By VICKI URBANIK

William Carmichael of Chesterton emerged as the top voter getter in a crowded Republican primary for Porter County Council, while Sylvia Graham of Center Township shared that honor among Democrats.

With Tuesday’s primaries now settled, the November line-up for the three at-large seats on the Porter County Council will be Graham, Laura Shurr Blaney and incumbent Dan Whitten on the Democrat ticket and Carmichael, incumbent Jim Burge and Sandra Snyder for the Republicans.

The winning three from both parties shared at least two things in common: All six candidates have experience in public service. And, the top three in each party far outdistanced the ones who didn’t make the cut.

In the Democrat primary, Graham, a member of the county tourism board who was in a fierce battle two years ago for 4th district State Representative, secured 17,946 votes, or 28.5 percent of the total. Following with about 606 fewer votes was second-place finisher Blaney, a former council member. In third place was Whitten with 16,620 votes. In a distant fourth was John Steffen, with 11,069 votes.

In the Republican race, Carmichael total of 4,243 votes, or 26 percent, exceeded Burge’s by about 220 votes. Snyder, meanwhile, got 23 percent of the vote total. In a distant fourth and fifth were Donna Larsen Levi with 15.8 percent and George Mrak with 10 percent.

The results were a surprise for Carmichael, who four years ago found himself in a close race in the GOP primaries. Carmichael said he expected a much wider separation of votes between him and Burge.

“That’s a total shock to me,” he said of his top vote status among Republicans.

Carmichael attributed his win to a number of factors, including the help he got from the Republican Party, favorable press coverage, and an state award presented to him at the Republican Party’s Lincoln Day Dinner by State Rep. Ed Soliday.

But Carmichael also said he’s gearing up for a challenge in the fall. “It’s going to be a tough, tough race” against the Democrats, he said.

At the same time, though, he said the Democrats “haven’t helped themselves.” Both of the leading Democrat presidential candidates have baggage, he said, and in the case of Barack Obama, images of his former pastor will likely be replayed over and over, which will only help Republican candidates.

Carmichael also noted that many Republican voters may have pulled Democrat ballots on Tuesday. Though Carmichael said he found that “dishonest,” he also said that same situation won’t happen in the fall and that people who tend to vote Republican will do so in November.

Blaney said she wasn’t surprised by the top three Democrat winners, though added that it was a relief to know who won. “We’re all pretty tight, and we all really work well together,” she said of herself, Graham and Whitten.

But Blaney also said she’s expecting a tough general election. “I think we’ll have our work cut out for us,” she said.

Burge said he wasn’t surprised by the totals. “I’m looking forward to a vigorous campaign in the fall, “ he said .”I think the voters will have a clear choice.”

Snyder, a former Porter Town Council member, said she was surprised by the results, though pleasantly so.

“I’m looking forward to working with Jim and Bill in the fall and getting together a plan,” she said.

The issue of Porter County’s late tax bills was raised in the council race, mainly by the three non-incumbent Republicans. But Burge said other issues, such as how to spend the proceeds from the hospital sale and long-term land use planning for the county, are more on the minds of voters than the administrative issue of getting the tax bills out.

Similarly, Blaney said all 92 Indiana counties are late in their tax bills. While county officials have to keep up on the tax billing situation, she also said that “until the state gets their act together,” the county can’t speed up the process on its own.

Graham said it doesn’t matter to her that she was the top voter getter among the Democrats. “I am just honored to be selected by the people of Porter County,” she said. “I’m not going to let them down.”

Graham came late to the County Administration Center and said she wasn’t keeping that abreast of the vote tallies, since she was out collecting political signs. Of the lineup for the fall, Graham said she intends to run the best campaign she can, and called all six candidates “honorable people.’

“It’ll be up to the people to decision what they want to lead the county,” she said.

Although not all Duneland precinct results were available Tuesday night, a look at how most of Duneland voted in the county council race shows the following: Carmichael was the top vote getter in all three Jackson Township precincts and four of Liberty’s five precincts; in L1, his vote totals tied with Snyder’s.

Snyder was the top vote getter in Pine 1, while Carmichael and Burge tied in Pine 2.

Precinct results were posted for all Westchester precincts except W3, 10 and 13. Carmichael was the top vote getter in precincts 1, 5, 9, and 15, while Snyder was the top vote getter in W2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 14, 16, and 17 and Pine 1. Burge was the top vote getter in W12, while Levi was tops in W18.

Among Democrats, Graham was the top vote getter in all three Jackson precincts, both Pine precincts, Liberty 1, 3, and 5 and in Westchester 1,2, 5, 7, 9, 12 and 15. Blaney was top vote getter in W14 and 18, while Whitten was tops in Liberty 2, and W6, 16, and 17.

Posted 5/7/2008