MARK KIESLING: Dobis on the move with good reason

Watching politicians move their residences is like watching a game of chess.

It's all about strategy and staying two steps ahead of your opponent.

That's why, without fanfare, state Rep. Chet Dobis could change from D-Merrillville to D-Schererville in the blink of an eye.

With the August purchase of a townhouse in the gated community of Briar Ridge, which straddles the Schererville-Dyer border, Dobis avoids a perhaps costly and perhaps career-threatening Democratic primary.

Dobis is a 21-term (Yes, that is correct.) lawmaker who might have been in the Statehouse when the state Capitol was in Corydon.

He did not respond to phone messages left with him, but documents on file at the Lake County Government Complex speak for themselves: He owns the townhome and has declared it, on a homestead exemption filing, to be his primary residence.

No big deal about moving, even into exclusive Briar Ridge. Former County Councilman Tom O'Donnell did it.

John Aguilera, a former Lake County councilman for two terms and a former four-term state representative, moved from East Chicago to Munster but failed to note the street he chose to live on was the border between the district he represented and an adjacent district.

And he moved to the wrong side of the street.

But the question in the Dobis situation is whether he could have beaten state Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, in the May 2012 primary.

The boundaries, redrawn each decade, were recently reconfigured by the Republican-controlled House to put both veteran Democratic lawmakers into the new 14th District.

I'm going to try to be as politically correct as possible, but the new district would contain not only Dobis' longtime hometown of Merrillville but most of Gary south of the Borman Expressway.

Most of the Gary area is, like Smith, black. And Merrillville, particularly in its northern areas, is what is euphemistically known as a "changing" neighborhood — changing from white to black.

It has the earmarks of a Republican move to get Dobis knocked out of the House. Like it or not, a lot of people — regardless of skin color — vote along racial lines.

So he moves to a more friendly district, one where there is no incumbent.

During the legislative session, when the lines were being redrawn, Dobis said he was confident he could beat Smith. But I'm not so sure about that.

Neither, apparently, is Dobis. There are a lot of townhomes for sale in Merrillville.

Now he will run in a district that includes Dyer, Schererville and portions of Griffith and St. John with no (as yet) opponents.

I'd say with that move, he increased his chances about 100 percent.

The opinions are solely those of the writer. He can be reached at mark.kiesling@nwi.com or (219) 933-4170.