He praised Portage Mayor Olga Velazquez for her work despite opposition "There are a lot of people -- not a lot, a handful of people who cannot handle having a woman mayor. They need to get over it. She's a fighter, and she's doing a good job," he said.

The Democrats also recognized Porter County Coroner Vicki Deppe with a framed certificate for her recent fight against previous coroner John Evans to reclaim missing records and a county-owned cot.

Deppe recounted how the fight went to the Indiana Commission on Public Records, and they provided an attorney.

"I went through a tough spell there. But what's right is right," she said.

In other business, Chidester said that the party will set a date for a caucus to replace Kelly Teel on the Boone Township board where she was an at-large member. He said it was verified this week that she moved to Lowell. Teel was also a member of the Hebron Town Council and declined to step down in December.