The Toughest Job In America Is Running Gary, Indiana
Huff PostYou’ve probably never heard of Indiana state Sen. Eddie Melton. Laura McDermott for HuffPost Gary, in northwest Indiana’s Lake County, has long been viewed as an area of the state “where political corruption happens … where African Americans live,” Helmke said. Karen Freeman-Wilson, the president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League and the last mayor reelected here, likened the persistent forces that Gary is up against to a “really extreme weather event … like a hurricane or tornado.” She called the job a “labor of love — but it was definitely a lot of labor.” Jerome Prince, the mayor whom Melton beat in the May Democratic primary — the de facto general election in a city this blue — said he has no regrets about taking on the job but seemed almost a little relieved to be moving on after a single term. But I’m honored to have served.” Gary was founded as a company town by U.S. Steel, which at one time employed 25,000 people in the city. “That’s why I ran,” said Melton, who used the campaign slogan “Gary Deserves Better” to convince voters that it doesn’t have to be like this forever.
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