Look at election returns and you’ll see that Democratic candidates by and large carry Griffith, says Lake County Democratic County Chairman Jim Wieser — an exception over the past several years being the town’s local elected officials, who are all Republicans.
But the Democratic party is without any functional precinct organization in Griffith. While Wieser calls Griffith “a Democrat town,” he acknowledges basically starting from scratch rebuilding the local party organization now that Michael Ball has resigned as Griffith-Calumet Township Precinct Organization Chairman.
Ball, who served as precinct chairman for about seven years after succeeding former chairman Wally Hartman, said that he tendered his resignation after the May primary at Wieser’s insistence and that it wasn’t the first time Wieser had sought his ouster.
Wieser disputed that account, asserting that Ball, personally and politely, had informed him and other party members gathered for a meeting that the job was “too hard for him” and that he wanted someone else to take over. Based on that exchange, Wieser said he then sent Ball an email a day later asking him to formally submit his resignation.
Wieser agreed with Ball’s assertion that it’s difficult to find registered Democrats to work at the polls in Griffith/Calumet Township or candidates for that matter.
“The whole operation has collapsed,” said Wieser, who is hopeful that the vetting of three new precinct committee person candidates will kickstart party activities in Griffith.
Ball said he “begged” for poll workers election after election, but feels he lacked sufficient funding and support from the party. He added that some party members weren’t happy when he had to use Republicans as poll workers. Republicans have held all Griffith elected offices for several years. Ball works for the Town of Griffith.
“I had two good candidates this last time (for Griffith Town Council), but they dropped out at the last minute,” said Ball, who believes it’s time for a younger generation to step up and reinvigorate precinct organizations around the county.
Wieser said he is working on a strategy to reclaim lost turf, currently focused on finding Ball’s successor and identifying future candidates for office.
“Obviously, the problem is bigger than one individual,” Wieser said.
He expects that party operatives will need to get deep into local communities to raise political activism, even if it’s only to get people to come out and vote. In addition to Griffith, Wieser is looking for someone to head up party operations in Winfield.
Wieser believes that with fresh faces as candidates, the party has better days ahead. But Democrats will need to do more to connect with voters and overcome an entrenched Republican party in Griffith.
“I’m optimistic,” Wieser said. “Our party is rebuilding and I want to win Griffith back. Outside of municipal elections, we win every time in Griffith.”
Jim Masters is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
