Republican Jim Biggs has been out of elected office for 10 years, since fulfilling a campaign promise and relinquishing his seat on the Porter County Commissioners after two terms. Now, he believes, is a good time to get back in.

Biggs told the Chesterton Tribune this morning that he plans to file later today for the 1st District seat on the Porter County Council currently held by Democrat Bob Poparad.

Poparad is running for re-election. At the moment Biggs is the only Republican to have filed for the 1st District seat.

“I think a lot of residents of Porter County would agree that, at least at times, there’s an impression of missing leadership on the County Council,” Biggs said. “I going to run on my record as a County Commissioner. If I tell you I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it. Like everyone else, I sit back and read the papers. And I decided I could either complain or lend myself to fix the problems and that’s what I’m going to do.”

Biggs pointed in particular to the shortfall in state revenues and “how that will affect what we receive as a county for transportation, for example, and education. We’re in a very critical juncture in Northwest Indiana.”

“I left office in 2000,” Biggs said. “There were some things I wanted to accomplish and I’ve accomplished them. I went back to school and earned my master’s degree and got myself positioned, professionally speaking, in a place I wanted to be.”

“But I’m very much concerned now with what’s going on at the county level,” he added.

“I really enjoyed myself as a County Commissioner,” Biggs added. “I felt I was good at it. Some would disagree with that but I felt I was effective. When I left I didn’t want to leave but I had committed myself to two terms. I was elected twice and didn’t run a third time.”