A Republican with years of experience on the Porter County Park Board and Board of Zoning Appeals narrowly beat a Dunelander for the GOP nomination for County Surveyor.

Richard L. (Rich) Hudson won Tuesday’s primary over William Rensberger by 6,015 votes or 51.73 percent to 5,613 votes or 48.27 percent.

Hudson will face Democratic incumbent Kevin L. Breitzke, who ran unopposed in the primary.

Hudson, 63, resides in Center Township and works for GAI Consultants as a senior survey manager. He has served 21 years on the County Park Board and 15 years on the County BZA.

Rensberger is the long-time president and co-owner of Davies-Rensberger Land Surveying Inc. in Chesterton.

The County Surveyor’s responsibilities include establishing, re-establishing, and recording all section corners in the county, supervising all civil engineering work, recording the location of legal surveys, maintaining drains and ditches, and issuing drainage-related permits.

Hudson pledged, in a candidate questionnaire returned to the Chesterton Tribune earlier this spring, “to expand the perpetuation of monuments to other important survey markers in the county by working directly with municipalities as they plan their construction projects,” and “to make personal service to land owners in the county the No. 1 priority of the office.”