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Friday, May 29, 2009
Ind. Decisions - More on: Court of Appeals affirms Muncie Mayor Sharon McShurley's election
The Muncie Star-Press has an editorial today headed "Please end this now, Jim."
We've said it before, and we're saying it again, the continuation of Mansfield vs. McShurley is not in Muncie's best interest.Democratic mayoral candidate Jim Mansfield lost another round Thursday with the decision from the Indiana Court of Appeals. The court affirmed the trial court's decision that denied Mansfield's effort to hold a special election for disenfranchised voters in Precinct 46, where 19 absentee ballots were tossed out.
The appeals court ruled Mansfield never alleged any circumstance that made it impossible to determine who received the most legal votes.
Early indications are Mansfield and his supporters will appeal the case to the Indiana Supreme Court, which could push any final resolution into 2010 or possibly even 2011, when the city will be in the midst of a new mayoral election.
McShurley's recount win was based on an apparent error in the election room, compounded by a quirk in Indiana law that left Mansfield unable to appeal the reversal after the recount. It also cost 19 voters in Precinct 46 their voices in the election.
It is understandable, then, that Mansfield would want to take his appeal as far as possible in order to draw attention to the flaw in election law and perhaps force the Indiana General Assembly to fix it. At the same time, he is taking up the flag for the predominantly Democratic Precinct 46.
The problem lies in prolonging the lawsuit and the uncertainty about the legitimacy of the Muncie mayor for as much as another year or more. It's undermining the authority of McShurley as mayor and clearly affecting her ability to deal with the city's present budget crisis.
Enough is enough. Since the suit has already dragged on long enough to get the attention of legislators who could change Indiana election law, an appeal would do little more than continue to line the pockets of the attorneys involved. Legal fees already total in the tens of thousands of dollars.
That doesn't have much of an impact on Mansfield, whose attorney is being paid by his union supporters, but McShurley has been footing the bill herself, mostly through fundraisers.
At this critical time, a mayor who is distracted by mounting legal fees, the need to organize fundraisers and a simmering antagonism toward Democrats is not what Muncie needs, especially since the bottom line would be the same regardless of who is mayor. The city is losing millions of dollars in tax revenue over the next two years that will result employee layoffs and cuts in city services.
The city is in a crisis, and we all -- Democrats, Republicans and everyone else -- must put aside our grievances and work together to find solutions.
We hope Jim Mansfield decides to do what's best for all of the residents of Muncie and end his lawsuit.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 29, 2009 02:08 PM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions