CANDIDATES JACQUELYN COLLINS (2nd from left), and Saundra Ford (right), watch the vote count on Thursday night, February 22, 2024, at the Democratic Precinct Caucus.
Contributed by Gary411News
The Gary Democratic Precinct Organization has been bustling in 2024, filling vacancies across Gary, Lake County, and state government.
In a recent development, Marian Ivey was selected to fill the at-large seat on the Gary Common Council, left vacant by Ron Brewer’s appointment to the Lake County Council’s 2nd District in March.
DIRECTOR OF LAKE County Board Of Election & Voter Registration, Michelle Fajman, swears in Marian Ivey on April 4, 2024. Watching are Ivey’s family members which include her mother, Janis Redmond; father, Darryl Redmond; and brother, Keon Redmond.
Competing against five other candidates, including Dave Fossett, Robert Buggs, Myles Tolliver, Colin McCullough, and Roosevelt Dixon, Ivey secured the majority vote from the precinct captains during a caucus at the Calumet Township Multipurpose Center.
Jim Wieser, chairman of the Lake County Democratic Central Committee, oversaw the caucus, where 42 of Gary’s forty-eight precinct captains were present. Ivey clinched victory with 22 votes, surpassing Fossett in the fourth round of balloting.
Residing in Gary’s 4th District and employed in the Lake County Auditor’s Office, Ivey aims to enhance the city’s traffic lights and railroad tracks to bolster safety.
This marks the fourth caucus of Gary’s Democratic precinct committeemen in 2024. Earlier, they convened in January following the resignation of District 3 State Senator Eddie Melton to assume the mayoral office. In February, they filled the vacancy in the Calumet Township Assessor’s Office after the passing of Cozey Weatherspoon in January. March saw a caucus to replace the late Atty. Clorius Lay in the Lake County Council’s 2nd District.
In another development, Jacquelyn Collins was appointed to succeed Cozey Weatherspoon in the Office of the Calumet Township Assessor. The precinct captains chose between Collins and Saundra Ford, ultimately selecting Collins in the first round by a vote of 26 to 17.
Both Collins and Ford are seasoned employees in the assessor’s office. Collins previously served as Calumet Township Assessor from 2011 until her retirement in 2022, with Ford working under her. Weatherspoon’s sudden passing in January 2024 led to Ford’s appointment as his deputy assessor.
Collins will fulfill the remaining three years of Weatherspoon’s term, ensuring continuity in the Calumet Township Assessors Office.
