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Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Ind. Decisions - Another New twist on Terre Haute mayorial race dispute

This morning the ILB posted this entry, quoting a story about a potential challenge by the candidate who lost to Mayor Burke in the Republican primary.

Now another twist, reported by John Martin in this story in the Evansville Courier & Press:

Vanderburgh County Commissioner Jeff Korb, a Republican who lost his seat in the Nov. 4 election to Democrat Stephen Melcher, alleges that the election result is not valid because of Melcher's employment with the Community Action Program of Evansville, a nonprofit agency that receives federal funds.

Korb's attorney, Mark Foster, said the circumstances of Melcher's employment are similar to those of Duke Bennett, who won election as mayor of Terre Haute, Ind., in 2007. The Indiana Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 vote last week, threw out Bennett's election victory over former Mayor Kevin Burke, citing Bennett's work Hamilton Center Inc., a mental health agency that received federal funding for its Head Start program.

Burke claimed that Bennett's candidacy violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits political activities by federal workers. Korb today filed a petition in Vanderburgh Circuit Court contesting the result of the county commissioners' election, making the same claim against Melcher.

Korb referred comments to Foster, who said the circumstances of the Terre Haute case to Vanderburgh County's are "almost identical on the facts."

Korb's petition challenging the election states that Korb is entitled to remain a District 3 Vanderburgh County Commissioner until after a special election is held to determine who should hold the seat.

And here, thanks to the C&P, is a copy of Korb's 2-page Verified Petition to Contest Election, filed today in Vanderburgh Circuit Court.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 18, 2008 06:22 PM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions