Merrillville Town Council officials for the new year will have new faces and familiar faces too. Below is a breakdown of all elected Council positions who will officially take office at noon on January 1, 2024.
The seven council members will include the following…
Ward 1 – Rhonda Neal – Mrs. Neal was appointed by a democratic caucus to fill the unexpired term of Don Spann due to his untimely passing. She then ran unopposed in the May Primary and had no opposition in the just-completed General Election.
Ward 2 – Shauna Haynes-Edwards – Ms. Haynes-Edwards won the May Primary running against incumbent Richard Hardaway and was unopposed in the General Election.
Ward 3 – Leona Chandler-Felton – Ms. Chandler-Felton also won the May Primary against incumbent Jeffery Minchuk and was not opposed in the November General Election.
Ward 4 – Margaret A. Uzelac – Mrs. Uzelac won both the Democratic May Primary and won the General Election defeating a Republican challenger and one independent challenger. She was the incumbent after serving 8 years on the council.
Ward 5 – Rick Bella – Mr. Bella had served on the Town Council from 1991 through 2003, then came back to the council 4 years ago unseating incumbent Chrissy Barron in the 2019 General Election. He was unopposed in the Democratic May primary but had two independent challengers for the General Election which he defeated.
Ward 6 – Shawn Pettit – Mr. Pettit just completed his 20th year serving on the Town Council. He was unopposed in the Democratic May Primary but had two challengers in the November General Election, one Republican and one independent who both fell short to unseat him.
Ward 7 – Keesha Hardaway – Ms. Hardaway won the Democratic May Primary challenging incumbent Democrat Leonard White. She was not opposed during the General Election.
Clerk-Treasurer – Eric O January – Mr. January won the Democratic Primary against one challenger and was unopposed in the recent General Election and will serve as the Clerk-Treasurer replacing Kelly White Gibson who did not seek re-election.
I am looking forward to working with the new membership as well as my current colleagues for the new term in office. I know that everyone’s desire is to do good things for our great town, and I’ll work with anyone who wants to do that. Congratulations to these Town Council officials. Let’s do our best to keep Merrillville’s momentum.
The town will update the website Council page so you will have contact information for all elected officials of the town. You may also check the Ward Map linked below to see which district or ward you live in so you can see which representative services your area. – Rick Bella, Town Council President, Ward 5 Representative