Council candidate to exit race as election board probes possible election law breach
A Bloomington City Council candidate says he plans to withdraw from the race as the local election board investigates whether he has violated election laws.
David Wolfe Bender, an Indiana University student, has sent, through Indianapolis law firm Taft, a letter to the Monroe County Election Board stating his intention to withdraw from the race following the primary election.
In a phone call Thursday afternoon, Bender confirmed his plans to withdraw but said his attorneys have advised him not to comment on the matter.
His name will remain on the primary ballot, as the deadline to withdraw has passed.
Bender, a Democrat, is the sole remaining candidate in the race. Fellow Democrat Benjamin “Bean” Appleton withdrew last month. No Republican filed to run in the primary. The parties can each select a candidate for the general election in the fall beginning on May 3, the day after the primary.
District 6, which covers part of Bloomington’s center, is without an incumbent because the districts were redrawn last year. Current District 6 council member Stephen Volan was moved into District 4, where incumbent Dave Rollo is seeking re-election. Volan is running for one of the three at-large seats.
Who is running:3-way race for mayor, incumbent clash, big shift for city council
You can see the newly drawn council districts here: tinyurl.com/58h7hcnt.
The election board on Thursday read Bender’s withdrawal letter into the record as members were discussing how to proceed with an investigation into whether Bender violated election laws. Bender’s letter states the candidate feels his candidacy would become a distraction, which would take away from the good that he planned to accomplish as a council member.
The board last week determined it has substantial reason to believe that Bender does not live where his candidate filing says he does and that he is therefore ineligible to run for the District 6 seat. Former Monroe County Republican Party Chair Bill Ellis, an Ellettsville council member, filed a complaint. The potential violation was first reported by the Indiana Daily Student, where Bender previously worked.
The board on Tuesday specified which areas of state election law they believe Bender may have violated, a step toward notifying Bender of the potential violations and giving him an opportunity to respond.
Board member David Henry, who also is the chair of the Monroe County Democrats, said he wondered whether the board would have voted to investigate Bender if it had had his withdrawal letter last week. Henry said the board should consider that Bender simply may have made a mistake.
However, board member Nicole Browne, who also is the Monroe County Clerk, said if Bender had made a mistake, he could have corrected or clarified information before the election board received a complaint about the legitimacy of his candidacy.
“I think the optics here are not good,” she said.
Given general rising distrust among the public about elections, Browne said the board would be doing Monroe County a disservice if it did not investigate.
The board’s chair, Donovan Garletts, a Republican, agreed.
Bender’s letter, he said, contains a lot of fluff but no apology. People who make mistakes don’t usually just contact an attorney, Garletts said.
Board members on Thursday also agreed to recess the meeting until 1 p.m. March 23 to begin answering some remaining questions about the investigation, including whom and what documents to subpoena. Given staffing shortages among local election staff and the tight schedule until the election, board members appeared inclined to hold a hearing on Bender’s candidacy after the primary, though they did not set a date.
Boris Ladwig can be reached at bladwig@heraldt.com.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: David Wolfe Bender to withdraw from Bloomington City Council race
