Three vie to face Visclosky

INDIANAPOLIS | Inspired by the Republican candidate's victory in Tuesday's Massachusetts U.S. Senate election, a Hammond Republican filed paperwork Wednesday to run against longtime U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind.

Rob Pastore, 44, said congressional investigations into Visclosky's alleged ethical lapses are one reason why the region desperately needs new representation in Congress.

"The other representatives around him are not going to sign on to any legislation that he wants to help us here in Northwest Indiana," Pastore said. "He's no longer an effective representative,"

Pastore said his campaign also will focus on the need to stop President Barack Obama's health care reform legislation and the need for new jobs in Northwest Indiana.

He said federal stimulus legislation, which Visclosky supported, has "failed miserably."

"It hasn't helped anybody that wanted a job to get a job. It hasn't put anybody in the workforce that was looking for a job," Pastore said. "But it did spread around an awful lot of money to questionable people."

Pastore is chairman of the Hammond Republican Party and owner of a Hammond insurance business. As a teenager, he was a newspaper carrier for The Times.

Jayson Reeves, of Gary, who unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination in 2008, and Adam Dombkowski, of Valparaiso, also filed paperwork Wednesday to run in the GOP primary.

On the Democratic side, only Visclosky has filed to run. The last day to file is Feb. 19.