Porter County Republican voters must slash half the candidates in the upcoming primary race for the county’s three at-large council seats held by Council President Mike Brickner and Andy Bozak, both Republicans, and Democrat Sylvia Graham. Those three are all seeking reelection, along with an additional four Republicans and three Democrats.
Brickner, who has headed the council since January, said one of his goals behind putting his name in the hat for president was to improve the synergy between the council and the Porter County Board of Commissioners. He said he’s been making a point to meet with Commissioners President Jim Biggs, R-North.
“I don’t know if that was happening as often as it should in the past,” Brickner said. Pursuing what would be his second term, the former Valparaiso Police chief said he particularly enjoys the watch the council keeps over the general fund. “We guard that fund very tightly,” he said.
With the general fund not being able to supplement all the needs of the county, Brickner said the county needs to keep an open mind about exploring all possible funding options including public safety and wheel taxes, while keeping the public informed.
“Some of my colleagues might not want to hear that. You look down the road and we’re going to have to make some tough decisions, so, yes, all options are on the table,” he said.
Bozak is also seeking his second full term. He was caucused in two years into a term on the Burns Harbor Town Council and served two years when Biggs was elected as a commissioner.
The director of operations for a transportation firm, Bozak said the county needs to focus on where it’s going. “The county needs more funding as far as the roads,” he said, adding that the council needs to ask if budgets are as lean as they could be.
“How badly do we need it? How quickly do we need it?” he asked about the hundreds of funding requests the council receives. “I’m very concerned about inflation. I have four kids. I go to the grocery store. Things are expensive. People are hurting.”
That said, he thinks the county could be better at investing in its parks.
Second only to the current council members themselves, Valparaiso resident Dawn Miller has probably the best attendance record of any member of the public. The medical billing professional attends nearly all the council meetings and speaks at many of them on a variety of topics, particularly the earmarking of the county’s $33 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act grant money and Opioid Settlement funds.
The Porter County native has been a fervent advocate of their spending on mental health support rather than other areas such as the renovation of the Memorial Opera House. She only missed one ARPA subcommittee meeting.
“I wanted to be informed. I wanted to know where this money was being spent,” she said. “That’s super important to me.”
Miller said she is most concerned with community safety “for many reasons.” “We have an uptick in homelessness, illegal immigration, and it seems we may have some human trafficking going on,” she said.
Beverly Shores resident Nate Uldricks, an industrial engineer by trade, feels the county, and the region, are at a turning point and need to be strategic in their development.
“I want to bring a long-term vision to the county because what I fear is that things happen to us, rather than making things happen,” he said.
Elected to the Pine Township Board in 2022, Uldricks is a big proponent of public debate versus behind-the-scenes maneuvering. The volunteer firefighter is particularly concerned with maintaining the unique heritage of Porter County, from its northern industrial might to its southern farm fields.
“We still need to think long and hard on how we preserve the good,” he said. “It doesn’t happen overnight. It happens piecemeal.”
He’d also like to see a highway safety dashboard and more focus on the environmental safety of communities bisected by rail. Uldricks said the same rail line that saw the tragedy in East Palestine, Ohio, runs through Portage, Chesterton, and the national park. “It could happen here,” he said. “We have a fragile ecosystem.”
Valparaiso High School English & Digital Media teacher Michelle Harris feels the county website could be serving constituents better. “I would like to find a way to streamline the website,” she said.
As an educator she knows the school district often has families that need resources and the county website could make it easier for residents to find what they’re looking for.
Safety is her number one priority. “I truly believe without a safe community we can not have next things,” Harris said, citing well-funded fire, police and EMS as the foundation of that. “First responders have a lot in common with teachers in that we have similar paths.”
Government transparency is crucial for this candidate who teaches kids how to assess information and judge real news from fake. “I just think as a society we are inundated with information,” Harris said.
While she’s never held public office, Harris ran for Valparaiso City Council last year. That loss didn’t discourage her. “My passion for being a public servant is driving me to run.”
Structural engineer Nicole Baker feels her background would be a strength for the county’s work on its infrastructure. The Valparaiso resident has been trying to attend as many county and city of Valparaiso meetings as she can over the last few years in an attempt to understand the lay of the land. She’s also attending the Valparaiso Citizens Police Academy.
She’s concerned about the loss of county employees to neighboring counties with higher pay.
“I have been told the county departments would appreciate the council members interacting with them more,” Baker said. “I would like to take the time to try to understand how all the agencies work. I know it’s a lot.”
She said while she realizes she wouldn’t be able to promise to cover it all, “it’s important to understand what you’re approving when you’re approving it.
“It seems like the people who are there have been there for a long time, so it seems like they tend to rely on how things have been done.”
Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.