Jon Costas

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H. Jonathon Costas
Jon Costas

Mayor of Valparaiso, Indiana
Mayor of the City of Valparaiso
In office
2004 – Present
Preceded by David A. Butterfield
Succeeded by Incumbent
Born 1957
Gary, Indiana
Political party Republican
Spouse Sharon C. Costas
Children Ashley, Evan, Hayley, and Tyler
Residence Valparaiso, Indiana
Website http://www.joncostas.com


H. Jonathon Costas (born 1957) is an Indiana politician, elder law attorney, small business owner, and current mayor of Valparaiso, Indiana. He was elected as a Republican in 2003 after a high-profile campaign that defeated 20-year incumbent Democrat David A. Butterfield. Costas's notable accomplishments include obtaining $16M of state and federal grants for infrastructure improvements, passing a restaurant smoking ban, the redevelopment of County Seat Plaza, and expansion of the city by 25% through annexation[1]. Costas's critics, such as former mayor Butterfield, have objected to "massive spending, rushing projects through, changing projects, having to redo projects," though Costas supporters dispute these claims.[2]

Costas is the son of Angie Costas and former State Senator William P. Costas, known locally for an epinonymous supermarket chain. He moved with his family from Gary's Miller section to Valparaiso in 1972 and graduated from Valparaiso High School in 1975. He graduated with a B.A. from St. Joseph's College in Renssalear, Indiana, and a J.D. from Valparaiso University, where he is adjunct faculty. Costas is an Ironman Triathlete and amateur musician.

Contents

[edit] Beginnings

Costas was introduced to politics through his father's campaigns, including unsuccessful campaigns for Congress in 1986 and 1990[3]. His first major public role was in 1993 as co-chair of a group opposed to allowing a Circus Circus casino in Porter County. Even though two neighboring counties approved the casino ballot measure and Costas's group was out-spent by more than 10-to-1, the referendum was rejected by Porter County voters.[4].

In 1995, having established a successful law practice, Costas sought and won an at-large seat on Valparaiso City Council. While on Council, Costas supported a measure banning the sale of certain forms of pornography in Valparaiso[5]. Costas also cast a vote against allowing city employees to join a labor union[6], though he received labor union endorsements in subsequent elections. In 1997, as Chairman of the Parks Foundation, Costas led an effort to raise $250,000 to buy land for a park on Silver Lake[7].

Costas first ran for mayor against Butterfield in 1999 but was defeated by 196 votes despite having the endorsement of both major local newspapers[8]. Some analysts claim that Costas's running a positive campaign and not 'going negative' contributed to the loss. Columnist Pat Bankston wrote:

Costas' decision to be positive rather than negative has been viewed by some in both political parties as a weakness, a lack of the killer instinct. Some have said that Costas is too nice to be a politician. Some have charged that it was a political mistake not to go after the mayor (Butterfield) on the Pratt deal when Costas had the chance. Maybe. We'll never know if Costas might have won if he had been a more typical political campaigner.[9]

Costas again ran for Mayor in 2003 and won with approximately 56% of the vote[10], ending Butterfield's tenure at 20 years. Costas carried the endorsements of the city's Firefighters[11] and Police[12], plus several local unions, who historically support Democratic candidates. The campaign's theme was similar to that of 1999, including calls for long term planning, controlled growth, redevelopment of "blighted areas", and more aggressive economic development to create jobs. These ideas were contained in a "Costas Plan," which was released in October 2003.

[edit] Accomplishments as Mayor

Costas's term as mayor began with a significant reorganization of city government, including appointing a new City Planner, appointing new Police and Fire chiefs, and creating the post of City Administrator[13]. The Costas Plan, produced during the election, became the basis for Costas's goals in his first term, which included improving city planning, increasing government efficiency, building "strong" neighborhoods, and creating "quality" jobs. After a year-long planning process, the city produced a Strategic Plan in 2005[14].

In his 2007 State of the City address, Costas credited the Plan for helping the city to obtain $16M of grants to pay for Eastgate improvements, Valparaiso Street reconstruction, improvements related to the County Seat redevelopment, and sewer projects. Costas also claims to have repaved nearly 1/3 of the city's roads, as compared to a few miles a year before Costas. He claims the city has saved $700,000 in insurance premiums, attracted $28M of private investment, and spearheaded the redevelopment of the former County Seat Plaza.[15]

Costas's term has seen two major controversies. The first was a fight against Costas's plans to build the "missing link" in Vale Park Road between Campbell and Valparaiso Streets. To minimize impact on wetlands surrounding Silver Lake, the city curved the road and built additional wetlands, resulting in a net increase in wetlands around Silver Lake.[16]

The second controversy concerned Costas's proposal to replace the city's 128-year-old police station, which was not ADA accessible and used a broom closet as an evidence room. A group of citizens made a remonstrance claiming the city could not afford the cost, which was about $22 per year for a typical homeowner. Costas argued that the least-expensive possible option was chosen, and Costas ultimately prevailed in a petition battle, 1370 signatures in favor vs. 1109 signatures against.[17]

[edit] 2007 Election

Current Republican city Councilman Robert McCasland[18] filed to run against Costas on February 17, 2007, while Costas filed paperwork to run on February 7, 2007. No Democrat filed paperwork to run by the Feb 23, 2007, deadline, but the party can still slate an opponent until July. Costas and McCasland will face each other in a primary election on May 8, 2007.

[edit] Reference

  1. ^ http://www.ci.valparaiso.in.us/mayor/statecity/2007%20State%20of%20the%20City.pdf
  2. ^ http://www.post-trib.com/news/155073,vmayor.article
  3. ^ http://nwitimes.com/articles/1990/04/02/export142840.txt
  4. ^ http://nwitimes.com/articles/1993/11/03/export190613.txt
  5. ^ http://nwitimes.com/articles/1997/03/09/export273017.txt
  6. ^ http://nwitimes.com/articles/1996/03/26/export213069.txt
  7. ^ http://nwitimes.com/articles/1997/10/25/export274987.txt
  8. ^ http://nwitimes.com/articles/1999/10/24/export384108.txt
  9. ^ http://nwitimes.com/articles/1999/12/05/export388456.txt
  10. ^ http://nwitimes.com/articles/2003/11/05/news/porter_county/001d49c0ed5115d486256dd5001dec62.txt
  11. ^ http://nwitimes.com/articles/2003/09/20/news/porter_county/5996b413564deb3586256da7001a0f9a.txt
  12. ^ http://nwitimes.com/articles/2003/10/08/news/porter_county/7c34bd98c9b568ce86256db9000ee196.txt
  13. ^ http://nwitimes.com/articles/2003/12/03/news/porter_county/83d4735584f5861086256df1000a216c.txt
  14. ^ http://www.ci.valparaiso.in.us/Government/Mayor/StrategicPlanFINAL2005.pdf
  15. ^ http://www.ci.valparaiso.in.us/mayor/statecity/2007%20State%20of%20the%20City.pdf
  16. ^ http://nwitimes.com/articles/2006/12/10/news/porter_county/5d90a6e86037ea0b862572400007e250.txt
  17. ^ http://nwitimes.com/articles/2006/04/13/news/top_news/19f9ccb555a36a3c8625714e00815d3a.txt
  18. ^ http://nwitimes.com/articles/2006/12/01/news/porter_county/d73939f4be27d3a38625723700014b49.txt

[edit] External links

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