Dobis will retire after 42 years in state House

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Chet Dobis

Updated: March 12, 2012 8:04AM

After 42 years in the Indiana House, state Rep. Chet Dobis, D-Merrillville, has decided not to run for re-election.

Dobis did not file by the noon deadline Friday, according to House Democrats spokesman John Schorg. He will not release a statement on his decision, Schorg said.

A message left at Dobis’ home was not returned.

Redistricting following the 2010 census placed Dobis in the same district as state Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary. Dobis initially indicated his desire to run for re-election in the district, which encompasses Merrillville and Gary, but once he purchased a house in Schererville — inside the incumbent-free District 15 — the tongues of political observers started wagging.

Dobis purchased the home inside the Briar Ridge Country Club in June, and it was marked as his primary residence on sales records.

Instead, Smith will face Sherman D. Carson in the Democratic primary. Schererville Town Councilman Hal Slager, a Republican, will face former Democratic County Councilman Thomas O’Donnell for the District 15 spot.

In his time in the General Assembly, Dobis rose to speaker pro tempore, the second highest position in the House, in 2010. But then-House Speaker B. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, stripped Dobis of the post when the caucus was fighting over which Illiana Expressway bill to back.

Lake County Councilman Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell, filed to run in the race for the other seat drawn without an incumbent: District 11.

Niemeyer said he decided to run because he believes strongly the district that covers south Lake and Porter counties needs good representation at the state level.

“It’s right in the heart of the area where I live,” Niemeyer said. “We have to make sure there’s good leadership in there.”

Before becoming a county councilman, Niemeyer, a Lowell Republican, served as West Creek Township trustee. His father, Ernie Niemeyer, was a state senator for 12 years.

In the primary, Niemeyer will face Eric L. Olson. Democrats Lon P. Childress, Al Cottingham and John T. Hart also filed to run for the seat.

State Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, will face competition in the primary from Gary lawyer Tony Walker, who also sits on the State Board of Education and Gary Library Board.

In the House District 2 Democratic primary, Ricardo “Rick” Garcia filed to run against State Rep. Earl Harris, D-East Chicago.

County races heat up

On Friday, the Lake County Board of Registration and Voter Registration office was a hive of activity, with more than 100 filings coming in before the noon deadline. Most of the filings concerned races for precinct committemen or delegates to state party conventions, but several county races got more crowded.

Four candidates jumped into the race for county recorder. Democratic candidates Estelle Ramirez-Montalvo, Carolyn Jordan and Mike Brown (not to be confused with the current county clerk) will face off against current Recorder Michelle Fajman and Merrillville Town Councilman Andrew Sylwestrowicz in the May 8 primary. Pamela Drangmeister is the lone Republican running in the primary.

The county coroner’s race is open since current Coroner Thomas Philpot decided against running for re-election; he is under federal indictment for reimbursing himself with county funds. Democrats Darryl L. Fortson, Merrilee D. Frey, Kerry A. Gaboyan and Lana L. Kaiser joined the race Friday. They will face former Ross Township Assessor Randall Guernsey, George Deliopoulos and Daniel M. Bade in the Democratic primary.

In the surveyor’s race, current officeholder George Van Til will seek his sixth term and face John E. Garcia in the primary. On the Republican side, Eric Krieg and Peter Papageorgakis will face off against Jayson H. Reeves and Arthur Santos Sr.

Frequent congressional candidate Mark Leyva of Highland decided not to challenge U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Merrillville, this year. Instead, he’ll face off against Dyer resident Debbie Astor in the Republican primary for the County Commissioner District 3 seat.

Visclosky is unopposed in the primary; Joel Phelps and Dave Wenger are running for the GOP nomination.

Staff writer Chelsea Schneider Kirk contributed to this report.