The interim mayor of Lake Station is the old mayor of Lake Station.
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Dewey Lemley, 68, who was the city’s mayor from 1992 to ’96, was elected by the city’s precinct committeemen by a vote of acclimation Monday at City Hall to fill out the term of former Mayor Keith Soderquist.
Soderquist was convicted of 11 counts of public corruption Sept. 11 in federal court in Hammond and, by state law, immediately removed from office.
“I’m here to assure you that I plan to bring back morale to the city, because it’s as low as you can go,” Lemley said. “We are indeed troubled, but by time the next administration takes office I’ll be able to tell them what they need to look out for.”
Lake Station Democratic mayoral candidate Christopher Anderson said Lemley is “the best person for the job,” mostly because Lemley’s retired and has the time, while Anderson, the city judge, works toward closing his law practice.
“He’s doing this out of the kindness of his heart and will be able to hit the ground running,” Anderson said. “He’ll do a better job of examining the issues, especially financial. There are a lot of issues that haven’t even surfaced.”
Lemley, who has lived in Lake Station since 1962, is a native of Alabama and a graduate of Indiana State University in Terre Haute. He was the city’s parks superintendent for six years before his successful run for mayor in 1992.
Lemley returned to the parks superintendent position a few more times since 1996, first in 2006 and then under Soderquist in 2013 until about six months ago.
Lemley said he was shocked by the support he got for the interim position and assured the room he was not out to settle scores of any kind.
“I want to move the city on from a bad experience,” he said.
Under state law, Soderquist was removed from office once he was found guilty. A Democratic Party caucus of the city’s precinct committeemen was needed by Lake County Democratic Party Chairman John Buncich, the county’s sheriff, to fill the term.
Soderquist was defeated in the May primary by Anderson. Republican Edward “Ed” Peralta will face Anderson in the November general election. Peralta was unopposed in the Republican primary. The winner will take office Jan. 1.
In 1996, Lemley was defeated for re-election when Shirley Wadding defeated him in the Democratic primary and went on to win the general election.
Anderson chose not to run for the interim position in the largely Democratic municipality.
Soderquist was found guilty of using campaign election money and money from the city’s food pantry to pay for more than 50 gambling trips from 2010 through 2012. His wife, Deborah, also was found guilty of the charges.
The Soderquists have a second trial upcoming in a separate case in November. Deborah Soderquist’s daughter, Miranda Brakley, is charged with stealing money from the city when she worked there as a court clerk, and the Soderquists are accused of helping her hide the crime. All three have pleaded not guilty in that case.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.