Gary city councilman Mark Spencer accomplished Tuesday what he couldn’t do in a January caucus.
Voters handed him 65% of the vote as the Gary educator knocked out short-term incumbent state Sen. David Vinzant for the District 3 Senate Democratic nomination. Vote totals are unofficial.
“I think it was a combination of voters in alignment with our platform and the connectivity with the citizens in District 3,” Spencer said. “I was surprised but grateful.
“I want to thank Mr. Vinzant for a dignified campaign and for him being a gentleman throughout the process.”
On the GOP side, Will Miller captured 63% of the vote to beat Maya Angelou Brown.
Gary politicians have controlled the seat for more than 50 years, but Vinzant, a former four-term Hobart councilman, won a narrow caucus victory over Spencer in January after Gary Mayor Eddie Melton resigned from the Senate.
Spencer, a veteran educator who leads the Gary schools’ performing arts department, stressed his first-hand education experience saying education makes up more than half of the state budget.
The race also brought neighboring elected officials into the fray with Melton and Gary leaders backing Spencer and Hobart Mayor Josh Huddleston, Lake Station Mayor Bill Carroll and New Chicago town manager Sue Pelfrey supporting Vinzant.
Vinzant stressed his business acumen and experience on Hobart’s legislative body. Although he just served during the past short legislative session, from January to March, he said he gained valuable insight that would make him an effective lawmaker.
The district includes large portions of Gary, Hobart, Lake Station, New Chicago and Merrillville.
Meanwhile, Miller, a lifelong resident of Northwest Indiana, is chairman of the Gary Republican Party. Miller said he’s a professor, business owner and a musician.
He would focus on education issues, he said.
“We need autonomy and a customized streamlined way to get our talent trained and set to be gainfully employed.”
He said one of the reasons he entered the race was because his children have been impacted by bad, disconnected leadership decisions from his own Party that didn’t factor in the people impacted.
Miller said he’s served on the Gary Public Transit Corp. board and is now on the Gary Plan Commission and Gary Health Department Board. He said he’s also a lifetime NAACP member.
Brown, also a lifelong Gary resident, is a healthcare provider, who said the race needed a fresh face with new ideas.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
