Gregg Township Trustee candidate in primary alleges irregularities by winner

During their meeting Friday afternoon, members of the Morgan County Election Board voted to send a letter to the Indiana Attorney General to review allegations made by losing candidate in the Gregg Township Trustee race in last month's primary race.

Republican incumbent Gregg Township Trustee Matt Bishop won the election by over challenger Brian Thompson by 33 votes.

Local news: What safety measures have been put into place at the county's 2 largest school districts?

A few days before the primary election, Thompson filed a complaint with the election board over the Gregg Township Fire Department placing Bishop's name on the department's sign and asking the residents to vote for him.

During a meeting held just before the primary election, Thompson told board members the fire department's bylaws prohibited the department from endorsing any candidate.

He also contended the sign was illegal because it did not have the name of the person, group or organization who paid for it.

Thompson felt he should have been allowed to place his sign on fire department's property because it was a public area.

I-69 update: State Road 252 in Martinsville expected to close beginning Monday.

Board members agreed the sign must have the name of who paid for it and that Thompson should be allowed to place his sign on the property.

Thompson left that meeting and went to the Gregg Fire Department to place his sign.

An altercation allegedly took place between Thompson and some fire department members and the sheriff's department was called to the station.

In the end, Thompson was allowed to place his signs on the property and the department allegedly put the name of the person who paid for the sign on it.

Thompson filed a complaint with the election board alleging Bishop's sign stayed on the department's property which Thompson alleges hurt him in the election.

Thompson said if 17 people had changed their mind on who to vote for, he would have won the election.

He also contends that a campaign flyer sent out by Bishop contained false information concerning the salary of the trustee.

Thompson said the fire department continued to have information on its web site indicating it supported Bishop.

He alleges the department's officers continued to offer advice to department members on how they could support Bishop.

Thompson contended the lease the department had allowing a person to rent the sign for $10 was false. Thompson said the department refused to give him a copy of the alleged lease.

Thompson asked the board to conduct an investigation and determine if fines or criminal charges are warranted.

Others are reading: City reviews preliminary designs for new police station, an estimated $4.2 million project.

Morgan County Clerk Stephanie Elliott told Thompson that in her years of being the clerk and presiding over many elections, this was the first time she had a complaint like this.

She said the board can only issue fines for non compliance with election laws and regulations. Elliott said most problems they deal with are candidates who fail to file their campaign finance reports on time.

She said normally, the county prosecutor, Steve Sonnega, would deal with the types of allegations Thompson had made. But she said since Thompson was a victim in a crime that Sonnega had prosecuted, he would have to have a special prosecutor investigate and, if needed, prosecute the case.

After discussing the matter, the board voted to send a letter to the attorney general's office asking for to review Thompson's allegations and, if necessary, take the appropriate steps.

Green board member resigns

Elliott said the department had received a complaint from a Green Township resident concerning board member Greg Marlett.  The complainant alleged Marlett had moved out of the township and was no longer eligible to serve on the advisory board. The person asked the board to remove him from the position.

Elliott said she had checked on the law regarding board members who move outside the township. She said according to the law, once a person moves outside the township where they are serving, they are automatically off the board.

She said Marlett had sent the board and the party chairman a letter informing them as of May 23, he would no longer be a board member.

She said Republican Party Chairman Daniel Elliott would have to hold a caucus to fill the position.

Finance reports reviewed

The original purpose of Friday's board meeting was to review the campaign finance reports for seven candidates who had not filed their reports by the due date.

Elliott had said that if an elected position did not pay over a certain amount and if the candidate had not raised or spent any funds, they were exempt from filing the reports.

'Enjoy the ride': Martinsville High School holds graduation ceremony.

Board chairman Becky Waymire said there had been some confusion by some candidates on filing finance reports. She said while the seven candidates did not raise or spend any funds, they did put a finance report on file that would allow other candidates or members of the public to review them.

The board voted not to fine any of the seven for filing late reports.

This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: Gregg Township candidate in primary alleges irregularities by winner