Editing Porter County, Indiana (section)

==Government==
{{See also|Government of Indiana}}
The county government is a constitutional body, and is granted specific powers by the [[Constitution of Indiana]] and the [[Indiana Code]].

'''County Council:''' The legislative branch of the county government; controls spending and revenue collection in the county. Representatives are elected to four-year terms from county districts. They set salaries, the annual budget and special spending. The council has limited authority to impose local taxes, in the form of an income and property tax that is subject to state level approval, excise taxes and service taxes.<ref name=inc3623>{{cite web|author=Indiana Code|author-link=Indiana Code|url=http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title36/ar2/ch3.html |title=Title 36, Article 2, Section 3|access-date=September 16, 2008|publisher=IN.gov}}</ref><ref name=inc2102>{{cite web|author=Indiana Code|url=http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title3/ar10/ch2.pdf|title=Title 2, Article 10, Section 2|access-date=September 16, 2008|publisher=IN.gov}}</ref>

'''Board of Commissioners:''' The executive body of the county; commissioners are elected county-wide, to staggered four-year terms. One commissioner serves as president. The commissioners execute acts legislated by the council, collect revenue and manage the county government.<ref name=inc3623/><ref name=inc2102/>

'''Court:''' The county maintains a [[small claims court]] that handles civil cases. The judge on the court is elected to a term of four years and must be a member of the Indiana Bar Association. The judge is assisted by a constable who is also elected to a four-year term. In some cases, court decisions can be appealed to the state level [[circuit court]].<ref name=inc2102/>

'''County Officials:''' The county has other elected offices, including [[sheriff]], [[coroner]], [[auditor]], [[treasurer]], [[Recorder of deeds|recorder]], [[Surveying|surveyor]], and circuit [[court clerk]]. These officials are elected to four-year terms. Members elected to county government positions are required to declare [[political party|party]] affiliations and to be residents of the county.<ref name=inc2102/>

Porter County is part of [[Indiana's 1st congressional district]]. In state government, Porter County is in [[Indiana Senate]] districts 4th, 5th and 6th; in [[Indiana House of Representatives]] districts 3rd, 4th, 10th, 19th and 20th.

For most of its history, Porter County was a Republican Party stronghold in presidential elections. It has become a swing county in recent years, voting for the national winner in every presidential election since 1980 except for 1992 and 2020.

{{PresHead|place=Porter County, Indiana|source=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Atlas of US Presidential Elections|first=David|last=Leip|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=April 5, 2018}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|46,109|37,213|1,647|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|45,008|39,746|2,014|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|38,832|33,676|5,745|Indiana }}
{{PresRow|2012|Democratic|34,406|37,252|1,645|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|2008|Democratic|33,857|39,178|1,211|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|34,794|29,388|691|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|31,157|26,790|1,431|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|22,931|24,044|7,621|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1992|Republican|22,644|21,022|13,401|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|29,790|19,390|165|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|32,505|17,862|315|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1980|Republican|30,055|12,869|3,892|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1976|Republican|25,489|16,468|701|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|26,877|8,943|210|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1968|Republican|17,328|8,914|6,340|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1964|Republican|14,480|12,975|152|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1960|Republican|15,666|10,733|75|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|14,970|5,574|45|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1952|Republican|13,194|5,909|87|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1948|Republican|8,907|5,161|250|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1944|Republican|8,561|5,528|57|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1940|Republican|8,270|5,840|51|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1936|Republican|6,278|5,560|98|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1932|Republican|5,631|5,542|209|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|7,107|2,921|62|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1924|Republican|5,613|1,640|1,031|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|5,570|1,671|423|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1916|Republican|2,913|1,871|135|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1912|Republican|1,510|1,352|1,418|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1908|Republican|2,940|1,789|181|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1904|Republican|3,162|1,437|164|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1900|Republican|2,797|1,848|57|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1896|Republican|2,853|2,026|35|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1892|Republican|2,187|1,937|274|Indiana}}
{{PresFoot|1888|Republican|2,427|2,018|150|Indiana}}

===County elected officials===
{{Col-begin}}

''[[County commission|Board of Commissioners]]:'' <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.porterco.org/index.aspx?NID=150|title=Commissioners|publisher=Porter County|access-date=January 30, 2017}}</ref>
* Jim Biggs ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]], North District)
* Barb Regnitz ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]], Center District)
* Laura Shurr Blaney ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]], South District)

''[[Council|County Council]]:'' <ref>[http://www.porterco.org Official Porter County website]</ref>
* Mike Brickner, President ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]], At-large)
* Ronald "Red" Stone, Vice President ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]], 1st)
* Sylvia Graham ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]], At Large)
* Andy Bozak ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]], At Large)
* Andy Vasquez ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]], 4th)
* Jeremy Rivas ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]], 2nd)
* Greg Simms ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]], 3rd)

''[[Official|Elected Officials]]:''{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}
* [[Tax assessment|Assessor]]: Sue Neff ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]])
* [[Audit]]or: Karen Martin ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]])
* [[Clerk (municipal official)|Clerk]]: Jessica A. Bailey ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]])
* [[Coroner]]: Cyndi Dykes ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]])
* [[Prosecutor]]: Gary S. Germann ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]])
* [[Recorder of deeds|Recorder]]: Chuck Harris ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]])
* [[Sheriff]]: Jeffery A. Balon ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]])
* [[Surveying|Surveyor]]: Kevin D. Breitzke ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]])
* [[Treasurer]]: Michelle Clancy ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]])
{{Col-end}}