Dennis Allen will seek seat on Board of Commissioners

The first person to publicly announce his candidacy for the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners is a longtime Centreville resident and public official.
Dennis Allen said he will seek the Third District seat currently held by 20-year board member and Fishers Lake resident Rick Shaffer. Shaffer has already stated he will not seek re-election for an additional two-year term.
Allen spent 20 years as undersheriff during Matt Lori’s tenure as head of the department and currently serves as mayor pro-tem of the Centreville Village Council. Since 2010, Allen has worked as plant manager of Cobalt Holdings in Sturgis.
A Centreville High School graduate and Marine veteran, the 60-year-old Allen has previously served as a high school basketball and football coach for Centreville Public Schools over a 20-year span.
The county commission’s third district encompasses Florence, Lockport, Nottawa and Sherman townships.