Indiana 9th District GOP to consider censure of Konkle, Freiberger

Feb. 1—FLOYD COUNTY — The Indiana 9th District GOP will consider censuring two Republican members of the Floyd County Council.

The 9th District GOP Committee will present hearings on Feb. 15 to consider action against Floyd County Council President Denise Konkle and Floyd County Councilman Jim Freiberger.

Complaints filed by Heather Archibald-Peters, chair of the Floyd County Republican Party, relate to the two Republican council members voting for Democrat Brad Striegel as the council's vice president at the Jan. 10 organization meeting. The council members voted for Striegel to serve in the leadership position over Republican nominee Danny Short.

Konkle and Freiberger shared documents with the News and Tribune sent on Jan. 26 by 9th District GOP Committee Chairman Jamey Noel. These include the hearing notice sent to the council members and the affidavit with Archibald-Peter's complaints.

Archibald-Peters requests that both Konkle and Freiberger be censured by the committee. Although the complaint against Freiberger only calls for him to be censured, the complaint against Konkle asks that she be "removed from her elected precinct committeeman position and be blocked from placing herself on any ballot as a Republican nominee for a period of five years."

According to Konkle, she already stepped down as a precinct committee member on Jan. 12.

In her complaint, Archibald-Peters also refers to Konkle's temporary residence in Harrison County as a reason for the potential disciplinary action against the council president. In 2022, Konkle was re-elected to the Floyd County Council in an uncontested race.

Freiberger was elected in the 2022 general election to the Floyd County Council, and he ousted Republican incumbent Adam Roberts in last year's primary.

Konkle and Freiberger criticized the attempt to censure the two of them, and Konkle called it an "attempt to bully" her "into voting the way they want me to vote."

Archibald-Peters told the News and Tribune that she will not comment on the pending disciplinary actions before the committee hearings. Noel did not respond to a request for comment as of publication time.

The 9th District GOP Committee hearing on the complaints against Freiberger will take place at 6 p.m. Feb. 15 at First Assembly of God, 2778 Charlestown Road in New Albany. The hearing on the complaints against Konkle will take place at 6:45 p.m. in the same location.

BIPARTISAN VOTE COMPLAINT

In the complaint, Archibald-Peters alleges that Konkle and Freiberger do not qualify as "Qualified Primary Republican[s]" or "Republican[s] in Good Standing" by voting for Striegel for vice president instead of Republican nominee Danny Short in January.

She also references Konkle's votes in favor of Striegel for board president in 2020 and 2021 instead of Republican nominees for the position.

Archibald-Peters cites a rule from the Indiana Republican Party categorizing a "Republican in Good Standing" as a "Republican who supports Republican nominees and who does not actively or openly support another candidate against a Republican nominee."

Freiberger said he spoke with attorney Bart McMahon, who advised that Archibald-Peters "doesn't have a stand on what's she's claiming" in her complaint against him. The selection of Democrats as officers or committee members for a council or board does not violate the "Republican in Good Standing" definition, the councilman said.

The party rule instead applies to support of candidates running for elected office, Freiberger said. He said both he and Konkle are "completely in compliance," and he will have an attorney file an appeal at the state level if the censure is approved.

"We're almost certain this would get overturned," he said.

Konkle also views Archibald-Peters' complaint as a "misinterpretation" of the party's rules. She has not hired a lawyer to represent her in this issue, and she hopes to avoid legal action on the matter.

"If I have to, I guess I will," she said. "But I really would rather not."

Konkle and Freiberger questioned why the complaints are specifically singling out the two of them, noting that other Republican elected officials in Floyd County and the 9th District have voted across party lines for officers on councils and boards.

For example, David Aebersold, a Republican on the New Albany City Council, voted in January for a Democrat to serve as council president.

Freiberger described Archibald-Peters' complaint as "bogus."

"I think it's retaliation to intimidate us," he said. "I voted for Brad Striegel because I've gotten to know him. He's got the most experience on the council. He's supported some of the main objectives that I campaigned on, so I knew he was going to be like-minded."

He said he is on the council to "represent everybody in the community."

"Let's be honest, I ran on a Republican ticket, but I had a lot of Democrats vote for me," he said.

Konkle feels that "bipartisanship is what we need in this country," she said.

"We need to work together to get the right answer, and I will not back off of my decision for voting for Brad," she said. "He is the right person for the job without a doubt."

"In my mind, I was not elected to do the right thing for the Republican Party," Konkle said. "I was elected to do the right thing for Floyd County. And I think I've done that."

RESIDENCY COMPLAINT

One of the complaints filed against Konkle is her temporary residence with a family member in Harrison County.

Konkle explained that been separated from her husband for the past two years, and although she lived at their Greenville property for a while, she then began living temporarily in her sister's home in Harrison County located on the Floyd County-Harrison County line.

Before she moved into her sister's property, she was pursuing the purchase of a home in Georgetown, she said. She has placed a down payment on the home, and she signed a purchase agreement in late September. She expects the house to be complete by the end of March.

In Archibald-Peters' complaint, she cites a state statute requiring a member of the county fiscal body, or county council, to reside "both within the county and within the district from which the member was elected." She alleges that Konkle violated this requirement.

"Ms. Konkle has been estranged from her husband since at least April of 2021 as shown by filings...," she wrote. "Ms. Konkle continues to use the [marital] residence address on all filings but has admitted to myself and numerous others that she is residing in a family members' property in Harrison County. Ms. Konkle has made clear that she does not intend to return to her estranged husband's residence."

Archibald-Peters wrote that "there are no properties listed in Ms. Konkle's name in Floyd County land records except for those properties listed with she and her estranged husband."

"At best, Ms. Konkle's residency is transient," she said.

Konkle shared an email from attorney Steve Langdon, who represents the Floyd County Council. The attorney wrote that state codes "strongly indicate that you don't lose your residency solely because you've moved out of the district in preparation for 'purchasing or occupying a residence' within your current district."

"A temporary move with the intent to return to live within the district does not appear to relinquish your residency," Langdon said. "An intent to return sooner rather than later appears to be the key. An indefinite move would likely result in losing residency."

She also reached out to Floyd County Clerk Danita Burk, who checked the requirements with the state election board. Konkle said the board confirmed that she has a "temporary location and it's perfectly fine."

Konkle emphasizes that she stepped down from her precinct committee position for Greenville. The Georgetown property where she will live is located in District 4, the district she represents on the county council, she said.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST?

Konkle and Freiberger both described it as a conflict of interest for Noel to be involved in the upcoming committee hearing to consider the censures and disciplinary action.

Noel, the former Clark County Sheriff, is the founder of New Chapel EMS, which contracts with Floyd County for ambulance service.

Floyd County officials are in the middle of a debate about how to proceed with the county's ambulance service, which includes discussion about whether to renew the contract with New Chapel EMS in a few months.

On Jan. 10, Konkle and Freiberger joined the two Democrats on the council in a 4-3 vote to purchase two new ambulances for Lafayette and Greenville fire districts, breaking away from the other three Republican council members who voted against the measure.

The complaints do not mention the ambulance votes, but Konkle and Freiberger believe the attempt to censure the two of them is related to the EMS issue. Konkle said she wants to see Noel recuse himself from voting at the Feb. 13 hearing.

"I really think this is bullying 101 into making a decision for [Noel] to make sure that his contract is renewed," Konkle said. "I just don't like it one bit. It feels wrong. It feels really wrong."