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Chester Dobis
Chester Dobis (b. August 15, 1942) is a former Democratic member of the Indiana House of Representatives, representing District 13 from 1970 to 2012. He previously served as Speaker Pro Tempore.
Dobis is Vice President of Government Services for Bank One, and served in the Indiana National Guard.
He is a member of the Gary Sportsmen Club, Indiana University North Chancellors Advisory Board, and Polish National Alliance Silver Bell.[1]
Committee assignments
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Dobis served on these committees:
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Dobis served on these committees:
- Government and Regulatory Reform
- Financial Institutions
- Interstate and International Cooperation (Vice Chair)
Legislative walkout
Dobis and 36 other Democratic representatives participated in a legislative walkout on February 22, 2011, in opposition to proposed right-to-work legislation that would have limited union powers in Indiana. The Democratic departure left the House void of a quorum, leaving only 58 of the 67 representatives needed to establish a quorum.[2] Terri Austin, Steven Stemler and Vanessa Summers stayed behind to provide, if necessary, a motion and a seconding motion, which would enable them to stop any official business from proceeding should the Republicans try to do so.[2]
On March 7, 2011, House Minority Leader B. Patrick Bauer revealed that the Democrats were staying at the Comfort Suites in Urbana, Illinois during their absence from the statehouse.[3] According to the Indiana Constitution, Article 4, sections 11 and 14, the House may enforce fines and other methods to compel absent members to return. Beginning on March 7, 2011, each Democrat was subject to a fine of $250, to be withheld from future expense or salary payments, for each day they were not present in the statehouse.[4] Regarding their actual pay, House Speaker Brian Bosma announced that the 37 lawmakers were required to be physically present in the chambers to receive their per diem payment of $152/day.[3]
On March 21, 2011, Governor Mitch Daniels (R) and House Republicans increased daily fines from $250/day to $350/day. In response to the increase in fines, House Minority Leader B. Patrick Bauer stated that Democrats "will remain steadfast" in their opposition to the right-to-work bill.[5] Rep. Winfield Moses, Jr. (D) called the increase "a poke in the eye," and said it would not cause the Democrats to return.[6]
The Democrats returned to the statehouse on March 28, 2011, after the two sides had agreed to compromise on a number of issues, including shelving the controversial right-to-work bill.[4] Although the Democrats had some of their demands met, each absent member accrued a total of $3,500 in fines.[4]
The Legislature ended up passing right-to-work legislation on February 1, 2012, becoming the 23rd state to do so. Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) signed the measure into law.[7]
Elections
2010
Dobis defeated Republican candidate Craig Menninga by a margin of 9,656 to 6,179 in the November 2 general election.[8]
In the May 4 primary election, Dobis defeated Richard Hardaway by a margin of 3,112 to 2,312 votes.[9]
| Indiana House of Representatives, District 13 General Election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
 Chester Dobis (D)
|
9,656 | |||
| Craig Menninga (R) | 6,179 | |||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Democrat Chester Dobis won re-election to the Indiana House of Representatives District 13 receiving 18,511 votes, ahead of Republican Joseph M. Hero who received 8,637 votes.[10]
| Indiana House of Representatives, District 13 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Chester Dobis (D)
|
18,511 | |||
| Joseph M. Hero (R) | 8,637 | |||
2006
On November 7, 2006, Chester Dobis won re-election to the Indiana House of Representatives District 13 unopposed.[11]
| Indiana House of Representatives, District 13 (2006) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Chester Dobis (D)
|
9,483 | |||
Campaign finance summary
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Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Chester + Dobis + Indiana + Legislature
External links
- Indiana House of Representatives - Rep. Chester Dobis
- Legislative Profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Watchdog Indiana Candidate Ratings
- Campaign contributions: 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1996, 1994
Footnotes
- ↑ Project Vote Smart - Rep. Dobis
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 IndyStar.com, "Indiana Democrats trigger Statehouse showdown over anti-union legislation," February 22, 2011
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Fox 59, "Fines begin for absent House Democrats," March 7, 2011
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Wall Street Journal, "Pressure Mounts on Absent Democrats in Wisconsin, Indiana," March 3, 2011 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "wsj" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ IndyStar.com, "Dems' walkout drags on, among nation's longest," March 23, 2011
- ↑ WFIE.com, "Indiana Republicans say they're done negotiating," March 17, 2011
- ↑ Reuters, "Indiana becomes 23rd "right-to-work" state," February 1, 2012
- ↑ Indiana Secretary of State, "2010 Official General Election Results," accessed March 6, 2014
- ↑ Indiana Secretary of State, "2010 Official Primary Election Results," accessed March 6, 2014
- ↑ Indiana Secretary of State, "2008 Official election results," accessed March 6, 2014
- ↑ Indiana Secretary of State, "2006 Official election results," accessed March 6, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Indiana House of Representatives District 13 1970–2012 |
Succeeded by Sharon Negele (R) |
