Porter County Councilman Andy Vasquez, R-4th, faces a challenge to his reelection campaign in Tuesday’s primary from Porter County Plan Commission member Craig Kenworthy. Both men live in Morgan Township.
Vasquez, who is at the end of his first term on the council and is council president, has been a precinct committeeman since 1976 – 16 years of which were in Portage Township and almost 32 in Morgan Township. The Marine Corps veteran is an organic farmer in Morgan Township.
Vasquez was selected by caucus three years ago when Mike Jessen resigned mid-term to oversee the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest Indiana.
Vasquez is proud of what the county has accomplished of late, including two new patrol officers, two new jail officers and money for overhauling the deadly County Road 100 S in this year’s budget.
“This county for too long has had projects they have been kicking the can down the road,” he said. “I was told when I first came into office, I had to raise the LIT (local income tax) by .25% or we would have to lay off people, it would be an economic downfall for the county, and that wasn’t the case.”
While Vasquez says the county must be as self-sufficient as possible and acknowledges that may hurt in the beginning of living with the changes brought about by Senate Bill 1, passed last year, he is not in favor of a county wheel tax. He doesn’t want citizens living in a town or city with a wheel tax paying double.
A public safety tax, however, “is on the table right now,” he said, because even with a .10 or .15% PST, the county would still have one of the lowest local income taxes (under which a public safety tax would be a subcategory) in the state.
“Everybody wants good hospitals, good police coverage, good ambulance service,” Vasquez said. “This is why I believe in a bipartisan approach. There’s only one color to the county council – green. How much is it going to cost? How much do we need?”
To that end, he believes the county needs to start working in concert with the cities and towns and has been working with the auditor’s office to schedule meetings to begin discussing their options regarding adopting a LIT. Cities and towns with populations of 3,700 may begin adopting a municipal income tax of up to 1.2% in 2028.
Vasquez would rather not take out any more money from the principal of the sale of the old Porter Memorial Hospital managed by the Porter County Foundation, as was done recently with a $14 million planned withdrawal over two years. He reiterated that money is to be paid back and said the goal should be to maintain a balance of $300 million, the point at which there’s enough interest to supplement the county’s needs.
Vasquez said he will not take PAC money. “I think for myself, which is why I have an opponent. I didn’t do things a couple of times the way the party wanted, so I got primaried.”
His only regret from this first term is agreeing to use $5 million of American Rescue Plan Act money to renovate the Memorial Opera House. “I’d be more than willing to sell it to the city of Valparaiso for $5 million because that’s what we paid to renovate it,” he said. The city is managing the performing arts facility under a memorandum of understanding with the county.
“I’m a union guy,” he added. “I believe in unions. I believe they allow people to have good wages and fair working hours.”
Kenworthy retired as a pipefitter from Local 597 in 2020. He is now director of facility operations for the East Porter County School Corporation.
Kenworthy has been on the Plan Commission since January 2025 and served 12 years on the Porter County Park Board, from 2010 to 2022. He had a failed run for a county council at-large seat in 2020.
The sixth-generation Morgan Township resident is not in support of a 1% food and beverage tax to support a Bears stadium in Hammond.
“I don’t feel it will be of any economic benefit,” he said. “We have budgetary holes to fill in this county that should take precedence over us helping a billionaire fund a Bears stadium that’s not in our county. I do support the stadium. I just don’t support Porter County paying for it.”
Adding taxes in other categories is not his first choice, but he does acknowledge, “I know we’re understaffed at the sheriff’s level.” He feels county officials should do everything possible not to raise taxes, but says the county can’t be prosperous if it’s not safe, and maintaining safety becomes a greater challenge as the county grows.
With anticipated funding shortfalls due to new laws, including SB1, Kenworthy said, “you’re going to have to raise your taxes, or you’re going to have to cut your expenses.”
He said he’s a financially conservative person and views the foundation principal as the county’s nest egg.
“You never use the principal. You just use the interest,” he said. “It would have to be a pretty dire situation for me to advocate touching the principal. I think common sense should govern spending.”
Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
