Help - Search - Members - Calendar
Full Version: 3 running for county commissioner seat 1
City by the Lake.org, The Voice of Michigan City, Indiana > City by the lake > City Talk > Election Headquarters
Southsider2k12
http://heraldargus.com/articles/2010/01/25...6e955826063.txt

QUOTE
Three vying for commission seat

By Matt Fritz
Published: Monday, January 25, 2010 8:14 AM CST
Staff writer

LA PORTE — Running for the Democratic nomination for the County Commissioner District 1 are James T. LaRocco and Willie Milsap. Seeking the Republican nomination for the seat is Keith A Harris.

LaRocco, of Michigan City, said he has been a precinct committee man, a delegate to the state convention, served four years on the La Porte County Election Board, was the past president of numerous democratic clubs and worked on numerous city, county, state and federal campaigns. He said he’s also served on the mayor’s select committee in Michigan City for the Department of Annexations, and has been on several other committees.

LaRocco said he’s running “because I’ve spent the last year traveling around the county and people don’t feel they are getting the representation they want.”

He explained that many of the people in office were there for their own personal agenda or special interest.

“I will represent their best interests and not special interests,” he said. “I’ll represent what the people want. So many times (people in office) forget who exactly put them there. I’ll be the voice of the average citizen, not a special interest group.”

His dad, Joe, was a former mayor of Michigan City, a city councilman and a school board member. James graduated from Elston High School in Michigan City in 1969, served in the Army from 1969-1975 and was a Michigan City Firefighter from 1976 to 2003. He owned LaRocco Pest Control since 1980, a business he started with his dad. For the community, LaRocco said he’s also worked with the American Cancer Society and coached numerous youth sports. And he is a lifelong member of the Teamsters and the International Fire Fighters Union and said he was involved in politics since he was a kid.

Milsap, 54, of Michigan City, is a three term Michigan City councilman for the 5th Ward.

He is running on the platform of “Service before Self.”

“I believe in customer service and satisfaction and that holds true in government,” Milsap said in a Jan. 22 press release.

The assistant chief for the Michigan City Fire Department where he’s been a firefighter for more than 30 years, Milsap said “voters have a right to expect customer service and accountability from those they entrust in public office. I have a track record of being available and on-call to my constituents and I want them treated like valued customers.”

Milsap was first elected to the council in 1999, then re-elected in 2003 and 2007, and, according to the press release, was the only councilman ever in La Porte County to set up a permanent ward headquarters.

In addition to his work as a firefighter, he’s the assistant manager for the local Goodwill Industries store, where he won an award from the La Porte County Convention and Visitors’ Bureau as retail store employee of the year.

According to the press release, Milsap has also been active in community activities, serving as vice-president of the county’s mental health service, Swanson Center and as a North Central Community Action board member. He also serves as a board member for the NAACP, Indiana Black Expo-Michigan City chapter and the Commission on Status of African American Males. He is also a member of the Moose Lodge #980, Firefighters’ Local 475 and serves as treasurer of the La Porte County Democratic Party.

He is the divorced father of a 23-year-old daughter, who’s a law enforcement dispatcher in Atlanta.

“If elected to the County Commission,” he said, “I intend to bring the same kind of belief in community service and customer satisfaction that I have shown in other aspects of my life.”

Harris, 52, of Michigan City, has been involved in politics for the last three years, running for Michigan City Council in 2007, the La Porte County Clerk’s office in 2008 and was elected the La Porte County Republican Party chairman in March 2009.

“I am running because I’d like to make a difference,” he said during a Jan 21 phone interview. “When we look at our county government, I feel decisions aren’t being made in the fashion they need to be. I don’t think enough business logic is being applied to how (the county) does business.”

A life long resident of Michgian City, Harris has been married to his wife, Donna, for 15 years and has three stepdaughters and six grandchildren. Harris graduated from Marquette High School in Michigan City in 1975 and later attended Purdue University. For the past 11 years he’s owned an independent computer repair and networking service business called Custom PC Technologies.

Explaining that the county is like a multimillion dollar industry in some ways, with its excess of 500 employees and money spent on a daily basis, he said his past experiences would be well suited to the position.

“My background in business affords me to make the choices, and in some cases, the hard choices, necessary in order to get the county government on track,” he said. “And I also believe too many people in county government are there for the wrong reason. The voters deserve much better than that. I vow I don’t have any personal agendas whatever. I don’t care about doing what’s politically correct. I only care about doing what’s right for the county.”
Southsider2k12
http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2010/0...38119613318.txt

QUOTE
Dems, public show support for Milsap

Deborah Sederberg/The News-Dispatch Willie Milsap (right) speaks with Shaw Friedman at Sunday’s formal announcement of Milsap’s candidacy for county commissioner.
By Deborah Sederberg
Staff Writer
Published: Monday, January 25, 2010 4:16 AM CST
MICHIGAN CITY — For Shaw Friedman, Willie Milsap couldn’t have picked a better time Sunday to formally announce his bid for county commissioner.

“You made your speech between the two football games,” said Friedman, a La Porte attorney and former La Porte County Democratic Party chairman.

By the time the event for Milsap, a 5th Ward city councilman and La Porte County commissioner candidate, began at the 5th Ward Neighborhood Office, 1401 E. Michigan Blvd., the Colts had beat the Jets and the Saints-Vikings game had not yet begun.

Aprila Van Buren, La Porte County African-American Democratic Organization president, welcomed everyone to the offices, which were decked out with balloons and banners.

“Willie leads by example,” county Democratic chairman John Jones said, adding that Milsap, who describes his platform as “Service before self,” makes a point of being available to his constituents.

Friedman pointed to the neighborhood center itself, which Milsap opened nine years ago with his own money. In addition, Friedman said, he provides part-time jobs to constituents, also from his own pocket.

Both Democratic sheriff candidates appeared at the celebration: incumbent Michael Mollenhauer and his challenger, Capt. Dick Buell.

Milsap will face incumbent Commissioner Michael Bohacek in the primary.

The commissioners need to pay immediate attention to three issues in the county, Milsap said.

“First is economic development, next is the unemployment issue,” he said. “An 11 percent unemployment rate is unacceptable, completely unacceptable.”

Finally, the commissioners must work in partnership with the county’s two largest cities, Milsap said.

Speaking to the City Council’s censure of Milsap for what the council saw as a high absentee rate, Friedman said, “Let’s just get this straight. Willie has had a 90 percent attendance rate for the last two years.

“Willie Milsap does politics the way it should be done,” Friedman concluded.

Later, Milsap told his audience, “I am the first African-American to run for La Porte County commissioner.”

“And you’ll win!,” a crowd of supporters shouted.
Southsider2k12
http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2010/0...ad766003877.txt

QUOTE
Harris will run for commission post

Keith Harris
By Alicia Ebaugh
Staff Writer
Published: Sunday, January 24, 2010 4:16 AM CST
MICHIGAN CITY — La Porte County Republican Party Chairman Keith Harris, who is seeking his party’s nomination for La Porte County Commissioner District 1 in the May primary, says he would take a logical, business-minded approach to the management of county government.

Harris, 52, Michigan City, said Thursday in a press release, “Those in charge of county government, and in turn responsible for taxpayers’ funds, need to be cautious and conservative when spending or contracting to spend public monies. Elected officials need to realize that they are ‘hired’ by voters to do a job and need to act accordingly.”

Just as effective and responsible leadership is necessary to be successful in the private sector, Harris said it is imperative that leadership in government exhibits the same.

“The public should not tolerate elected officials missing meetings or not taking part in other aspects of the job they were elected to do,” he said. “It is time to put personal agendas aside and do what is right for the public.”

Keith Harris has owned and operated Custom PC Technologies in Michigan City since 1999. He will bring the same work ethic to his campaign that he has applied to the successful operation of his business, he said.

Harris is an elected member of the Michigan City Fire Merit Commission, was a participant in the Mayor’s Task Force for Government Efficiency in Michigan City and is an elected precinct committeeman for the Republican Party. He ran for Michigan City Common Council in 2007 and La Porte County clerk in 2008.

Harris is married to Donna Harris; both are lifelong Michigan City residents. His three stepdaughters live in La Porte, Kingsford Heights and Florida.

The incumbent La Porte County Commissioner for District 1 is Mike Bohacek, a Democrat.
edgeywood
QUOTE(southsiderMMX @ Jan 25 2010, 03:26 PM) *


“Let’s just get this straight. Willie has had a 90 percent attendance rate for the last two years."

So 90% attendance is good? Kinda like taking a 1/2 day off work each week.

This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.
Invision Power Board © 2001-2024 Invision Power Services, Inc.