VALPARAISO | Porter County Republican Party Chairman Chuck Williams said there is no need to pursue plans for a referendum on the fate of the county's participation in the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority.

Tuesday's local election was that referendum, he said, and voters made it clear they are opposed to both the continued participation in the RDA and the related proposal of extending the South Shore train to Valparaiso.

"I think the nail is in that coffin," Williams said.

Williams said he came to the conclusion based on Tuesday's defeat of county commissioner candidate Jim Murphy and County Council member Jim Burge, who was the lowest vote-getter among the six council candidates.

Both of the Republican candidates were upfront with their support of the RDA and/or train extension project and both lost by a significant margin to candidates who felt differently, he said.

Republican council member William Carmichael, who supported joining the RDA when the vote was taken three years ago, also lost his re-election bid Tuesday.

Democratic council member Dan Whitten and returning council member Laura Blaney, who had voted against joining the RDA, were the top two vote-getters in Tuesday's council race.

Williams, who initially supported participation in the RDA, said with Tuesday's outcome in mind, he is now questioning whether it is worth it for the county to continue paying $3.5 million each year in RDA dues. The money is generated by a local income tax that also provides property tax relief.

"Porter County needs to re-evaulate, do they want to be in the RDA?" he said.

County Commissioner Carole Knoblock, who won re-election against Murphy, said Tuesday she plans to pursue a referendum on the South Shore proposal to let the RDA know how voters feel.

The idea of Porter County backing out of the RDA has been floated before, yet no one seems to know for sure how that move would be carried out.

The state law creating the RDA contains no provision for a member to withdraw, according to past comments from County Council attorney Dave Hollenbeck and RDA Executive Director Tim Sanders.

"The burden would be on the RDA to determine how to handle members who don't pay or are delinquent," Hollenbeck has said.

While not mentioning the RDA specifically, Porter County Democratic Party Chairman Jeff Chidester said his party made the local gains it did Tuesday by becoming the fiscally conservative party.