A long string of caucuses to fill vacant Democratic spots in Gary will come to an end Saturday after Gary’s precinct committee people make their selection for a currently vacant at-large Common Council seat.
Six candidates are looking to fill the seat left vacant by Ronald Brewer Jr., who in March was tapped by caucus to fill the 2nd District Lake County Council seat after the unexpected death of Councilman Clorius Lay. Brewer’s election kept the seat in Gary control. Doors open at 9 a.m. for the caucus, which will be held at the Calumet Township Community Center, 1900 W. 41st Ave. The caucus will start promptly at 10 a.m.
Lay was preceded in death by Calumet Township Assessor Cozey Weatherspoon, who died unexpectedly in February. Former Calumet Township Assessor Jackie Collins was tapped by caucus to fill the seat. She was not in office at the time she was seated.
Lake County Democratic Party Chairman Jim Wieser said the candidates for the seat in order of filing to run are David Fossett, Robert Buggs Sr., Myles Tolliver, Marian Ivey, Roosevelt Dixon and Colin McCullough. Fossett previously was caucused into the 2nd District Council post in December 2022, and he served through the end of 2023.
The series of Gary caucuses was triggered in part by the 2023 election cycle. Former State Sen. Eddie Melton was elected Mayor of Gary, prompting his resignation from the Senate. Former Hobart Councilman David Vinzant, who was not in office at the time of the caucus, filled the Senate seat.
Former Council President William Godwin, D-1st, resigned his seat to take a job in Washington D.C. after losing to Mark Spencer and Brewer in the May 2023 primary for the council’s two at-large seats. Spencer went on to win the seat last fall.
Current Gary Councilwoman Lori Latham, D-1st, was selected by caucus in early 2023 to replace Lay as one of city’s at-large council members after he was elected to serve on the Lake County Council in November 2022. She was then seated by caucus in September to fill the 1st District seat after Godwin resigned from the council.
Current Gary Councilman Mark Spencer, D-At Large, was seated by caucus in October, a couple of months before he would have been seated after winning the spot in the November general election.
“There are six candidates running, and none of them are elected officials,” Christine Cid, secretary of the Lake County Democratic Central Committee, said. Regardless of who is elected, they will not be vacating an existing elected seat, bringing to an end the string of caucuses.
Weiser said it will be helpful for the party and the newly seated officials to put caucus considerations aside for a while.
“It becomes a bit of a distraction from what your main focus is. Our main focus clearly in 2024 is making sure we reelect our Congressman (Frank Mrvan) and make sure, of course, we support all of our county candidates,” Wieser said.
Multiple caucuses in such a short period of can take away the focus from what the party wants to accomplish. Being caucus free, especially in the city of Gary, will give some of the newly seated officials a chance to settle in and learn from more veteran councilmembers like Council President Tai Adkins and Council members Mary Brown, Linda Barnes Caldwell and Dwight Williams.
He said the influx of fresh faces into new positions and the addition of Brewer on the county council will be a good thing for the party as a while.
“It is good for the party. We need to regenerate the party,” Wieser said.
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