MARK KIESLING: Lake commissioner races finally gets exciting

For years, the race for a seat on the Lake County Board of Commissioners has been anything but a race.

For the past 16 years, Fran DuPey, of Hammond, and Gerry Scheub, of Schererville, have been on the board. The newcomer is Roosevelt Allen, who was named to the spot in 2006 when his predecessor, Rudy Clay, was elected mayor of Gary.

But if you wait long enough, something interesting can happen almost anywhere.

In 2012, we're going to see an open spot in the 3rd District, which DuPey has represented.

"I just believe politicians who are in their 70s should retire," said DuPey, 72.

Scheub apparently does not feel likewise. At 76, he is running again, but this time he faces some formidable opposition in the person of former Lake County Sheriff Roy Dominguez, who was unable to run again for top cop because of term limits.

DuPey's race "is going to be fun to watch," Scheub said. "You'll see a two- or three-person race over there."

He said he believes, as do I, that Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott Jr., who is also county Democratic Party chairman, has a favorite candidate.

Right now, it does not look like DuPey is going to endorse anyone to replace her.

Scheub is still going strong even as a septuagenarian. In Griffith, Patricia Schaadt, 85, has been elected to the Town Council. In Lowell, Edgar Corns, 76, has likewise won a seat on the council.

The area Scheub represents has been redistricted in a manner that pretty much guarantees a Democrat will win in 2012, but the compromise with the state Republican majority has it reconfigured again in 2013 to make a Republican victory more likely.

The chairman of the redistricting panel is the GOP's Dan Dumezich, of Schererville — yes, Scheub's hometown — and it's altogether possible the two men came to their own compromise.

Dumezich can wait four years for Republicans to regain a seat on the commission, on which no Republican has sat since the late Ernie Niemeyer, of Lowell, back in the 1990s.

Who would Dumezich like to see replace Scheub? How about Rick Niemeyer, Ernie's son and the Lowell Republican who has served as township trustee and is now on the Lake County Council.

Maybe that's why Scheub was willing to compromise. He has not been opposed to cooperating with Republicans in his district — there are a lot of them, so he has to.

And he is certainly no fan of Dominguez, although he has vowed not to bring up the issue of the problems the former sheriff is having with some key members of his staff who have been federally indicted and pleaded guilty of selling 74 machine guns on eBay after using county sheriff stationery to buy them.

"I'm not going to say anything unless he does, in which case I will respond," Scheub said. "I'm sure there are enough people out there who will be happy to bring it up."

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