Eric Blackmon

Ross Township Trustee: The winner in the Democratic Primary is Eric 'Eazy' Blackmon

Contributed By:The 411 News

Eric Blackmon, of Merrillville, is already calling himself Ross Township Trustee-Elect after besting the incumbent trustee Joe Shudick in the May 3 Democratic Primary.

No candidate entered the township trustee race on the Republican Primary side. So far, Blackmon is uncontested in November's General Election. "They might put an Independent in the race in July. Won't matter, I'll just work harder," Blackmon said.

Hard work is what it took for this 1st-time candidate who had planned to make his first run for office in the 2023 Merrillville council races. Now he's on his way to claim the distinction of being the first Black to hold the position of Ross Township Trustee.

Ross Township takes in all of Merrillville, and parts of Hobart and Crown Point.

Blackmon said he campaigned everywhere he went. "I learned running for office isn't like it is on TV with lots of volunteers and donors." His campaign was mostly a family affair of wife Tumika, mother-in-law Johnnie Burts, and two teenagers Elijah and Emani Blackmon. Walter Scott, a trusted friend was his campaign manager.

"We put up our own signs," he said. "Every time I wanted to sit down, God told me 'if you don't make it happen, it won't.'"

Blackmon, 48, is a steelworker at Cleveland Clifts in Burns Harbor and owns the trucking firm Blaq Transport LLC.

"I believe my 16 years experience in social and behavioral health services has prepared me to handle the job of township trustee," Blackmon said. "I know Joe and worked alongside him in the social services field."

But Shudick filed an election challenge with the Lake County Elections Board claiming Blackmon was a convicted felon and that would disqualify him from running.

"Shudick searched Indiana's public court records and dug up an old case of mine from 1998," Blackmon said. "I was charged with a property conversion crime. That is a misdemeanor, not a felony. The property in question was my property. These charges were later dropped on inaccurate information."

His attorney, John Cantrell, submitted copies of the dismissal. If Shudick had read more of the case record, Blackmon said Shudick would have found that the case was dismissed.

"I ran a clean campaign. I never said a bad thing about Shudick," Blackmon said.

"Election night was crazy. I was told I had won. Then I was told there was a machine miscount," he said. Blackmon held a 14-vote margin the next day.

When the election board met last week to certify the results, Blackmon's lead grew by 2 votes, 1467 to Shudick's 1451.

Story Posted:05/17/2022