FORT WAYNE – A flurry of accusations and a formal complaint over unauthorized campaign advertisements in the race for Allen Superior Court judge mark the final days of the election season.
Despite allegations that judicial campaigns have violated election law with these campaign ads, local election expert Andy Downs said that’s not likely true.
On Friday, Allen Superior Court Judge Kenneth Scheibenberger filed a formal complaint with the Allen County Election Board against the Wendy Davis for Judge Committee and the Friends of Good Government.
The complaint alleges the Friends of Good Government violates election laws by not registering its existence as a political action committee.
The complaint also alleges that Davis’ committee violates election law by accepting campaign donations from the group.
Davis is one of two challengers trying to unseat the long-serving judge. Also challenging Scheibenberger is local attorney Lewis Griffin. Davis is a part-time prosecutor and a partner at the firm of Beckman Lawson.
Scheibenberger’s complaint stems from a campaign ad bought by the Friends of Good Government on local television and radio.
But Scheibenberger himself benefited from an advertisement placed in The Journal Gazette this month by the Private Committee to Re-Elect Judge Scheibenberger, something Davis said she may officially complain about.
Whenever two or more people gather together for the purpose of raising or spending more than $100 in support of a particular candidate or issue or against a particular candidate or issue, that group is considered a political action committee under Indiana law, said Downs, director of the Mike Downs Center for Political Science at IPFW and a former Democratic member of the Allen County Election Board.
The group then has 10 days to file a statement of organization with either the county election board or the Indiana secretary of state’s election division, Downs said.
According to the election board and state officials, neither the Friends of Good Government nor the Private Committee to Re-Elect Judge Scheibenberger has registered its existence as a political action committee.
The print ad concerning Scheibenberger asked viewers to watch two interviews with the judge broadcast on local public access channels. Scheibenberger said he does not know who organized the interview or who placed the ad.
Davis said she too has been in the dark about who makes up the Friends of Good Government behind the television and radio spots that support her campaign.
The ads are independent expenditures, and while it is important that the public know who is behind the political action committees, the candidates themselves are not held responsible for unauthorized committees or groups, Downs said.
“We don’t expect the candidates to control the behavior of other people,” he said. “That would be unfair.”
But the groups themselves could be committing a minor violation if they are not appropriately registered, Downs said.
For its part, the election board is aware of Scheibenberger’s complaint.
Zach Klutz, the Republican representative on the board, said the board does not have enough information to make a determination at this time.
“We’ll look into this as our due diligence,” Klutz said, “but we do not view the election as our time frame for making a decision.”
