MERRILLVILLE | Town Councilman David Uzelac said Tuesday he is appealing a mid-April decision by Lake Circuit Court Judge Lorenzo Arredondo that declared him ineligible to run for public office because of a past criminal record.

"I'm going to give it a shot for justice," Uzelac said.

If he wins his appeal, Uzelac said he hopes to run in the fall election as an independent for his council seat because he already was barred from running as a Democrat in the May 8 primary.

Uzelac's lawyer, Michael Bosch, confirmed he mailed an appeal Thursday to the Indiana Court of Appeals. He said the entire process could take from a few weeks to a year.

Bosch said given the tight time line, Uzelac might not have sufficient time to file for the fall election -- even if he wins his appeal.

The deadline to file as an independent is noon July 2, Lake County election officials said.

"Everything would have to work out perfectly. ... It was important for David. This is about the rest of his life," Bosch said.

Arredondo earlier instructed the Lake County elections board to declare Uzelac ineligible to run for office, to reject his declaration of candidacy and to remove his name from the May 8 primary ballot.

The ruling was prompted by a court challenge to Uzelac's candidacy by Democrat Tom Goralczyk, who defeated fellow Democrat Louis Mark Varela in the primary. There were no Republican challengers.

Goralczyk said he couldn't comment on Uzelac's appeal on advice from his attorney, Stanley Jablonski, who couldn't be reached Monday by The Times.

Uzelac, 43, who has served as the Ward 4 town councilman since 1998, pleaded guilty more than two decades ago to the 1984 theft of cash from the former Captain D's restaurant on U.S. 30 in Merrillville.

A loophole in state law at the time permitted Uzelac to hold public office because the sentencing judge in his case reduced his crime from a felony to a misdemeanor. A 2005 Indiana law closed that loophole.