INDIANAPOLIS | Griffith's push to escape the tax shackles of township government will get a legislative shot next year, state Rep. Dan Stevenson, D-Highland, told constituents in a letter.

Calumet Township Trustee Mary Elgin, however, dismissed the letter as "political grandstanding."

The Griffith Town Council in July unanimously endorsed a petition to exit Calumet Township, which is dominated by Gary and its estimated population of 98,000. Supporters, led by Griffith Councilman Rick Ryfa, R-3rd, say secession would lead to better service and lower taxes for his town's nearly 17,000 residents.

Stevenson, who plans to revive efforts to abolish all 1,008 Indiana townships, told constituents he also will file legislation allowing any community to take a binding vote on severing ties with its township. Current law requires a referendum throughout the taxing unit seeking to reorganize, meaning Griffith residents would have to convince their Gary neighbors to let them leave Calumet Township.

"While secession should be a option of a last resort, it should still be an option," Stevenson wrote in his letter, which his office mailed last month.

"I see it as political grandstanding that causes a lot of problems for the citizens, for the indigent in the this community," Elgin said. "No one has come up with an alternative ... It's easy to attack township government and say that it should be abolished."

Stevenson, who couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday, is up for re-election next year, but the veteran lawmaker didn't draw an opponent last year.

Elgin argues Griffith council members have embraced the secession movement as a means of currying favor with the voters they'll face in November. She singles out Ryfa, the council's only Republican, who was appointed to a vacant seat in 2005.

"That's absolutely ridiculous. I started this fight more than two years ago," Ryfa said. "It couldn't be further from the truth."

Ryfa said the secession movement, which has garnered more than 3,500 signed petitions, aims to end a situation of taxation without representation. Griffith taxpayers contribute about $3.2 million a year to Calumet Township, he said, but, because of the population gulf, town residents cannot beat Gary candidates for a seat on the three-member township board.

"I think that the people (of Griffith), should have a little more voice, but I don't think they should secede," said Gary Mayor Rudy Clay.