Democratic mayoral candidates in EC talk public safety finances

EAST CHICAGO — The mayoral candidates have enough talking points to geek out any political analysts in the crowd. Mayor Anthony Copeland says his financial management has boosted the city’s municipal bond rating from junk to gold. His challenger, Adrian Santos, says East Chicago is in a public safety crisis because of understaffed police and water departments. But will the voters instead be swayed by a debate about which of the two is the real homegrown hero? Copeland, a city firefighter for 27 years, a Common Councilman for four and mayor for more than a dozen, brands Santos as an…