Board hopefuls focus on recovery
Porter commission candidates debate best strategies
Two of Porter County’s three seats on the Board of Commissioners are up for election this year.
Voters will select commissioners for District 1, which represents the north part of the county, and District 3, for southern Porter County. Though commissioners are seated to represent a specific district, they are selected by all county voters.
Incumbents in both districts are seeking another term.
District 1 — North District
Republican Jim Biggs, who is seeking his second term in office, faces political newcomer Becky Mateja Lombardini, a Democrat.
Biggs, 62, of Chesterton, previously served two terms as commissioner in the 1990s. He also served five years representing District 1 on the County Council. He is the business development director for Great Lakes Labs.
Mateja Lombardini, 54, of Porter, has a varied background that includes small business ownership and serving as a consultant.
For Biggs, the most important thing for the upcoming term is to manage responsibly as a commissioner and “not get over your skis” on projects only to find out later the county couldn’t afford them.
He said open communication often wards off problems and it’s critical to focus on opportunities.
“When you have an organization this large with the responsibilities it has and operates within the vacuum of state government, you’re going to have problems every year,” he said. “You have to adjust constantly and find where those opportunities are.”
Mateja Lombardini said her greatest priority will be making good decisions in the current environment with an open mind, respect and transparency.
She also believes that while there are extremes at both ends of
the political spectrum, “most of us are in the middle, ” and she would approach serving as commissioner as she does the other aspects of her life.
“I’m involved, I’m helpful and I’m going to continue to do what I’ve always done,” she said, adding that approach includes looking at problems to “come up with a solution everyone can deal with.”
District 3 — South District
Democrat Laura Blaney is running for her third term
as a commissioner after serving six years on the County Council. Her Republican opponent, Fred Martin, is a real estate broker.
Blaney, 52, lives in Porter Township, and Martin, 56, is from Pleasant Township. This is his first bid for public office.
Both emphasized coming through the COVID-19 pandemic as the most impor
tant thing they would face in office.
Blaney said there’s no way around navigating the COVID-19 crisis.
“Obviously, I would continue what we’ve done as far as what’s happening inside the county buildings,” for health precautions, as well as the county’s online COVID-19 dashboard, “and doing our best to get information out to the public so
they can make decisions for themselves and their families.”
The county is expecting to roll over around $5 million from this year’s general fund into next year’s budget, Blaney said, as well as a rainy day fund of about $7.5 million, proceeds from the county’s nonprofit foundation.
That will help the county weather any financial chal
lenges from the pandemic.
“We have a head start and that is due to saving money on insurance and other things and the council budgeting wisely,” she said.
Martin said his focus would be “the post-COVID society.”
“There’s always unexpected issues, public safety issues, but this COVID thing has turned everything on its head and recovery from it is going to be a challenge,” he said.
Challenges for the county include a decrease in tax revenue because “people are not going out.”
The county’s technological capabilities and infrastructure are going to be more important than ever, he said, particularly the internet, as more residents work from home while students attend class online at least part of the time.
“It’s not an option, it’s a necessity,” he said, adding the county also will have to adjust to lower tax revenues going forward.