Gary Mayor-elect Melton endorses Spencer to succeed him in State Senate
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Gary Mayor-elect Eddie Melton has formally thrown his support behind Gary Councilman Mark Spencer to replace him in his now vacant 3rd District Senate seat.
Melton resigned his post effective Dec. 5 after a successful bid for the Gary mayor’s office. He sent a letter this week to members of the Democratic Precinct Organization in support of Spencer.
“Eight years ago, I was elected to serve as State Senator for Indiana’s 3rd District and it has been an honor to serve in this role. I am truly proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish for our community, from leading the fight to increase teacher pay, to helping to strengthen our economy by bringing the Hard Rock Casino and a potential Lake County Convention Center,” Melton wrote in the letter.
As Melton transitions to the office of Mayor of Gary, he said it is important to him the 3rd District continues to be served by a candidate who has the deeply embedded value of a servant leader that can reach across the aisle to get things done for the people.
“I have talked with several qualified candidates, and they all have great qualities, but there is one person that I believe embodies the leadership style and passion to succeed in the Indiana General Assembly, and that is Gary City Councilman-At-Large Mark Spencer,” Melton said. “Mark is a living example of someone who has put service to the community first throughout his life. I have witnessed his upstanding character and outstanding work ethic for many years, and this is why I have personally asked Mark to take on the task to run for Indiana Senate District 3.”
Spencer has yet to serve a day of the term he was elected to serve in November. He was appointed to the council by caucus in October to replace Councilwoman Lori Latham, who moved from an at-large seat to the 1st District to replace former Council President William Godwin, who resigned in August after he was selected for a White House Fellowship.
Spencer successfully ran for one of three at-large seats in the May primary, defeating Godwin, who sought the at-large seat over his 1st District post. The three Democratic candidates defeated the lone Republican running for a spot in the General Election.
Latham successfully ran in the May primary for the 1st District seat and was unopposed in November.
Spencer, who is a graduate of Gary’s Emerson High School, has worked as an educator for more than 30 years in the Gary Community School Corp., served as the Director of the West Side Theatre Guild, and is a long-standing member of the Gary Teachers Union Local No. 4.
He told the Post-Tribune that if selected in the caucus, he hopes to build on Melton’s success with Senate Enrolled Act 434, which lays the groundwork for a potential new convention center provides funding for blight elimination in Gary and allows state resources to be used for the revitalization of Gary Metro Center.
“I’m very concerned about the convention center for our community,” he said, “as well as the transit hubs that are being erected as we speak and just making sure that we have the economic drive and development that will be led by those efforts. It’s important that none of those initiatives stall.”
Melton said he is “very aware” that Spencer was recently selected as a new council member and he would have enjoyed working along with him and his fellow council colleagues as Mayor. He said he truly believes that having Spencer in the Indiana Senate would be a tremendous value to Gary and all of the communities in Senate District 3.
“So, as a member of our local Democratic Precinct Organization, I am respectfully asking you to vote for Mark Spencer as your next Indiana State Senator for District 3 in the upcoming caucus to replace me,” Melton said.
While Spencer acknowledged his limited experience with public office, he said that his decades of work in education have made him a savvy problem-solver and a capable advocate for his community.
“It is of particular interest to me to make sure that we have a voice that is both devoted to the community as well as to the issues of education and health,” he said.
Lake County Democratic Party Chairman Jim Wieser said the caucus for the state seat works the same way as a caucus for the local except it is initiated by the Mike Schmuhl, chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party. Schmuhl will set the date of the caucus.
Wieser said on Friday that he had not yet been notified of a day. He said Schmuhl has appointed him chair of the caucus when it occurs. The caucus cannot take place until 10 days after Melton’s resignation from the seat and can’t be later than Jan. 4. Notice will be sent to all precinct committee people in the Senate district. Potential candidates can submit their intention to run until 72 hours prior to the caucus.
“I don’t know exactly when it is going to be. It’s kind of a practical problem now,” Wieser said. The goal is to set a date and location that will maximize turnout given the holiday schedule.
Wieser said so far, no one has come forward to seek the seat other than Spencer. There were some candidates interested in the seat after Melton became the Democratic nominee for Gary mayor, but expects a wider field of candidates to run in the May primary.
Kimberly Robinson, chairman of Gary’s Democratic Party, said she is throwing her support behind the candidate Melton supports.
“I’m for him and whoever he chooses, I’m OK with that. He knows who could do the best job in replacing him. If he wants Mark, congratulations and good luck to him,” Robinson said.
Robinson said a lot of people do not realize the district encompasses more than Gary and includes parts of Hobart, Lake Station and Merrillville.
An endorsement of Spencer by Melton and Robinson will be difficult to overcome in a caucus when about half of the precincts voting are in Gary.
Deputy Mayor Trent McCain said the current administration is not supporting a candidate in the caucus. Mayor Jerome Prince, his wife DeAnna and his son, along with McCain and his wife Akilia, resigned their positions as precinct committee people. Robinson replaced Prince as the local party’s chair.
Tramel Raggs, an attorney and the son of Gary City Clerk Suzette Raggs, expressed interest in Melton’s state Senate seat shortly after the mayor-elect’s primary victory in a letter that was circulated among local Democratic Party leadership.
Raggs told the Post-Tribune on Tuesday that he would not comment on whether he plans to run against Spencer in the caucus.
