Across Lake and Porter counties, voters got a hand Tuesday in crafting the November ballot, selecting their preferred candidates for mayor, clerk-treasurer and city or town council, in addition to school referendums in Highland, Lowell and Munster, though officials in both counties said turnout for the municipal primaries was low.
Portage Township Assessor Alta Neri, who was reelected to a third term as a Democrat in November before announcing less than two months later that she had switched parties, is stepping down from the office as of May 14 for a new job.
A candidate for Porter Town Council will be fined $250 and given two weeks to bring his campaign signs into compliance after failing to appear for a hearing before the Porter County Election Board at its meeting Friday morning.
On a foggy New Year’s morning, it was standing room only as Porter County Republicans met at the county council chambers to swear in their newly elected county and township officials. A smaller crowd was in attendance a few hours later when Porter County Democrats met in the room to do the same.
About 30 people gathered in a lecture hall at Valparaiso High School Thursday night to get advice from two voting rights advocacy groups on how to have a voice in the city’s redistricting efforts. While only 0.10% of Valparaiso’s total population, the whole point of their presence is representation and transparency.