GARY-As I arrived in Gary, Indiana today, I passed through several residential neighborhoods and noticed many Obama signs. And many more Obama signs. Actually, the most I have seen in the state so far.
It’s a beautiful sunny day today, people are out tending their lawns, and people are also working very hard. It was around noon when I arrived in Gary, which is located in the northwestern region of the state in Lake County. It is nicknamed the “City of steel.”
So, it was no surprise when I ran into some ironworkers on their lunch break.
“It sucks, but it’s always sucked,” said Bill Ketchum, who works for Industrial Steel Construction Inc. about the economy. He sat in his parked semi-truck, wearing an Indianapolis Colts hat, and ate his lunch just outside the Vienna gyro stop, which is located off the side of the road.
In the distance and around Gary, run-down buildings alongside the road have boards on the windows. Many shops are empty, and steel mills have closed down. Gary, Indiana was founded in 1906 by the United States Steel Corporation. It also has one of the highest African American populations in the United States, according to a 2000 census for cities with a population of at least 100,000.
Gary was once a robust city, but now people have left, jobs are gone, and it is ridden with high crime.
Mayor of Gary, Rudy Clay, states on his website, “I believe that Gary will realize it’s full potential and will see a resurgence that will surpass many of our visions.”
When I was en route to Gary, construction work was being done on the highway, but that was a ways down.
“I don’t think it’s the federal governments fault, it’s union greed,” said Ketchum about the economy. He is a Gulf War veteran, and self described “hardcore Republican.”
“I’m defiantly not going to vote Republican, I want a job next year,” said Dan, an ironworker at The Pangere Corporation, who showed up at the local gyro stop on his lunch break.
“I don’t like the way Obama talks,”said Dan, a member of Local 395, who saw Senator Hillary Clinton speak last week with some of his friends from the ironworkers apprenticeship program.
“Most of our locals are supporting Hillary,” he said.
“He doesn’t mention one word about steel mills, and she acts like she’s interested in it,” said Dan who has several friends that have lost their jobs.
Obama has been trying to capture the working class vote, a demographic that Clinton continues to have a strong turnout in.
Dan said jobs are the issue in Indiana, and he said Clinton will win Indiana tommorow.
Before Ketchum drove off in his truck, he said “It’s about split-I think.” Ketchum said Clinton would win Indiana. But as far as the “City of Steel” he said Obama would win it. “There’s a big black vote around here,”said Ketchum.
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1 My new WordPress MU Site » Blog Archive » On the Road in Indiana: Lunch break in Gary // May 5, 2008 at 3:07 pm
[…] Laura June wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt“I don’t like the way Obama talks,”said Dan, a member of Local 395, who saw Senator Hillary Clinton speak last week with some of his friends from the ironworkers apprenticeship program. “Most of our locals are supporting Hillary,” he … […]
2 test » Blog Archive » On the Road in Indiana: Lunch break in Gary // May 5, 2008 at 3:32 pm
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