GARY, Ind., April 10, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A veteran of the United States Marine Corps, Jerome A. Prince, who currently serves as the Assessor for Lake County, has announced his candidacy for Mayor of Gary, Indiana as a Democrat. Prince, 54, holds the distinction of being the first African-American County Assessor in the State.
“I’m running for mayor because this city needs an elected leader willing to challenge the entrenched status quo,” said Prince. “I want to do a better job than what we have seen in previous years. I plan to address the major issues affecting every resident.”
The Prince campaign has identified the following five issues as the most important to the Gary community:
1. Public safety (Police and Fire)
2. Mismanagement of city resources and revenues
3. City properties that violate code enforcement laws/standards
4. Poorly performing schools
5. Lack of assessed valuation
A native of Gary, Prince enlisted in the United States Marine Corps after graduating from Gary Lew Wallace High School in 1982. He married DeAnna Slaughter, and together they have four sons and ten grandchildren.
After returning home from the Marine Corps, Prince worked in various sales capacities, most notably insurance, real estate, and retail sales. He launched a career in government as a real estate deputy in the Calumet Township Assessor's office in 1994.
In 1998, Prince was elected as a member of the Gary Precinct Committee Organization. In 1999, Prince was elected to the Office of the Fifth District Gary City Council, having unseated Cleo Wesson, who was the longest serving councilman in the city of Gary, serving nearly forty years. Prince was then re-elected to a second term in 2003 and a third in 2007 serving as President of the body from 2006 until 2007. In 2008, one month into a new term, Prince was unanimously selected by the precinct committee persons of Lake County's Third District to serve the unexpired term of Councilman Will Smith Jr., who left office prematurely.
Prince served on the Lake County Council until 2014 and in his last year on the council, he served as president. During his tenure as councilman, he not only reshaped the budget process, but also championed the Lake County Option Income Tax, a move that would bring Lake County in line with the 91 other counties in Indiana and ensure the solvency of the Lake County Government. In November of 2014, Prince was elected as the Assessor of Lake County, Indiana. He oversees 243,759 parcels in the county. In this capacity, he strengthened public awareness of property assessments in the county.
For More Information Contact:
Taroue Brooks
Taroue.Brooks@yahoo.com
202-431-1119
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f7cf1070-9a98-4f9a-bd58-4eb8e37e2b70