It turns out the Indiana Election Commission has been quasi-defunct for several months, despite an important statewide general election approaching.
Former Chairman Thomas Wheeler, a Republican, resigned shortly after the primary election, and the post is still empty.
Without a chairman, it’s hard to call a meeting. Not impossible, but it does involve getting the remaining members – two Democrats and one Republican – to agree.
The four-member election commission rules on ballot and residency disputes, fines campaign finance violators and oversees the administration of an election including the voting equipment and software.
Now that two possible challenges have been filed before the commission, it appears Gov. Mitch Daniels and Indiana Republican Party Chairman Murray Clark are working on the issue.
Just hours after Political Notebook asked about the vacancy last week, Clark sent two names to Daniels for nomination.
“Since there has been nothing on the commission’s agenda for the summer, that has given us the opportunity to be purposefully deliberative as we weighed several potential options for recommendation,” GOP Spokesman Trevor Foughty said.
Daniels hopes to name the replacement in the next week or two.
Insufficient majority
Apparently a majority of votes isn’t always sufficient to win political office.
State Rep. Bob Morris learned that during last weekend’s Republican caucus for his new seat.
In the second round of voting, Morris received 21 of 41 total votes among three candidates but was not declared the winner. A quirk in the rules required the eventual winner to get half of the total votes, plus one. Because there was an odd number of voters, half of the total was 20.5; plus 1 is 21.5.
This meant the winner needed 22 votes, which fortunately for Morris he easily reached in the next round. What would have happened if Morris had a 21-20 edge in a two-way race, however, is probably something caucus leaders were glad they didn’t have to resolve.
Making it official
New Rep. Bob Morris got his first glimpse of his new Statehouse office Friday when he came to Indianapolis to be officially sworn in.
Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard did the honors, noting when he met Morris’ wife and five children, “you’ve almost got enough for a precinct.”
Morris took the oath using not one but two Bibles – his family Bible and the one he used while growing up.
Several other reps stopped in for the event, including Rep. Phil Hinkle, R-Indianapolis, who said he came down just to see what Morris looked like since he has a cousin with the same name.
Others who attended included Morris’ parents, brother and numerous friends and family. On the political side, Fort Wayne City Council members Liz Brown and Mitch Harper joined the gathering, along with unsuccessful mayoral candidate Matt Kelty.
Accusers named
We at Political Notebook think it only appropriate to name the people making a political accusation. Therefore, here are the dozen people who signed a petition seeking to remove Judge Ken Scheibenberger from the ballot in Allen County.
The 12 names are: Richard Runestad, the man who challenged Steve Shine for the GOP chairmanship; David Ferro, who was an early volunteer in the Matt Kelty mayoral campaign; Larry Arnold, a Republican precinct committeeman; Jeffrey and Katherine Brumm, Leonard and Carole Engquist, Jack Benjamin, Carl and Andrea Jackson and Randy and Cheryl Hoium. All 12 are from Fort Wayne.
Showing up matters
Fewer people attended this year’s fiscal summit hosted by Allen County Auditor Lisa Blosser last week, including just one state legislator and only one Republican candidate.
But the Democrats, whose numbers are few and far between at the Allen County government level, were represented.
Rep. Win Moses, D-Fort Wayne, was the lone legislator to hear Purdue economist Larry DeBoer explain the unintended consequences of the legislature’s 2008 property tax reform law and how the tax caps have brought little relief to Hoosier homeowners and business owners.
The law has real consequences for local elected officials who have to carve budgets from decreasing revenues, as well as for legislators who could hear government officials plead for relief in the coming years, DeBoer said.
In attendance were Mike Conley, a Democratic candidate for County Council, and Mike Avila, a Democratic candidate for county commissioner. But their opponents Tom Harris and Linda Bloom, both Republicans, were absent.
Councilwoman Maye Johnson, D-1st, also attended, but her opponent, Republican Kevin Howell, was not there.
Councilman Darren Vogt, R-3rd, is unopposed this fall but he also was there along with several other County and City Council members plus County Commissioners Bill Brown and Nelson Peters, none of whom are running for election this fall.
Amanda Iacone of The Journal Gazette contributed to this column.
