The city of Gary’s Law Department and Redevelopment Division are currently without leadership after the officials who headed the departments were fired by Mayor Jerome Prince.
Whether the mayor plans to fill the vacancies is unclear. Prince, who was defeated in the Democratic mayoral primary held in May by State Sen. Eddie Melton, D-Gary, has under three months remaining in his role. Melton is heavily favored to win the Nov. 7 general election and take office in January.
The city has been without an executive director of redevelopment since early August. Wendy Vachet, who formerly held the role, said she fired was during an Aug. 7 meeting with Prince and chief of staff Joy Holliday, with the decision effective immediately. The firing came as a surprise, Vachet said, and Prince did not offer an explanation.
“I was not given any details (or) rationale and there was no discussion,” she said. “And I guess that’s how it goes. We know that we serve at the pleasure of the mayor.”
Gary’s Redevelopment Division administers tax increment financing (TIF) districts, manages land use and coordinates the demolition of blighted properties. Vachet was appointed to lead the division by Prince in September of 2022.
George Rogge, president of the Gary Redevelopment Commission — the body that votes on redevelopment policy and contracts — said he was similarly left in the dark about the mayor’s decision making process. Rogge said that Prince called to inform him of the firing shortly after his meeting with Vachet.
“And I said ‘why?’ and he said ‘it just wasn’t working out,’ ” Rogge told the Post-Tribune.
Deputy Mayor Trent McCain said that deputy redevelopment director Carrol Pirtle has taken on Vachet’s duties while her role remains unfilled. He did not provide any information about possible plans to fill the vacancy.
Former corporation counsel Angela Lockett was fired in mid-September. In that role, she headed the city’s law department, which provides legal counsel and representation to city entities and officials, reviews legal documents, and pursues litigation on the city’s behalf.
Lockett told the Post-Tribune that her firing was proceeded by a disagreement between herself and Prince. She offered scant details on the conflict, citing a desire to avoid a potential breach of attorney-client privilege. In the weeks leading up to her firing, she said, Prince asked her to take an action to which she had personal and professional objections.
“He was pressing upon me to act unethically and contrary to Indiana law,” she told the Post-Tribune.
Her refusal to comply with the mayor’s instructions, she said, led to Prince questioning her loyalty, and ultimately to her firing.
“The reason he told me was, he wants to go in a different direction with the Law Department,” she said. “With three months and three weeks left, where are you going with the Law Department but straight to hell?”
Lockett said she is considering suing the mayor for retaliatory discharge, but lamented the bad optics that a lawsuit could generate.
“I love my city,” she said. “I don’t want to embarrass us further.”
City attorney Rodney Pol did not provide additional context on Lockett’s firing, but echoed her account of Prince’s stated desire “to go in a different direction” with the Law Department.
“I was informed that, ‘hey, Angela’s no longer going to be with the city,’” he told the Post-Tribune.
Pol said that the three remaining attorneys in the Law Department have been able to manage the department’s workload in Lockett’s absence.
“Right now everything’s all right,” he said, “but obviously losing somebody like Angela is a tough blow.”
The Gary Zoning Department’s top job is also unfilled after former zoning administrator Shavon King left her role. The department regulates land use in the city and handles changes in the designated use for particular properties. King left the department, McCain said, “to pursue another employment opportunity.” King was not reachable for comment.
McCain declined to discuss the circumstances of the firings, telling the Post-Tribune that he cannot comment on personnel matters. Neither Prince nor Holliday responded to multiple requests for comment.