White Out
Indiana Democrats have called a news conference for Tuesday morning regarding Republican Secretary of State candidate Charlie White. The release reads as follows…
In response to recent revelations concerning discrepancies in Secretary of State candidate Charlie White’s voter registration, residency in Fishers and service on the Fishers Town Council, Indiana Democratic Party Chair Dan Parker will hold a press conference tomorrow morning to discuss the official actions the Indiana Democratic Party will be taking.
Meanwhile, Hamilton County Democrat Greg Pervis is calling for a grand jury investigation into White.
Today, Fishers attorney Greg Purvis has formally asked the Hamilton County Prosecutor to convene a Grand Jury and seek the appointment of a Special Prosecutor to investigate the actions of Republican Secretary of State candidate Charlie White, who last week admitted voting from an address where he did not reside, and resigned his position on the Fishers Town Council. A copy of the submission to the Prosecutor is attached.Purvis, who last week held a press conference revealing his investigation into White’s move outside of his council district and revealing that White appeared to have broken Indiana election law while at the same time seeking the highest office in Indiana which enforces election law, had called for White to step down from the Secretary of State race. White has refused to do so.
Purvis also claims White paid cash for his property in Fishers. White tells me there is a mortgage on the property and paperwork to back it up.
Here’s White’s campaign response…
“The accusations made against me from partisan sources have gone from distortions of the truth to outright lies. I have repeatedly taken full responsibility for the mistakes I made earlier this year and I have taken all the steps necessary to correct them. The claim that I paid for my condominium with cash is categorically false, as my loan paperwork clearly shows. It is an ugly, desperate political ploy that serves only to breed cynicism among the voters.”
The Vop Osili campaign has put out a fund raising letter on White’s issues.
And before I forget, there was also a question about whether White’s votes on the Fisher’s Town Council were valid once he moved out of the district. Here’s the law, courtesy the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office…
When an official takes office by claim of right (like when they are elected) but there is some subsequent event that puts their continued right to legally hold office in question then all actions take by that official (even if it were later proven in court that the officer illegally held office for a time) would be legal actions, or valid votes, as the case may be.
The courts term the officer holder’s status as de facto (under claim of right) even if the officer was not one who held office de jure (legally). This concept has deep and ancient roots in Indiana jurisprudence and is based upon the public policy that the public should suffer no harm if it is ultimately determined an officer may have had defective title to office. See, for example, State ex rel. Bishop v. Crowe, (Ind. 1898).50 N.E. 471, 473-74 and State v. Sutherlin, (Ind. 1905) 75 N.E. 642, 646.
I think I got everybody on this one. See you in the morning.
