Huck Lewis Election Law Violations Complaint

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Outcome

The Boone County Election Board determined on February 27, 2015, that candidate Lewis did not commit an election law violation primarily because he is not a government employee. However, consider the situation if candidate Lewis was not the incumbent Lebanon Mayor but an employee in the Lebanon Planning Department who is seeking to be elected Lebanon Mayor. It is apparent that candidate Lewis as a city employee would then indeed be violating IC 3-14-1-17 if he listed the city of Lebanon mail system, messaging system, and website as contact information on his election campaign website and election campaign Facebook page. The Indiana Code needs to be amended to likewise make it unlawful for elected incumbents to use the government property at their disposal to advocate for their reelection.

It was particularly disturbing to learn during the February 27 Boone County Election Board hearing that some elected incumbents statewide are routinely including links to the government property at their disposal on their campaign websites. This government property is paid for with taxpayer dollars. Misusing government property provided by taxpayers is much more serious than typical campaign oversights such as failing to include a disclaimer at the bottom of a yard sign or omitting the address of a contributor on a campaign finance report.

Most taxpayers do not want their state and local government property, which is purchased with their tax dollars, to be misused by their elected public servants seeking reelection. Specifically, elected incumbents should not use their office phone number, office fax number, office E-mail, office mailing address, government website, and other taxpayer-funded resources as part of their reelection campaigns.

Most elected officials are ethical and decline to use the government property at their disposal in their reelection campaigns. However, it is now “lawful” for elected incumbents at all levels of government in Indiana to use government property to advocate for their reelection. Some incumbents are regrettably using government property to help get reelected by exploiting a loophole where the term “government employee” in the Indiana Code section listed next does NOT include an individual who holds only an elected office.

IC 3-14-1-17
"Government employee"
    Sec. 17. (a) As used in this section, "government employee" refers to any of the following:
        (1) An employee of the state.
        (2) An employee of a political subdivision.
        (3) A special state appointee (as defined in IC 4-2-6-1).
        (4) An employee of a charter school (as defined in IC 20-24-1-4).
    (b) As used in this section, "government employer" refers to the state or a political subdivision.
    (c) As used in this section, "property" refers only to the following:
        (1) Equipment, goods, and materials, including mail and messaging systems.
        (2) Money.
    (d) A government employee may not knowingly or intentionally use the property of the employee's government employer to do any of the following:
        (1) Solicit a contribution.
        (2) Advocate the election or defeat of a candidate.
        (3) Advocate the approval or defeat of a public question.
    (e) A government employee may not knowingly or intentionally distribute campaign materials advocating:
        (1) the election or defeat of a candidate; or
        (2) the approval or defeat of a public question;
on the government employer's real property during regular working hours.
    (f) This section does not prohibit the following:
        (1) Activities permitted under IC 6-1.1-20.
        (2) A government employee from carrying out administrative duties under the direction of an elected official who is the government employee's supervisor.
    (g) A government employee who knowingly or intentionally performs several actions described in subsection (d) or (e) in a connected series that are closely related in time, place, and circumstance may be charged with only one (1) violation of this section for that connected series of actions.
    (h) A government employee who violates this section commits a Class A misdemeanor. However, the offense is a Level 6 felony if the person has a prior unrelated conviction under this section.
As added by P.L.258-2013, SEC.85. Amended by P.L.219-2013, SEC.72; P.L.168-2014, SEC.2.

The good news is that State Senator Doug Eckerty from Yorktown in Delaware County has offered to help get the loophole closed that allows elected state and local incumbents to misuse government property in their reelection campaigns! Senator Eckerty is the Chairman of the Indiana Senate Ethics Committee. Senator Eckerty plans to author a bill with the needed ethics improvements for the 2016 session of our Indiana General Assembly.

The remainder of this web page is divided into the following sections: (1) Boone County Election Board Violation Report of February 12, 2015, Election Law Violation Complaint, (2) Boone County Prosecutor Response Letter, (3) Indiana Code 3-6-5-31, (4) February 16, 2015, Election Law Violation Complaint, (5) Additional Relevant Information, (6) Watchdog Indiana Conclusion.

The election campaign website website referenced in the February 12, 2015, Election Law Violation Complaint is http://www.mayorhucklewis.com/index.htm.

The election campaign Facebook Page referenced in the February 16, 2015, Election Law Violation Complaint is https://www.facebook.com/huck.lewis.31.

1. Boone County Election Board Violation Report of February 12, 2015, Election Law Violation Complaint

The five-page election law violation report posted below was passed unanimously by the Boone County Election Board on February 13, 2015.

1.a. Violation Report Page 1

1.b. Violation Report Page 2

1.c. Violation Report Page 3

1.d. Violation Report Page 4

1.e. Violation Report Page 5

2. Boone County Prosecutor Response Letter

Posted below is the February 18, 2015, two-page letter from the Boone County Prosecutor responding to the February 13, 2015, election law violation report from the Boone County Election Board.

2.a. Response Letter Page 1

2.b. Response Letter Page 2

3. Indiana Code 3-6-5-31

IC 3-6-5-31
Election law violations; investigation; action by board
Sec. 31. If a county election board determines that there is substantial reason to believe an election law violation has occurred, it shall expeditiously make an investigation. If in the judgment of the board, after affording due notice and an opportunity for a hearing, a person has engaged or is about to engage in an act or practice that constitutes or will constitute a violation of a provision of this title or of a rule or order issued under this title, the board shall take the action it considers appropriate under the circumstances, including referring the matter to the attorney general or the appropriate prosecuting attorney.
As added by P.L.5-1986, SEC.2.

4. February 16, 2015, Election Law Violation Complaint

Hello Dale Simmons (Indiana Election Division Co-Legal Counsel) and Jessica Fouts (Boone County Clerk),

Please accept this E-mail as a written election law complaint to the Indiana Election Commission and the Boone County Election Board.

Please note that this election law complaint is unrelated to the election law complaint submitted on February 12, 2015. The February 12, 2015, election law complaint pertained to the election campaign website of Lebanon mayor candidate Harold “Huck” Lewis at http://www.mayorhucklewis.com/index.htm. This election law complaint pertains to the election campaign Facebook Page of candidate Lewis at https://www.facebook.com/huck.lewis.31.

One method of accessing the election campaign Facebook Page of candidate Lewis is to go to the election campaign website of candidate Lewis at http://www.mayorhucklewis.com/index.htm (see the attached Exhibit A). Clicking on the “Huck is now on Facebook!” link takes you to https://www.facebook.com/huck.lewis.31 where you can then log into Facebook and look at the entire “Huck Lewis” Facebook Page. It is important to note that the election campaign Facebook Page of candidate Lewis can also be accessed directly without going to the campaign website of candidate Lewis; therefore, this election law complaint is unrelated to the February 12, 2015, election law complaint.

Some of the evidence supporting this complaint is listed next.

(1) Click on the “About” link on the “Huck Lewis” Facebook Page and then click on “Contact and Basic Info” and the information on the attached Exhibit B will be displayed.

(2) The following two Websites are listed under the CONTACT INFORMATION on the “Huck Lewis” Facebook Page: http://www.CityofLebanon.org and http://www.mayorhucklewis.com.

(3) You are taken to the election campaign website of candidate Lewis if you click on http://www.mayorhucklewis.com under the CONTACT INFORMATION on the “Huck Lewis” Facebook Page – the Boone County Election Board on February 13, 2015, voted unanimously to report a violation of Indiana Code 3-14-1-17 to Boone County Prosecutor Todd Meyer that candidate Lewis is knowingly or intentionally using City of Lebanon property – including the office phone number, office fax number, office E-mail, and office mailing address – through his election campaign website to advocate for his reelection as Lebanon Mayor.

(4) You are taken to the City of Lebanon website if you click on http://www.CityofLebanon.org under the CONTACT INFORMATION on the “Huck Lewis” Facebook Page.

(5) Go to the “CITY SERVICES” drop down list on the City of Lebanon website and then click on “Contact the City” to discover the various City of Lebanon mail and messaging systems that can be used to contact candidate Lewis.

(6) If you use the City of Lebanon website link under the CONTACT INFORMATION on the “Huck Lewis” Facebook Page to go to the “CITY SERVICES” drop down list on the City of Lebanon website and then click on “Contact the City”, you will find listed under the heading “Contact Us” the 765-482-1201 phone number. If you click on “Staff Directory” on the City of Lebanon website, you will discover that 765-482-1201 is the phone number listed for Debby Shubert who is the Mayor’s Office Executive Assistant. Debby Shubert also signed as Treasurer the latest REPORT OF RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES OF A POLITICAL COMMITTEE for the Friends of Huck Lewis.

(7) Lebanon mayor candidate Harold “Huck” Lewis is making available all the taxpayer-purchased promotional resources of the City of Lebanon as part of his campaign by listing the City of Lebanon website link under the CONTACT INFORMATION on the “Huck Lewis” Facebook Page.

It is therefore concluded that Lebanon mayor candidate Harold “Huck” Lewis, an employee of the City of Lebanon as the current Mayor, is using City of Lebanon property through his election campaign Facebook Page in violation of Indiana Code 3-14-1-17 which stipulates that a government employee may not knowingly or intentionally use the property of the employee's government employer to advocate the election of a candidate.

Please notify me when the Boone County Election Board will meet to consider this complaint.

The apparently applicable sections of the Indiana Code are listed next.

IC 3-14-5-3
Duty to report violations to prosecuting attorney and violator; presentation to grand jury
    Sec. 3. (a) This section does not apply to a violation of NVRA or IC 3-7.
    (b) The commission and each county election board shall report a violation of this title as a felony or misdemeanor to the appropriate prosecuting attorney and the alleged violator.
    (c) The commission and boards may have the report transmitted and presented to the grand jury of the county in which the violation was committed at its first session after making the report and at subsequent sessions that may be required. The commission and boards shall furnish the grand jury any evidence at their command necessary in the investigation and prosecution of the violation.
As added by P.L.5-1986, SEC.10. Amended by P.L.12-1995, SEC.92; P.L.2-1996, SEC.209; P.L.81-2005, SEC.31.

Respectfully submitted,

Aaron Smith
2625 Countryside Drive
Lebanon, IN 46052
Phone: 765-891-1439
E-mail: taxless3@comcast.net

4.a. Exhibit A

4.b. Exhibit B

5. Additional Relevant Information

All of the accumulated relevant information for the election law violation complaints is listed above elsewhere on this web page, except for the additional relevant information referenced below.

5.a. Exhibit 1

5.b. Exhibit 2

5.c. Exhibit 3

5.d. Exhibit 4

5.e. Exhibit 5

5.f. Exhibit 6

5.g. Exhibit 7

6. Watchdog Indiana Conclusion

It is hoped that sufficient relevant information has been provided so our Boone County Election Board public servants can objectively and dispassionately ascertain and apply the pertinent facts to properly evaluate the February 12, 2015, and February 16, 2015, Election Law Violation Complaints.

The two Election Law Violation Complaints contend there is substantial reason to believe that candidate Lewis knowingly used City of Lebanon property – including the office phone number, office fax number, office E-mail, office mailing address, and city website – to advocate for his reelection as Lebanon Mayor. It is believed that appropriate action taken by the Boone County Election Board must ultimately result in election law violation reports being transmitted and presented to the Boone County grand jury.

The City of Lebanon office phone number, office fax number, office E-mail, office mailing address, and city website are paid for with taxpayer dollars. Using this city property to advocate for the reelection of candidate Lewis is much more serious than typical campaign oversights such as failing to include a disclaimer at the bottom of a yard sign or omitting the address of a contributor on a campaign finance report.

A strong message must be sent to all elected incumbents that it is not business-as-usual to disregard our vitally important election laws and use taxpayer dollars to advocate for reelection.

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This page was last updated on 07/31/15.