Election complaints target Monroe County clerk hopeful over signs, electioneering in ‘chute’

On Friday (May 15), the Monroe County election board tabled one complaint and decided to set hearings for two others, about election law violations that occurred during the primary elections held on May 5.

The three complaints, about two candidates total, were the only items on Friday’s agenda. The first step for the election board—consisting of county clerk Nicole Brown, Democratic Party appointee Penny Githens, and Republican Party appointee Danny Shields—was to formally receive all the complaints.

Two of the complaints were filed against Joe Davis, a candidate in the Democratic Party’s primary for the Monroe County clerk. Davis finished third with 2,549 votes (21%). The board set a date for a hearing on the complaints against him on June 4.

The other complaint concerned Lisa Jeneé Trimble, a Monroe County assessor hopeful who plans to appear on the November ballot as an independent candidate. The board unanimously decided to table the complaint against Trimble until (and if) she becomes a candidate.

Complaint against Trimble

The complaint against Trimble was filed by Judy Sharp, the current Monroe County assessor and Democratic Party’s nominee for November.

In a letter to the election board, Sharp wrote that she was made aware of a media post by Trimble offering her services in property tax matters “in exchange for signatures allowing her to be on the ballot” as an independent candidate in the fall.

Sharp claimed that Trimble does not have the qualifications or necessary credentials to explain property assessments to taxpayers. She also alleged that Trimble told taxpayers that she would help them understand their assessment and how to file an appeal in exchange for 10 signatures of voters in Monroe County, an act Sharp called “totally unethical as well as, I would think, illegal.”

Sharp also shared printouts of Trimble’s Facebook post, where Trimble wrote, about the kind of assistance she would provide to help people with their appeals, “I will try to do as many as I can, but this year it will come with a price. It will cost you 1 sheet of the signatures (10 signatures per sheet) of registered Monroe County voters in advance.”

For her part, Trimble forwarded to The B Square a response to the communication from the county attorney on behalf of the election board. Trimble wrote: “I do not represent taxpayers at their local or state appeal hearings. There is not a law against telling people how to read their property record cards or explaining to them how to file an appeal, or explaining the local & state appeal process. Everyone has these rights. I did [not] violate any local, state or election laws.”

Complaints against Davis

After deciding not to set a hearing on the matter involving Trimble, the board discussed two complaints against Davis, the candidate for county clerk. One of them was filed by Karen Wheeler and the other by Carol McGarry.

Wheeler, who is a former Monroe County elections supervisor, wrote a letter alleging multiple violations of Indiana election law by “a candidate”.

The claimed infractions, which were alleged to have taken place during the early voting period, included: usage of campaign signs without the required disclaimer about who paid for them; electioneering inside the protected zone 50 feet from each entrance of the polling location (which is called the “chute” in election law); following a voter after they cast a vote; and potentially misleading voters by calling himself a “practising jurist of law.”

The letter did not mention Joe Davis by name, but included photographic and video evidence documenting the violations. The letter requested the Monroe County election board conduct a thorough investigation.

The complaint by McGarry focused on one alleged transgression, specifically that Davis approached her as she walked from a handicapped parking space towards the building.

McGarry wrote that Davis talked “quickly and at length” about his candidacy and qualifications as she tried to keep walking, and that he was still with her as she turned the corner and walked toward the entry doors.

At its Friday meeting, the election board voted unanimously to set June 4 as a date for hearing the complaints against Davis—during its regular meeting that day. The board meets on the first Thursday of each month. The board also directed the county’s legal counsel to provide the necessary notice and supporting documents ahead of the hearing to the people who filed the complaints and to Davis.

When The B Square reached him by phone on Monday, Davis seemed ready to defend himself. Davis dismissed the complaints as “false allegations” and said he was prepared to explain that his presence inside the chute stemmed from his efforts to clear up landscaping and remove low-hanging branches, and on one occasion to help a voter who used a wheelchair.

David maintained that his campaign signs did include the required “paid for by Joe” disclaimer and indicated that election board member Penny Githens had scrutinized his materials in search of technical violations. Confident that his conduct would withstand the election board’s review, Davis summed up his stance with a cheerful challenge: “Bring it on!”