McDermott plans on running for sixth mayoral term

HAMMOND — “It’s hard to describe how I feel right now. I feel happy.”

That was Thomas McDermott Jr.’s response after beating Republican incumbent Duane Dedelow Jr. in the 2003 Hammond mayoral election. He was the city’s first Democratic mayor in 20 years.

Almost two decades later, being mayor is still the “perfect job” for McDermott. 

“When I was Lake County Chairmen, I knew when it was time to retire because I was burnt out and I didn’t like the job. I’ve never felt that way about being mayor,” McDermott said. “Even running for congress and running for senate, those were clearly opportunities of a lifetime, … but it was never because I don’t love being mayor.”

If elected for a sixth term, McDermott would become Indiana’s longest-serving mayor currently in office. He became the longest-serving mayor in Hammond history when he won reelection in 2015. After hundreds of groundbreakings, thousands of meetings and five mayoral elections, McDermott said he essentially “has a Ph.D. in Hammond.”

“I was 34 when I walked in here and even though at 34 you think you know everything, I didn’t and I made mistakes,” McDermott said, reflecting on the start of his career.

Despite his lengthy tenure as mayor, McDermott said he’s still learning.

Launching two statewide campaigns, running for congress in 2020 and for U.S. Senate in 2022, exposed McDermott to different communities across the Hoosier state. McDermott said he got inspiration for new developments and initiatives that could be instituted in Hammond. 

“Hammond is not going to be Mayberry at the end of my next term; we’re just going to keep making progress,” McDermott said. “That’s the goal, to not slip.”

Looking back at his time in office, McDermott said one accomplishment really stands out — the College Bound Scholarship Program.

Launched in 2006, the program offers a full-ride college scholarship to high school graduates whose parents own a home in the city. 

McDermott said the scholarship helps the city maintain “a solid middle-class population (of people) that are interested in educating their kids but don’t necessarily know how they’re going to pay for it. It makes their home more valuable.”

The scholarship will last another five years by ordinance; however McDermott said he sees College Bound being a part of the city for a long time. 

More recently, McDermott said he is proud of the financial headway the city has made. In years past, the city would spend money based on expected revenue. However, during the pandemic McDermott “put a freeze” on all spending because the city’s financial future was so uncertain. 

“After about six months, I’m thinking to myself ‘wow, we have an opportunity that’s never going to present itself again; if I can convince the council that we spend actually what we have instead of what we expect to get, it will change all of our balances,’” McDermott said. 

For the past three budgets, the city has opted to spend money after receiving it. McDermott said that Hammond now has a rainy day fund and that the State Board of Accounts has given the city a higher evaluation. 

“It’s not the most exciting thing, but we’re in better fiscal shape because of it.”

If re-elected, McDermott said, he will have big plans for the city. 

“Next term is downtown Hammond term,” McDermott said. “Thirty years from now, 20 years from now, you’re going to see a vibrant downtown with people living there, taking the train to Chicago, eating, having fun.”

Once lined with an array of movie theaters, department stores and hotels, downtown storefronts began to empty in the 1950s as malls became more popular.

In 2018, the city began to “reimagine the downtown,” hiring Massachusetts-based urban planner Jeff Speck. Past revitalization efforts have largely been focused on bringing businesses back, but now the city wants to create housing. 

Looking even further ahead, McDermott said he has thought about running for governor in 2024. Multiple candidates have already announced campaigns as Republican incumbent Eric Holcomb cannot seek reelection because of term limits.

“I could have run years ago, but I always felt like I was too inexperienced and I’d probably lose,” McDermott said. “I’m definitely not inexperienced, I’ve run statewide before, but I’ll be honest, I’m not sure Indiana’s close to electing a Democrat.” 

The Hoosier state hasn’t had a Democratic governor in 20 years. McDermott said that if he were to run, he would have to start fundraising and collecting signatures this summer. 

“I could run the best campaign and if I’m just not given an opportunity at all, is it worth it?” McDermott said. “That’s sort of what I’m going through mentally, but right now, I’m just enjoying the holidays and looking forward to the mayor’s race.”