Matchups in the May primary became clear after Friday’s candidate filing deadline – and the filings also suggested that any effort to repeat the 2009 attempt to unseat GOP Chairman Steve Shine is all but doomed.
Only 96 of Allen County’s 327 precincts have candidates for Republican committeemen – whose duties include electing a party chair. That means Shine will appoint 231 precinct committeemen. Barring some unexpected development, they would not likely vote against the person who appointed them.
Shine has yet to announce whether he will seek another term as chair next year. In 2009, he defeated Ric Rune- stad, who more recently led the usuccessful effort to throw former Allen Superior Court Judge Ken Scheibenberger off the ballot.
Missing in 2012
Some of the biggest news about the filings concerned those who aren’t running.
At the top of the list were two veteran state legislators – one a Republican, one a Democrat – whose lengthy tenures were at least partly due to their honesty and reputations as straight-shooters. While both are passionate about their respective parties, they weren’t above trying to work with the other side and criticizing their own party when warranted.
State Rep. Jeff Espich of Wells County, whose record was discussed in an editorial Saturday, represented portions of northeast Indiana for 40 years. In the 1970s, that included Blackford County – where I went to high school and served as a page for Espich one day. Espich became the House Republican authority on budget issues, ending his legislative career as chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, which writes the biannual budget.
When Espich joined the Indiana House, state Rep. Chet Dobis was just beginning his second term. The Merrillville man served northwest Indiana for 42 years and was the No. 2 Democrat in the House – until 2010, when he failed to follow the party line on a vote and Democratic leader Pat Bauer stripped him of his leadership post.
For an idea on how much he was respected, consider the words of Gov. Mitch Daniels, not exactly known for praising Democrats:
“There are few members of either party I like or respect more than Chet Dobis. He always put his constituents first, and he often was willing to work across party lines when he saw a chance to make all of Indiana better. There aren’t too many like him, and we’ll miss him.”
They are among 19 state reps not seeking re-election.
Lugar problems
A spokesman for Sen. Richard Lugar only made things worse when he tried to compare Lugar’s residency problem with U.S. soldiers.
“It’s just like the United States military,” spokesman David Willkie told an Indianapolis TV station. “If you’re a military personnel and you’re in defense of this country and service to this country and you’re overseas, you keep your last place of residence.”
It wasn’t long before some veterans complained about the comparison.
“In no way is selling your home in Indiana and moving to a million-dollar home in the Washington, D.C. suburbs comparable to the risks our military men and women take every day,” said Joe Riley, former statewide AMVETS commander.
