Hobart voters will be able to cast their ballots in two City Council races on Nov. 5; with two candidates running for the District 5 seat and three vying for the two at-large spots.
In District 5, newcomer Chris Wells is seeking to oust John Brezik, who is looking for a fourth term representing the city’s northwest side.
Green Party candidate Joseph Conn is vying to unseat one of the two incumbents — Matthew Claussen and Dan Waldrop — for an at-large seat.
District 5
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John Brezik
Party affiliation: Democrat
Age: 69
Occupation: Works in administration for the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, retired steelworker
Years in Hobart: Lifelong resident
Brezik said there are a number of projects that are either underway or still in the planning stages that he would like to see to completion. They include a major drainage plan for the city’s northwest side, turning Hillman Park into a multi-sports complex and reducing the number of vacant and abandoned homes in the city.
He said the city’s in the midst of planning a major stormwater drainage plan for his district that will cost upwards of $12 million.
“Nothing happens in the spur of the moment. It’s been a 2- to 3-year process in getting it started,” Brezik said. “When done, it will be very impacting for our district.”
He said the sports complex would be located next to the renovated and expanded Fire Station 2, which has a meeting room available to the public.
Brezik also wants to continue working on improving the city’s thoroughfare areas like Ridge Road and will work with state legislators on a new law to help cities and towns being hit financially by tax appeals from big box stores. Hobart was hit with a tax appeal from Southlake Mall.
Chris Wells
Party affiliation: Republican
Age: 44
Occupation: Math teacher at Hobart Middle School
Years in Hobart: Lifelong resident
Wells said he’s running for council because there are a lot of improvements he’d like to see take place on the northwest side, including having roads paved, flooding problems resolved and making all sidewalks ADA-compliant.
Having been involved with Hobart Little League as a volunteer for 29 years, Wells said he would like Little League, softball and the city to get together in improving the sports complex.
Wells said the parks department has been doing a great job, but he would like to see more money invested in the parks.
Wells also would like to see more businesses come to the northwest side side of Hobart, and wants to clean up the area around U.S. 6 and Interstate 65 to help draw them. He would like to see more attention given to the area west of I-65, too.
“I would like to see the area thrive,” he said.
At-large
Matthew Claussen
Party affiliation: Democrat
Age: 61
Occupation: Retired Hobart police officer
Years in Hobart: Lifelong resident
Claussen is seeking seeking a sixth term on the council. He said would like to see the sports complex at Hillman Park come to fruition, more vacancies in the downtown business district filled, and an increase in new housing starts.
“We’re lagging behind our neighbors in residential starts. Some residents are moving out of the city because they have no new home to move into,” Claussen said.
He said there is a lot of vacant land within the School City of Hobart boundaries that could hold new housing, including Lincoln Street to County Line Road and south of 10th Street.
“The city has property it owns on U.S. 6 next to Strack & Van Til (grocery store). I think it would be nice for senior housing,” Claussen said.
“We need to continue to grow. It would build our assessed valuation and lower the tax rate. It makes you more admirable for residential development,” he said.
He said the city is facing a financial challenge with a tax appeal by Southlake Mall, with the possibility of more appeals from big box retailers. He said the city needs to talk to state legislatures, as they’re the ones who would need to solve this problem facing many cities and towns in Indiana through some type of legislation.
Dan Waldrop
Party affiliation: Democrat
Age: 62
Occupation: Retired electrician with International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 697 in Merrillville
Years in Hobart: 35
If elected, Waldrop said his focus would be on city finances, knowing the difficulties the city is facing as a result of tax appeals by Southlake Mall and possibly other retailers and state budget cuts.
The mall has already won one round of its tax appeal and the city is preparing for the worst, Waldrop said.
“Everything will be on the table. There certainly will be some budget tightening. There already has been. We need to find ways to limit expenditures,” Waldrop said.
He acknowledged that some roads are in worse shape than others, but said road projects have become a wish list. He said the city has been applying for grant money, and has done road and bridge work and sewer projects as the grant money comes in.
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Joseph Conn
Party Affiliation: Green
Age: 68
Occupation: Retired journalist
Years in Hobart: 55
Conn said, if elected, he would be laser-focused on combating global warming and climate change, with a mission of planting more trees as one way to achieve this goal.
“Our tree canopy is 27%. We need to double that,” Conn said.
He said Hobart officials have taken one step in the right direction by requiring retailers to put islands in their parking lots with one tree for every 15 parking spaces. But he said the city needs to plant more trees and he would encourage residents to plant more trees, as well.
He also would work to transition the city out of burning fossil fuels and using more alternative fuel sources.
Conn said the city also needs to come up with a plan to leverage the fact that it now has a national park in its boundaries. A portion of the National Lakeshore lies between Lake George and the Oak Savannah bike trail.
Karen Caffarini is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
