Thomas McDermott Jr.

Thomas McDermott
20th Mayor of Hammond
Assumed office
January 1, 2004
Preceded by Duane Dedelow
Personal details
Born (1969-03-04) March 4, 1969
South Bend, Indiana, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Marissa McDermott
Alma mater Purdue University, Calumet
University of Notre Dame
Website Government website
Campaign website

Thomas Matthew McDermott Jr. (born March 4, 1969) is the 20th mayor of Hammond, Indiana, the fifth largest city in Indiana as of the 2010 United States census. He took office on January 1, 2004, the first elected government office he has held. He is a member of the Democratic Party. After winning the general election in November 2015 for an unprecedented fourth term, McDermott became the longest serving mayor in Hammond's history.

Early Childhood

McDermott's father, Thomas McDermott Sr., (R) was the 18th Mayor of Hammond and served from 1984-1992. The young McDermott was born and raised by his mother in Northern California's Napa Valley and spent summers with his father in Indiana.

Life before politics

After graduating from Napa High School in California, McDermott joined the United States Navy. After the six years in the navy, McDermott moved to Northwest Indiana where he attended Purdue University Calumet and later the University of Notre Dame Law School near South Bend, Indiana.[1]

Politics

During McDermott's first term in office, the dilapidated River Park Apartment complex was razed under the guidance of the Hammond Redevelopment Commission.[2] Mayor McDermott's father, Tom McDermott Sr., helped attract Cabela's outdoor recreation retail store to the former Woodmar Country Club site in south Hammond in 2005. Critics at the time referred to the generous tax abatement awarded Cabela's as "corporate welfare" while supporters, including the mayor, cited a "public-private partnership."[3]

Mayor Thomas M. McDermott Jr. is responsible for leading the charge to eliminate the Hammond Health Department in 2004,[4] in 2005,[5] and finally succeeding in September 2007.[6] According to McDermott, this department was an example of duplicate government better left to the county to operate, while mayoral detractors claimed it was a valuable and much-needed service to the city, especially its poorest citizens.

On March 28, 2008, McDermott tacitly endorsed Senator Hillary Clinton for President and hosted a rally for the senator at the Hammond Civic center. McDermott later joined her campaign at a restaurant in Crown Point where Senator Clinton famously "downed a shot of Crown Royal whiskey." [7] Senator Clinton's arrival in Hammond was the first visit of any presidential political candidate since Ronald Reagan visited Hammond (Hessville Park) in 1976, and Robert Kennedy in 1968.[8] During the Democratic Presidential primaries in Indiana, McDermott was seen on CNN questioning Gary, Indiana mayor, Rudy Clay about votes that had not yet been posted many hours after the polls had closed.[9] This "mayor fight" was satirized the following day on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.[10] He also criticized the busing of high school students to voting booths saying "These kids come from the worst performing schools in the state of Indiana and we are giving them a day off to go vote for Obama. They can vote on election day like everybody else."[11]

In November 2009, McDermott protested the arrest of his close associate David Woerpel, a postal worker, precinct captain and political commentator, after Indiana state police said they spotted marijuana growing in Woerpel's backyard. Charges of "possession of marijuana and maintaining a common nuisance" were later dropped and McDermott accused his political rival, Lake County Sheriff Rogelio "Roy" Dominguez, of "playing politics by targeting Woerpel." [12]

McDermott was briefly mentioned by polls as a potential candidate in the 2010 United States Senate election in Indiana to succeed the retiring Evan Bayh, but dropped out, and endorsed fellow candidate Brad Ellsworth.[13]

In 2011, McDermott won election for the 3rd time, winning the Democratic primary with 68% of the vote and the general election in November with 81% of the vote over his 2007 opponent George Janiec.

In February 2014, McDermott agreed to the $200,000 settlement of a discrimination complaint filed by Hammond Housing Authority Director Maria Becerra rather than drag the city through a potentially expensive legal battle.[14] An editorial in the NWI Times newspaper later called for McDermott to make a public apology in the wake of Becerra's ouster from the Hammond Housing Authority.[15]

On Friday, May 16, 2014 McDermott announced that he would step down as the chairman of the Lake County Democratic Party.[16] It is speculated that McDermott plans on making a run for Governor of Indiana in 2016 and his comments that "being county chairman would conflict" with "what I'm planning on down the road" only encouraged such speculation.[17][18]

On May 5, 2015, McDermott became the first mayor in Hammond's history to win four consecutive democratic primaries when he handily beat 6th District Councilman Homero "Chico" Hinojosa with 78% of the vote. On November 3, 2015, McDermott won the general election by a landslide, becoming the longest-serving mayor in Hammond's history.[19]

Personal life

McDermott has four children and is married to Marissa McDermott who was born in Warsaw, Poland. Mrs McDermott is a Hammond precinct committeewoman and additionally runs a private law practice. She grew up on Long Island, NY.[1] McDermott is also a baseball coach for the Indiana Outsiders travel team and an assistant coach for the Purdue Northwest Pride.

References

  1. 1 2 About Tom
  2. ↑ http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/mich-firm-to-demolish-river-park-apartments/article_7156999a-98ec-590d-8a8d-55a57a1810e8.html
  3. ↑ http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/mcdermott-governor-key-to-cabela-s-deal/article_7630e664-2e2e-50f8-95a5-2f24a4b58e93.html
  4. ↑ Newton, Casey (May 16, 2004). "Hammond Health Department could be cut". NWI Times.
  5. ↑ Carlton, Joe (July 26, 2005). "McDermott offers $116M spending plan". NWI Times.
  6. ↑ Brown, Susan (September 27, 2007). "Hammond nixes Health Department". NWI Times.
  7. ↑ http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/hammond/president-clinton-praises-hammond-mayor-mcdermott/article_9a3af744-787c-517a-92f5-484f256bf9b5.html
  8. ↑ http://www.indianahistory.org/our-services/books-publications/magazines/Kennedy-1968
  9. ↑ http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0805/07/se.01.html
  10. ↑ http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/gary/clay-says-he-s-right-man-for-the-job/article_4df8641a-6534-53de-82ed-e9e6f4c2fa3f.html
  11. ↑ Bill Dolan Hammond mayor: School field trip 'unethical' politicking; Busing Gary students to vote early becomes a controversy April 24, 2008 NWI
  12. ↑ http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/pot-charges-dropped-political-charges-still-run-high/article_13025409-30a5-5081-a252-a761a11a2697.html
  13. ↑ Schneider Kirk, Chelsea (February 17, 2002). "McDermott eyes Bayh's Senate seat". Post-Tribune. Sun-Times Media. Archived from the original on February 21, 2010.
  14. ↑ http://www.nwitimes.com/news/mcdermott-city-settled-with-former-housing-director/article_5f6a8820-f3fa-5f68-827f-79be4fb3c79a.html
  15. ↑ http://www.nwitimes.com/news/opinion/editorial/editorial-denounce-racism-apologize-to-becerra/article_3d9d28d8-f23a-5189-b431-0e83a9ab1065.html
  16. ↑ http://lakecountyindems.org/
  17. ↑ http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/hammond/mcdermott-stepping-down-as-chairman-of-lake-county-dems/article_26453a68-74da-5307-a820-90f91301f053.html
  18. ↑ "Evan Bayh won't run in 2016; Gregg, McDermott assess". Howey Politics. September 15, 2014. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  19. ↑ http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/mcdermott-lands-knockout-blow-in-apparent-landslide-win-in-hammond/article_739fb8ce-e652-5c01-a5b9-e6bcdf4622bc.html
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