Tag: Nicole Browne

Local Democratic Party won’t contest District 6 Bloomington council election outcome now, leaves door open to future action

B Square file photo of Monroe County Democratic Party chair David Henry (Jan. 6, 2023).
Monroe County election board member Donovan Garletts (May 18, 2023)
David Wolfe Bender (May 18, 2023)
John Fernandez, who served as a David Henry’s proxy for the May 18, 2023 election board hearing. (May 18, 2023)
Monroe County election board from left: County clerk Nicole Browne, Donovan Garletts, and John Fernandez (May 18, 2023).
The six precincts of District 6 are outlined in brown. Surrounding districts (clowise 2, 3, and 4) are shown in green red and yellow.

Monroe County Democratic Party chair David Henry has confirmed to The B Square that he has not filed a petition under Indiana election code objecting to the outcome of the May 2 primary.

The primary made David Wolfe Bender the party’s nominee for the Bloomington District 6 city council seat in the Nov. 7 municipal election.

The deadline for a party chair to file a petition objecting to the result was noon on Friday (May 19).

The deadline came 23 hours after the election board convened a hearing on the question of Bender’s residency in the district.

The election board voted unanimously to refer to the county prosecutor potential felony charges involving a potential misrepresentation of Bender’s residency on his candidate filing forms. [.pdf of document forwarded to prosecutor and AG]

But in a separate action, the three-member board voted 2-1 to refer to the state attorney general the matter of possible action involving Bender’s eligibility as a candidate.

Thursday’s election board action factored into Henry’s decision, as party chair, not to file a petition. By making its referral to the attorney general, Henry said that the election board had asked the AG to do the same thing that he, as party chair, would have asked a court to do. Continue reading “Local Democratic Party won’t contest District 6 Bloomington council election outcome now, leaves door open to future action” →

Referred by election board to county prosecutor, state attorney general: Residency questions about District 6 Bloomington city council candidate

Map showing the address where David Wolfe Bender registered to vote.
Sworn in at the start of the May 18, 2023 hearing are Justin Fox (left), landlord of the property where David Wolfe Bender (right) the landlord of the property (Justin Fox) where Bender says he signed a sublease .
From left: Monroe County election board members Donovan Garletts and John Fernandez. (May 18, 2023)
From left: Monroe County attorney Jeff Cockerill, election supervisor Jessica Brown, and deputy clerk Tressia Martin (May 18, 2023).
David Wolfe Bender addresses the Monroe County election board (May 18, 2023).
Monroe County election board from left: County clerk Nicole Browne, Donovan Garletts, and John Fernandez (May 18, 2023).

David Wolfe Bender’s name was the only one that appeared on the May 2 Democratic Party’s primary for the Bloomington city council’s District 6 seat.

So Bender is currently the party’s nominee for that council position. All other things being equal, he will appear on the Nov. 7 ballot as the party’s nominee.

But on Thursday, Monroe County’s three-member election board voted unanimously to refer two potential felony election law violations by Bender to county prosecutor Erika Oliphant. The vote came after a hearing that lasted around an hour and 20 minutes.

It was election board member John Fernandez who made the motion to refer the matter to the prosecutor, saying, “I just think we ought to, frankly, just move this process along—without any kind of prejudice one way or another.”

Fernandez added that he wanted to “go ahead and recommend this over to the prosecutor’s office so that they can make that judgment and let this young man get on with his life, if that’s the determination.”

The hearing had been scheduled  after an Indiana Daily Student (IDS) article was published on Feb. 17, 2023, which questioned whether Bender actually lived in District 6: “City Council candidate David Wolfe Bender is running in District 6, residents say he doesn’t live there”

It was based on that article, that GOP county vice chair William Ellis filed a complaint with the election board. Continue reading “Referred by election board to county prosecutor, state attorney general: Residency questions about District 6 Bloomington city council candidate” →

Provisional ballots decided, no change in outcomes, Bloomington primary elections finally over

Monroe County election board members David Henry (Democratic Party appointee) and Nicole Browne (Monroe County clerk) review provisional ballots. Seated at right is the new county election supervisor, Jessica Brown. (May 12, 2023)

The tallies for the May 2 primary elections are now final, after Monroe County’s election board voted on Friday to accept the votes from three additional, provisional ballots.

No outcomes were even close to being changed from the initial results—because there were a total of just 13 provisional ballots.

Provisional ballots are set aside, for various reasons—like a failure to show adequate ID, lack of voter registration, or trying to vote in the wrong polling location. Setting ballots aside means they’re not a part of the initial election vote totals, but could be added after their eventual adjudication by the election board.

Provisional ballots are adjudicated 10 days after the election. On Friday, 10 provisional ballots were rejected by the Monroe County election board.

Continue reading “Provisional ballots decided, no change in outcomes, Bloomington primary elections finally over” →

Focus on felonies: Election board revises list of laws for hearing on Bloomington Dem’s residency

Election board meeting on March 31, 2023 in the Nat U. Hill Room of Monroe County courthouse where the proceedings are displayed on screen with closed captions.
Monroe County election board members Donovan Garletts and Guy Loftman (serving as proxy for David Henry)

At its meeting last week, Monroe County’s election board voted to set a hearing for May 18 on the matter of Democrat David Wolfe Bender’s residency, as a Bloomington city council candidate for District 6.

This week on Friday, the board revised the list of specific Indiana state election laws that it wants to cite for its determination “that there is substantial reason to believe an election law violation has occurred.”

A list of four statutes that the board had previously cited was revised to two different laws that are the basis of the board’s determination:

IC 3-14-1-13 Filing fraudulent reports

IC 3-14-3-1.1  Procuring or submission of false, fictitious, or fraudulent registration application; procuring, casting, or tabulating false, fictitious, or fraudulent ballot

Both are Level 6 felonies.

The board’s investigation into Bender’s residency, is based on a complaint that was made by William Ellis, who is vice chair of the Monroe County Republican Party.

Ellis’s complaint was based on an Indiana Daily Student (IDS) article published on Feb. 17, 2023. The headline to the IDS piece describes the basic idea of the complaint: City Council candidate David Wolfe Bender is running in District 6, residents say he doesn’t live there.

Bender has indicated to the board through his legal counsel that he intends to withdraw as the Democratic Party’s nominee after the primary election. He’s the only candidate on the ballot, so there’s no question he will be the nominee. Continue reading “Focus on felonies: Election board revises list of laws for hearing on Bloomington Dem’s residency” →

District 6 Bloomington Democrat’s residency: Election board sets May 18 hearing, no subpoenas

A hearing on the matter of Democrat David Wolfe Bender’s residency, as a Bloomington city council candidate for District 6, has now been set by Monroe County’s election board for May 18.

The three-member board set the date on a unanimous vote taken at its Thursday meeting.

The date falls roughly two weeks after the May 2 primary election, which will undoubtedly make Bender the District 6 city council nominee for the Democratic Party. He’s the only candidate on the ballot.

But Bender previously conveyed through his attorney, an intent to withdraw as the District 6 nominee: “David [Wolfe Bender] has decided to withdraw his candidacy for Bloomington Common Council District 6.”

Bender’s name will appear on the primary ballot, because the questions about his residency, which were raised by an Indiana Daily Student article published on Feb. 17, 2023, did not come to light until after the Feb. 10 deadline for challenges to be made.

Assuming Bender does withdraw as the nominee after the primary, the Democratic Party could place an alternate candidate on the November 8 city election ballot.

After the May 18 hearing, the board could refer the matter to the county prosecutor, who could then decide whether to bring charges. Continue reading “District 6 Bloomington Democrat’s residency: Election board sets May 18 hearing, no subpoenas” →

A decision to withdraw: Democratic Party city council candidate under investigation over residency

Donovan Garletts, GOP appointee to Monroe County election board.
Map showing the address where David Wolfe Bender registered to vote.
David Henry, Democratic Party appointee to Monroe County election board.
Molly Turner-King, county attorney.
March 9, 2023 election board meeting.

“David [Wolfe Bender] has decided to withdraw his candidacy for Bloomington Common Council District 6.”

That’s the opening line of a letter received by Monroe County’s election board from Bender’s attorney, Manny Herceg, with the Taft-Jaffe law firm.

An Indiana University student, Bender is the sole Democrat for District 6 who appears on the May 2 primary election ballot. District 6 is centered around the university campus and downtown—its entire area is north of 3rd Street.

The letter was read aloud by Monroe County clerk Nicole Browne at Thursday afternoon’s meeting of the three-member election board.

The board’s meeting this Thursday was a continuation of its meeting last week, when the board started an investigation into whether Bender’s candidacy broke any election laws.

The investigation was based on a complaint made by vice chair of the Republican Party, William Ellis, which in turn was based on an Indiana Daily Student article published on Feb. 17, 2023.

The headline to the IDS piece describes the basic idea of the complaint: City Council candidate David Wolfe Bender is running in District 6, residents say he doesn’t live there.

The election board did not decide much on Thursday, but did make some incremental progress, and agreed to resume meeting on the topic in two weeks, on March 23. Continue reading “A decision to withdraw: Democratic Party city council candidate under investigation over residency” →

Residency of District 6 Bloomington city council candidate to be investigated by election board

From left: William Ellis, Donovan Garletts, and David Henry. Obscured from view by Ellis is Monroe County clerk Nicole Browne.
David Henry, Monroe County Democratic Party chair and interim election board member.
Donovan Garletts, Monroe County election board member.
William Ellis, vice chair of the Monroe County Republican Party.
Molly Turner-King, Monroe County attorney.
Map showing the address where David Wolfe Bender registered to vote.

The first step of a formal investigation into the residency status of Bloomington city council candidate David Wolfe Bender has now been taken.

At its regular meeting on Thursday, the three-member Monroe County election board voted unanimously on a motion that concluded that there is enough reason to believe that an election law has been violated, to set a hearing “at the earliest possible time” after witnesses have been notified they have to appear.

The board was acting Thursday on a complaint brought by Monroe County Republican Party vice chair William Ellis, which was based on an Indiana Daily Student article published on Feb. 17, 2023.

The headline to the IDS piece describes the basic idea of the complaint: City Council candidate David Wolfe Bender is running in District 6, residents say he doesn’t live there.

As a practical matter, the Feb. 10 deadline for withdrawing from the primary has passed. That’s also the deadline for someone to challenge a candidate’s residency claim.

So Bender will appear on the ballot as the sole candidate for the Democratic Party’s nomination for District 6 city council, which means he will win the primary election. Continue reading “Residency of District 6 Bloomington city council candidate to be investigated by election board” →

Election board roundup: Monroe county election supervisor resigns; board adopts stricter fine policy

Hans Kelson, who was fined $75 for a late filing. (Feb. 2, 2023)
Monroe County election supervisor, Karen Wheeler, who resigned effective Feb. 3, 2023.
The new fine policy for late campaign finance filings.

At Monroe County’s election board meeting last Thursday, election supervisor Karen Wheeler announced she had resigned her position.

“Today will be my last election board meeting, since tomorrow is my last day as Monroe County election supervisor,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler read aloud some prepared remarks recounting her time serving as election supervisor, which included eight elections.

Chair of the three-member election board, Donovan Garletts, told Wheeler after her remarks, “I can probably say this on behalf of the current and past board members: Thank you for your service. And wish you the best.”

Wheeler had wrapped up her remarks by saying, “And I am hopeful that my next step will be to continue as a Monroe County employee.”

Immediately after the meeting, responding to a question from The B Square, Monroe County clerk Nicole Browne said that for Wheeler’s replacement, she did not yet have a name that she was able to share.

Later on Thursday, responding to a question from the B Square, Wheeler elaborated on her concluding statement at the meeting, by saying that her departure was voluntary, but only in the sense that she had resigned the position.

Wheeler added that she’d been given a choice by Browne—either resign or be “let go.”

Continue reading “Election board roundup: Monroe county election supervisor resigns; board adopts stricter fine policy” →

High expectations set for new elected officials in Monroe County at swearing-in ceremony

Monroe County circuit court judges.
Monroe County councilor, Peter Iversen.
Monroe County sheriff, Ruben Marté
Monroe County clerk, Nicole Browne.
Monroe County councilor, Jennifer Crossley.
Monroe County circuit court judge, Emily Salzmann.
Monroe County councilor, Kate Wiltz.
Monroe County councilor Marty Hawk.
Monroe County recorder, Amy Swain.

Voters in Monroe County, Indiana, elected a total of 61 local officials in 2022, who start their terms of office on Jan. 1, 2023.

That includes judges, a county commissioner, the sheriff, the recorder, the clerk, the assessor, the prosecutor, county councilors, town councilors, township trustees, township board members, and school board members.

About one-third of them took their oath of office in a public ceremony starting at noon on Sunday, New Year’s Day in the Nat U. Hill room at the county courthouse.

It was a bipartisan event, featuring remarks from Monroe County Republican Party chair Taylor Bryant, and her counterpart for the Democratic  Party, David Henry. Continue reading “High expectations set for new elected officials in Monroe County at swearing-in ceremony” →

Settlement on Monroe county clerk’s per diem pay OK’d by commissioners: $9,249.50

On a rare split vote, Monroe County commissioners have approved $9,249.50 in per diem pay for Monroe County clerk Nicole Browne, from 2016 to 2021.

Dissenting on the vote at Wednesday’s regular meeting was Penny Githens. Providing the two-vote majority were Lee Jones and Julie Thomas.

The per diem pay in question covers voter registration duties associated with the clerk’s office.

It is based on a state law  [IC 3-7-12-22] that says in a county like Monroe, where the county clerk serves as voter registration officer, the clerk is entitled to per diem compensation.

Browne had not been paid a per diem for voter registration activity since the time she was caucused into the position in 2016, after Linda Robbins resigned. Brown won reelection in 2018 and again this year. Continue reading “Settlement on Monroe county clerk’s per diem pay OK’d by commissioners: $9,249.50” →