Gary official wins caucus for state Senate
He will replace longtime Dem legislator
Rodney Pol Jr., the corporation counsel for the City of Gary, will replace Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Portage, as the 4th District Indiana State senator.
After 16 years in state government, Tallian filed her resignation Sept. 30 effective Nov. 1.
On Thursday, the Indiana Democratic Party held a caucus for 4th District precinct committee chair people in Porter and LaPorte counties, which the 4th district encompasses, to pick between five candidates to replace Tallian.
After the vote, Pol said he was “absolutely speechless” because all the candidates were strong. As senator, Pol said he would like to focus on “public education, union protections and compensation rates and the environment,” while also carrying on Tallian’s goals.
“To be able to fill Sen. Tallian’s shoes and have her support means a lot,” Pol said.
There were five candidates: Pol; Becky Mateja Lombardini, who helped run North Township Trustee Frank Mrvan’s successful primary campaign to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Gary; Deborah Chubb, the executive director of Indiana Women’s Action Movement; Todd Connor, a veteran and Chief Executive Officer of Veterans for Political Innovation; and the Rev. Michael Cooper, a youth and young adult pastor at Metropolitan Community Church in Illiana.
All pf the 94 respective precinct committee chairpersons were invited to the caucus, Porter County Democratic Party Chairman Drew Wenger said.
Ultimately, 56 people initially attended the caucus, Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Mike Schmuhl said. To win, a candidate needed to receive 50% of the vote plus one, Schmuhl said.
There were two rounds of voting,
Schmuhl said, and Pol won the required number of votes on the second round. The second round had 54 voters, because two people left after the first round of voting, he said.
Pol’s family, including his wife, two daughters, parents, grandmother and in-laws, were waiting outside the voting room before the caucus began at 7 p.m.
At 8:35 p.m., Paul Aguilera, Pol’s uncle, exclaimed “Rodney won!” The family burst into cheers, with his mother hugging her family members and his grandmother crying from joy.
“He’s a wonderful man,” Aguilera said. “We’re so excited.”
Tallian, who is a precinct committee chairperson, attended the caucus to vote. She said she’s been working with Pol in recent weeks and that she has supported him.
“He’s very qualified,” Tallian said. “He’ll be a great candidate.”
Schmuhl said Tallian is “a great public servant,” and she was recognized and said a few words before the vote. Schmuhl said he’s “excited” about Pol replacing Tallian.
“He’s young. He’s energetic. He’s smart,” Schmuhl said. “I’m excited for the energy he brings to this party.”
Given that five candidates ran, Schmuhl said that “bodes well to have this energy” throughout the party.
Schmuhl said his advice to Pol is to make sure he “carries the interest of the district” while in the Senate. In a statement, Schmuhl said Pol “will join Democrats in advocating for livable wage jobs for workers, affordable and accessible broadband internet, and fully-funding Indiana’s public schools.”
“He’s going to go down there and start forming relationships and following Karen Tallian footsteps,” Schmuhl said.
Wenger said Pol “will do a fantastic job.”
“I am very pleased with the way the caucus went,” Wenger said. “This was truly democracy in action.”
Wenger said his advice to Pol would be “to keep his energy, passion and zeal” as he goes up against a Republican supermajority downstate.