From the Northwest Indiana Times:
Jolie Covaciu became Lake County's first female county assessor Friday evening.
The 46-year-old local Cedar Lake woman narrowly outpolled veteran Deputy County Assessor Debra M. Johnson, 54, of Crown Point, in vote of a caucus of Republican precinct committee members in the county government complex auditorium.
Covaciu made an issue of Johnson's last minute real estate purchase of a tax-delinquent vacant lot in Lake Station last week to meet the state regulation of being a property owner.
She now replaces Hank Adams, who died last month.
Her 56 to 52 win was a disappointment to Johnson supporters who had counted on the endorsement of Lake County GOP Chairman Dan Dernulc and Jean Shepherd, Adams wife.
Adams was the first Republican to be elected to a countywide office in 50 years when he pulled off a shocking victory over the majority Democratic Party three years ago.
Covaciu will complete the final year of his term and will face voters next year for election in her own right.
The closeness of the vote reflected that both women hold the highest state certification required for the office — Level III assessor/appraiser and have on-the-job experience in mass tax assessment.
But Covaciu bragged of having owned her family's Cedar Lake home for 14 years, while Johnson was left to explain her last-minute real estate deal.
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http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/covaciu-wins-lake-county-gop-caucus/article_c75cdaa5-a795-5f4a-a9e3-cca14b647e57.html
