have a facility and we were able to accomplish that economically responsibly,” he said. “Riverview has expanded with its hospital in Westfield. They were going to have another facility and we needed one, and it made sense to have a combined facility instead of two brick-and-mortar buildings, so we saved the county a lot of money.”
Chalfin has lived in Hamilton County since 1984. He resides with his family in Noblesville. He said he considers relevant experience and compassion to be the most important aspects of the coroner position.
“As a former paramedic, I have compassion,” he said. “I was trained to take care of people.”
