Times Staff Report

Griffith's leading secessionist, Republican Town Councilman Rick Ryfa, is hawking political "snake oil," says Mary Elgin, Calumet Township trustee.

Ryfa's proposal to pull Griffith from Calumet Township or abolish the township form of government is "purely political," she says in a guest commentary for The Times. Elgin objects to Ryfa's demand that Griffith's residents stop paying taxes for programs linked to unemployment and poverty in Gary, which makes up most of the township. Griffith gets what it needs, she says.

"What's wrong with Ryfa? Is he truly insensitive and un-Christian?" she asks.

"Or is he just trying to make political hay?"