Longtime Southern Indiana politician Warren Nash died on Wednesday.
Nash spent five decades in public service in Floyd County. He was mayor of New Albany from 1971 to 1975 and served as Floyd County Democratic Party Chair for 12 years. He also spent time as Floyd County Assessor and a member of several local boards, including the New Albany Board of Public Works and the Indiana Real Estate Commission.
Current Democratic Chair Adam Dickey said Nash was a “giant” in Southern Indiana politics.
“As someone who was a good friend, I and others turned to Warren often for advice and counsel,” Dickey said. “And it's a hard day to kind of wake up and know that influence is just not there today.”
Dickey said Nash was “fiercely passionate” about his political work, New Albany and the people who call it home.
“This was the guy who would work like heck to make sure that his candidate in the election won, and then that night would be at the New Albany basketball game to cheer on the home team,” Dickey said. “Just an extraordinary individual.”
New Albany Mayor Jeff Gahan said in a statement Nash was a compassionate man who worked to make the city “safe, more clean and more friendly to everyone.”
“I have never met a man more even-tempered,” Gahan said. “As an official, he used this gift to battle poverty and other complex social issues for decades. He was the first to come to the aid of those in need, and you could count on him to bring compassion to every conflict.”
Nash was 85 years old.
John Boyle is a corps member with Report For America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. John's coverage of Southern Indiana is funded, in part, by the Caesars Foundation of Floyd County, Community Foundation of Southern Indiana and Samtec, Inc.
