Monday, February 23, 2015

Brewer Won't Get Charlie White Treatment, Election Board Dismisses Complaint

An attorney representing the slated Republican candidate for Indianapolis mayor Chuck Brewer produced an affidavit from his client, along with other evidence he said established his intent to reside at the Slate Drive apartment in Perry Township he established last July in order to prove he lived there and not the luxury downtown condominium in the Athletic Club the complaint filed by his Republican opponent, Jocelyn-Tandy Adande, claimed he actually resided when he registered to vote in Perry Township. After hearing evidence offered by Adande and the evidence submitted by Brewer's attorney, David Brooks, the Marion Co. Election Board voted unanimously to dismiss Adande's complaint.

During today's hearing, Brooks conceded his client had moved to Perry Township last March with the intent of running for District 23 but mistakenly rented an apartment in District 20 on Dakota Ridge Drive just outside the district. Brewer amended his voter registration from the Dakota Ridge apartment to a second apartment last July. Brooks said there was still uncertainty over whether the district boundaries he drew when the Republicans still controlled the City-County Council would stand at the time because of an an appeal pending before the Supreme Court. As Adande's complaint asserted, however, Brewer failed to remove the homestead exemption he claimed on his downtown condominium where he registered to vote on March 27, 2012 as required by law, which allowed him a substantial break on his property taxes. Brewer filed paperwork last week to remove that homestead exemption only after Adande filed her complaint against him. Under Indiana law, he was required to file that form within 60 days of moving to an apartment in Perry Township last year. The election board did not consider Brewer's violation of the homestead exemption law within its jurisdiction, although it was the key piece of evidence presented by Adande to prove his intent to make it his primary residence and not either of the apartments where he registered to vote last year in Perry Township.

Evidence Brooks attached to Brewer's affidavit to prove his intent to live at the Slate Drive apartment included photos taken after Adande's complaint was filed showing a fully-furnished apartment there, photos showing his downtown condominium empty, proof that he received mail at that address, a driver's license issued in 2014 at the Slate Drive address and evidence of his intent to sell the Athletic condominium, including real estate listing agreement and evidence it had been shown by realtors during the past year at least 40 times. Interestingly, Brooks did not include with Brewer's affidavit what should have been his strongest piece of evidence, a lease for the Slate Drive apartment. After board members requested it, he produced a copy of it after shuffling through his papers. Brooks didn't offer to produce a lease for the Dakota Ridge apartment.

The election board's attorney, Andy Mallon, instructed members that they only needed to find that Brewer established sufficient intent to reside at the Slate Drive apartment as of the date he filed his statement of candidacy on February 6, 2015, even though the law required him to state under penalties of perjury he actually resided in the Dakota Ridge and Slate Drive apartments on the dates last year when he twice filed change of voter registration forms with the Marion County Board of Voter Registrations. Records obtained by Advance Indiana showed Brewer voted absentee in last year's primary at the Dakota Ridge apartment in the Republican primary and also cast an absentee ballot at the Slate Drive address in last year's general election. Brewer, who moved to Indianapolis from Chicago in 2011, did not register or participate in Indianapolis' 2011 municipal election. The first municipal election in which he will cast a ballot will feature his name at the top of the ballot for mayor.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nobody interested in the reliable evidence of cell phone pings?

Anonymous said...

The omission of the apartment lease from the affidavit was no mistake. Brooks is no fool. Also, where were the utility bills in Brewer's name for that apartment?

Anonymous said...

White presented more evidence he lived at his ex-wife's address than this clown and he still got prosecuted, convicted and had his political career destroyed.

Anonymous said...

Did someone die in his downtown condo? Realtors have no trouble selling those units, particularly since his asking price is comparable to other recent sales. I don't know how it could have been showed 40 times last year and not sold. The downtown condo market has been hot the past year.

Anonymous said...

Was there ever any doubt as to how the Election Board would rule?

Anonymous said...

So Brewer either committed tax fraud or lied on two voter registration forms about where he lived and voted, gets a clean bill of health and gets to stay on the ballot. Richard Byland, a life-long Democrat gets booted from the ballot because the incumbent mayor doesn't want an opponent, and the election board referred him for prosecution for saying he's a Democrat when every Democrat in Beech Grove knows he's a Democrat. Politics in Marion County is rigged for the corrupt insiders.

LamLawIndy said...

It may have SOME probative value, but "reliable" it is not:

http://www.abajournal.com/mobile/mag_article/prosecutors_use_of_mobile_phone_tracking_is_junk_science_critics_say/

Anonymous said...

The establishment Marion County Republicans do not want Jocelyn-Tandy Adande to be the peoples' candidate for mayor any more than do the Marion County Democrat power brokers. The "R's" know they cannot control or buy her and the "D's" know the candidacy of an intelligent, experienced, and accomplished free thinking Black female is very difficult for their candidate and party to attack and challenge.

This outcome by the Election Board was predictable but it was nonetheless worth the now dissipated ray of hope that these Board members might do the right thing for the people. Perhaps the Election Board prefers to be owned by David Brooks than to be owned by the truth.

Chuck Brewer, the hand picked candidate of the Marion County GOP political insiders, did not personally attend the hearing. I don't care what excuses this guy with the many addresses may give, he totally disrespected the members of the Board by his absence and he totally disrespected all Marion County voters by his absence. A real man would have stepped up to the plate and faced the strong female who dared call his actions into question. Oh, wait, "how Greg Ballard" of one of this City's newest residents who dares to think he should be mayor.

Thank you, Jocelyn, for standing up for what is right against everything that is patently wrong with the Marion County GOP, the MCRCC, and political opportunists such as Mr. Susan Brooks.

Many in this City constantly complain about the political power structure but do very little concrete like stepping up to the plate to try to effect change. That cannot be said of Jocelyn-Tandy Adande.