(La Porte County, IN) - A new campaign sign is serving as a lightning rod for heated remarks from both sides of the political spectrum in La Porte County as the November 5th election nears.

 

Republican La Porte County Auditor Tim Stabosz is targeting Democrat Randy Novak again with his second sign popping up in yards.   Novak is president of the La Porte County Council and running for the La Porte County Commissioners seat now held by Republican Joe Haney.  The sign asks voters to “Dump Novak,” calling him a “Friedman Flunky.”

 

Also depicted on the sign are headshot pictures of Novak and former La Porte County government attorney Shaw Friedman.

 

On the sign, Friedman is wearing a suit containing nothing but images of $100 bills.

 

Through the signs he crafted, Stabosz said he’s trying to communicate that Novak is controlled by Friedman to some degree and both men from have profited from contracts awarded for projects.

 

Currently, Friedman is suing Stabosz for repeatedly accusing him of running county government by gaining control of key decision makers.  The lawsuit, filed in 2021, resulted in a jury siding with Stabosz a few months ago.

 

For now, a new trial is ordered in the case after a judge ruled the jury was given incorrect information about the state’s defamation law to consider while reaching its decision.  The order for a new trial is fully expected to be challenged by Stabosz before the Indiana Court of Appeals.

 

The other sign refers to Novak as “No Bid Novak” and instructs voters to “Just Say No!”

 

Stabosz said that sign is for multiple no bid contracts with help from Novak being awarded to service providers, who may not have been selected had those major jobs actually gone out for bid.  Stabosz claims La Porte County government was written up for two of the no bid contracts by the Indiana State Board of Accounts.

 

“He’s the no bid king,” he said.

 

In response, Novak said the signs are just another reflection of how Stabosz and Haney have created havoc in county government with false allegations and finding problems with solutions instead of finding solutions to problems.  Novak said contracts are awarded by the La Porte County Commissioners while it’s up to the La Porte County Council to fund the contracts. 

 

One of those no-bid contracts involved extensive repairs a few years ago to the Franklin Street draw bridge in Michigan City.  Novak said he supported funding the no bid project because the service provider has worked exclusively on the bridge in the past and knows how to fix it better and quicker than any other contractor.

 

He said the bridge, which serves as the main access to the city’s lakefront, was able to reopen before the busy summer season because of the quick work performed during the previous months.

 

“You can’t put it out there and just let John Smith, who doesn’t know anything about the bridge, and give him the lowest bid.  It’s just a bunch of b.s.,” he said.

 

Novak also said he makes his own decisions but Haney is the flunky whose strings are pulled by Stabosz, who he described as a “puppet master.”

 

“He (Stabosz) is 50 times more the puppet master in this county than anybody’s ever seen on the other side,” Novak said.

 

In response, Haney said Novak is “simply trying to spin things and deflect off the strings that Friedman has been pulling on him for years.”

 

Friedman said Stabosz ‘’poured thousands of dollars” into Haney’s last campaign.

 

“They, together, have brought nothing but partisan attack dog politics to county government for four years,” said Friedman.

 

As a result, Friedman said he hopes voters give the boot to Haney on November 5th just as they did to Stabosz when he ran for county commissioner in the May primary.  Friedman also denied having anything to do with decisions by Novak, who he described as “his own man.”