Joseph M. Stahura
On November 4, 2003, Mayor Joe Stahura became the
first former Whiting City Councilman ever to be elected as Mayor
of the City of Whiting. Mayor Joe is now serving his 2nd term as
Mayor following five consecutive terms as Councilman. During his
20 years as Councilman, he has represented the city as both Councilman-at-Large
and as the 1st District Councilman. The Mayor has served as the
Council President Pro-Tem, Chairman of both the Police and Fire
and the Finance Committees and as a Council Representative to the
Plan Commission. As a Councilman, the Mayor has worked to assist
various departments in the city to help computerize their day-to-day
operations.
In Mayor Joe's 1st term as mayor, he championed initiatives to increase
public access to city documents such as contracts, budgets, and
financial information. Whiting is now widely viewed as the leader
in providing such information to its residents. The Mayor also is
driving an aggressive agenda to improve the City through economic
development initiatives and through government reform. Whiting has
been a leader in applying the recommendations suggested by the Maximus
Good Government Initiative.
In 2006, the BP Whiting Refinery has announced their intentions
to invest almost $4 billion to retool and expand their Whiting Refinery.
This project is the largest single economic development project
in Indiana state history. When completed, this project, along with
related secondary projects, could triple the gross tax base of the
City of Whiting. Since he was elected, Mayor Joe has been active
in many organizations across the state. He believes that Whiting
needs and deserves a seat at the table on both regional and state
organizations. His leadership has been recognized by his elections
and appointments to several key state and regional positions. A
brief list of a few key positions is provided below:
- 2009 President of the Northern Mayors Roundtable
- 2009 IACT Executive Board member
- 2009 Northwestern Indiana Regional Plan Commission (NIRPC) Executive Board member
- 2009 Lake County Democratic Central Committee Executive Board member
- 2008 Chairman of the Northwestern Indiana Regional Plan Commission (NIRPC)
- 2008 Co-Chairman of the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns (IACT) Legislative Committee
- 2007 to present - IACT Executive Board member
- 2008 Vice-President of the Northern Indiana Mayors Roundtable (NIMR)
The Mayor has been married to his wife Diane (Babinec)
for 33 years and they have two daughters, Sheryl and Eileen. He
has been a lifelong resident of Whiting, attended Immaculate Conception
grade school and is a 1974 graduate of Whiting High School. He also
attended Lakeland College in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The Mayor worked
for the BP (Amoco) Whiting refinery for 22+ years. The Mayor and
his wife Diane also own Cheap Seats Sports Cards, a retail sports
collectible store in downtown Whiting. The Mayor is a member of
the Whiting-Robertsdale Chamber of Commerce and volunteers his time
to help develop and maintain this website. He also in a member of
the Whiting Knights of Columbus, the Roosevelt Club and the American
Slovak Club.
Visit: http://www.whitingindiana.com/mayor.php
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