Rich James writes about talk of two well-established GOP candidates — Thomas McDermott, Sr. and Duane Dedelow — running for Lake County Commissioner seats.

Will the Republicans take over the Lake Co. Commissioners’ offices?

Opines Rich James:

There’s heavy-duty talk that Thomas McDermott might file in the 2nd District, where Democrat Gerry Scheub is the incumbent. And there is equal hype about Duane Dedelow running in the 3rd District and likely facing incumbent Frances DuPey in November. She filed on Wednesday, even though she has been saying for three years that she wasn’t running again.

It’s in the 2nd District, that encompasses south county, where things are most contentious. …

Tom Sr. is smooth. No one knows that better than Tom Jr., who knows his dad can win. Tom Sr., you may recall, walked into Hammond 25 years ago and started knocking on doors. A year later, he stunned the city’s well-entrenched Democrats and became mayor. …

Dedelow filled out the last three years of Tom Sr.’s term, then won two of his own in what today remains a Democratic city.

If the Lake County Council keeps pushing the Lake Co. income tax idea, it might propel the GOP back into power in south Lake districts.

Technorati Tags: Duane Dedelow, Frances DuPey, Gerry Scheub, GOP, Lake County Commissioners, Thomas McDermott

Will the proposed and unpopular Lake County income tax (and political perks — such as free taxpayer paid gasoline) mean that voters will throw out the incumbents in 2008? Despite the unrest, it always seems to me that the same people somehow always end up staying in power — they just move from one post to another.

Writes the Northwest Indiana Times:

Incumbents thinking about re-election may look with dread at popular unrest over taxes and scandals involving county Surveyor George Van Til lending a county truck to his son and pumping public gas into his private vehicle

Incumbents aren’t giving up, despite the tax protests. They have their eyes on moving into new positions that are opening up as other candidates leave.

Outgoing Commissioner Fran DuPey is retiring after 12 years. Possible candidates to replace her might include Hammond City Councilmen Dan Repay and Robert “Bob” Markovich and Richard Novak, director of East Chicago’s boat marina and a member of the North Township board.

Technorati Tags: Lake County elections 2008

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