A member of Highland’s Town Council will step away from that position to be the town’s new clerk-treasurer after a Democratic Party caucus.
With a vote of 16-3, Councilman Mark Herak, D-2nd, defeated newcomer Brad Neal during Wednesday night caucus in the Wicker Memorial Park Clubhouse. Nineteen of the town’s 22 Democrat Precinct Committee people and two proxies came out to vote for the person to replace longtime Clerk-Treasurer Michael Griffin.
Neal, 41, told the caucus that his initial interest in town governance came through his dad, a former firefighter and public works employee. He said he believed the Clerk-Treasurer spot “fit him to a T” and reiterated his experience as the chief financial officer of a not-for-profit in his qualifications for the post.
Neal then praised Griffin for his 30 years of service but said the town needed to move forward.
“I am the future of Highland,” he said. “Do you want the future of Highland tonight or do you want to wait until next time?
During his three-minute speech, Herak, 64, recounted the two Saturdays cleaning out Griffin’s office before Griffin left for the Statehouse. He said he asked Griffin, who last month won a Democratic Party caucus for the state Senate seat vacated by longtime Sen. Frank Mrvan of Hammond, if he really wanted to give up his longtime post.
“He said, ‘It’s time; (certain members of the council have) no respect for me,'” Herak said Griffin told him. “He told me ‘I would feel better about leaving if you did it because you’ve been the budget chair for 20 years.'”
Herak, too, touted Griffin’s experience and his role in it. As they worked on the budget, they didn’t merely have the budget funded, he said.
“Our budget was balanced so that when we went down to the (Department of Local Government Finance), our budget was right on, where other towns would have $100,000 (or) $1 million taken out,” Herak said. “We also implemented an operating balance so that when we didn’t get what we needed from our property tax draw, we didn’t have to borrow from the taxpayer (via tax anticipation warrants).”
Neal said he wasn’t daunted by the loss.
“This was about getting my name out there,” he said. “I’m the new person, and (Herak) has been here for 22 years. I didn’t have the name recognition, but I’m still feeling good.”
Neal said earlier this week that he does plan on running for public office in the next election.
For his part, Herak said he’s spoken to the department heads, who offered him suggestions on streamlining certain processes. It’ll be strange for him to not offer an opinion on town matters, but he welcomes the challenge.
Lake County Democratic Party Chair James Wieser, who earlier in the caucus made it a point to ask the attendees to keep Lake County Clerk Lorenzo Arredondo in their thoughts, said the town will reconvene to choose a Ward 2 council person within 30 days. Judge Marissa McDermott will administer Herak’s oath of office this week, he said,
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
