opinion

Bangert: ‘Lebowski’ for sheriff? A sign abides on 18th St.

LAFAYETTE, Ind. – That sign Dave Mason just put up, really tied the campaign together.

The Dude, Jeff Bridges’ slacker main man from the Coen Brothers’ 1998 cult classic, “The Big Lebowski,” took a starring turn this week in the South 18th Street lawn of Mason, a Lafayette photographer, courtesy of a campaign-style sign straight out of a contentious three-man race for Tippecanoe County sheriff.

“Just a bit of harmless fun,” Mason said Thursday, the morning after he put the sign, roughly 3-by-8-feet, in his yard. “I posted it to Facebook first, and when it didn’t generate a single nasty or angry comment, I just figured I’d go for it.”

The blue sign features Bridges’ long-haired, Lebowski-era mug, his bathrobe replaced by a police uniform and a badge. Under “Dude Jeffrey Lebowski for Nottingham Village Sheriff,” it reads: “Professional. Devoted. Abides.”

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Less than a block away, at the corner of 18th and Kossuth streets, is one of the dozens of 4-by-8-foot campaign signs for Jason Dombkowski, the West Lafayette police chief running for Tippecanoe County sheriff. The Lebowski yard sign shares more than a passing resemblance to Domkowski’s, borrowing a pattern of stars across the top, a similar font and the name cutting into the partial outline of a star meant to replicate the shape of a sheriff’s badge. The cadence of the name is similar, too.

Dombkowski, contacted Thursday, just laughed. ("I've seen the movie," Dombkowski said. "It's a classic.")

“The Dude is universally loved,” Mason said. “It should be an honor for anyone to be associated with him.”

That said, Mason said he had no favorites heading into the May 8 Republican primary – whether Dombkowski, Sheriff Barry Richard or sheriff’s Lt. Woody Ricks. He said he hasn’t followed the race all that closely.

Or in the words of Walter Sobchak, as played by John Goodman in a movie wrapped up in mistaken identity, a kidnapping and an area rug that really pulled the room together: He’s out of his element.

But Mason said the sign won't be a one-off. A half-dozen others are expected to go up in the coming days, based on what he's heard from the person who made the sign and wound up getting requests to pump out more. Which, in fact, would make it like this sheriff's race, which features large signs scattered around Tippecanoe County.

"It started as one, but now a bunch of people want them," Mason said. “I’ve always been the class clown and saw an opportunity. That’s it.”

The rise of The Dude for Sheriff sign abides.

Reach Dave Bangert at 765-420-5258 or at dbangert@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @davebangert.