Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SYRACUSE - Kosciusko County Democrats celebrated the past and the present Sunday in an event never seen before locally among party faithful.
For the first time, party officials honored their colleagues with a Hall of Fame Dinner. And for the first time in at least 30 years, the keynote speaker was a Democrat governor - Frank O'Bannon - who took time to present the state's highest honor to two other Demos.
And they did something else the bigger rival Republicans haven't done in quite a long time by hosting a political dinner outside the county seat of Warsaw. More than 125 people packed the Wawasee Supper Club Sunday night in probably one of the biggest events hosted by the party in recent memory.
O'Bannon, a first-term governor who rose through the ranks as a state legislative leader and eight years as lieutenant governor for then-Gov. Evan Bayh, congratulated the party on its ability to rejuvenate itself.
O'Bannon then presented Sagamores of the Wabash - the state's highest recognition for civilians - to attorney Tom Lemon and developer Howard Woodward.
Party chairman Steve Haines announced seven inductees to the new Hall of Fame. They included Fay Hollar, Virginia Bennett, Merlin and Ruth Yoder, and Della Baumgartner and her late husband, Arch.
The final inductee announcement was saved for Dale Tucker, the former mayor of Warsaw who led the party for much of the past two decades. While other inductees were prefaced with an explanation of their contribution, Haines didn't bother with Tucker, a back-handed tribute to the75-year-old political rabble-rouser.
Tucker got the biggest charge out of the crowd with an enthusiastic anthem, "It's great to be a Democrat!"
State level issues were also trumpeted up by O'Bannon, who inherited a healthy economy and a state surplus of more than $1 billion.
Those two factors, along with cooperation from lawmakers, have allowed the state this year to increase its police ranks by 5 percent, put more money toward education and improve roads, O'Bannon said.
O'Bannon raised eyebrows this spring after the General Assembly appeared deadlocked on a series of issues and waded into a special session. During much of the debate, O'Bannon remained low key and then offered an all-or-nothing proposal that was quickly accepted.
"After not getting through the regular session and getting through the special session and finally getting a budget, it took someone that they could all look to to give them a program and then vote it up or down," O'Bannon said.
A sense of bi-partisan spirit also helped.
"I was very flattered to be asked to talk to the Republican House Caucus in their chambers," he said.
