Although Andre Carson spent nearly ten years working as a law enforcement officer, he and his campaign seem unable to grasp the concept that government employees and government property simply cannot be appropriated for the purpose of promoting his political aspirations. Citizen activist Adam Longworth said enough is enough and filed a complaint with the Marion County Board of Elections. Longworth's complaint focuses on the active participation of several deputies in the office of Sheriff Frank Anderson in staging political events with Carson in full uniform and permitting Carson's campaign to film and photograph the uniformed officers on government property on the taxpayers' dime. Longworth's complaint reads as follows:
As we are all aware, the cornerstone of a free and democratic society is the election process whereby ordinary, everyday citizens are responsible for choosing the people who will represent them. It is of the utmost importance that the integrity of each and every election be maintained to prevent those that the people DO NOT elect from being put into office.I am not the person to sit back and simply refuse to speak up when there is a breach in said integrity. I have been perturbed lately to see several violations of election law which would typically have been picked up by the mainstream media go unchecked and indeed unmentioned.Therefore this will constitute a formal complaint against the Andre Carson campaign. Over the last week or so, Mr. Carsonʼs campaign has had two press conference in which Marion County Sheriffʼs deputies, dressed in their full uniform have been seen in plain view of the camera. This of course is illegal, not only for the Andre Carson campaign, but also for those deputies involved. There was also a press conference at Forest Manor Multi-Service involving Mr. Carson. Forest Manor Multi-Service center located at 5603 east 38th street. This center is a not for profit and having a political press conference at a not for profit is illegal as well. This could mean that the not-for-profit could have its tax exemption revoked.The question has also been raised in regards to the campaign ads that Mr. Carsonʼs campaign has released as of late. They depict three sheriffsʼ deputies, one of whom is Kerry Forrestal (the other two names escape me at the moment) listening to Mr. Carson while they pose for a photo, and while they are in their uniforms. While this in of itself is not illegal by state statute, the question has been raised as to the location of the photo shoot and whether or not these officers were on the clock. I believe this also requires investigation. It is believed, from reliable sources, that the photo shoot took place in the Marion county jail; possibly a conference room. Clearly city utilities including electricity and gas were used to illuminate and heat this space as the shoottook place.I believe most of the offenses can be covered by the following statute:IC 3-14-1-6 Solicitation, challenge, or performance of election function by state police department employee, police officer, or firefighterSec. 6. (a) A state police department employee or a police officer or firefighter (including a special duty, auxiliary, or volunteer police officer or firefighter) of a political subdivision who recklessly:(1) solicits votes or campaign funds;(2) challenges voters; or(3) performs any other election related function;while wearing any identifying insignia or article of clothing that is part of an official uniform or while on duty commits a Class A misdemeanor . . .If any officer is found to be in violation of this statute, they can be charged with a class A misdemeanor.As I stated before, I believe these issues need to be addressed immediately. The integrity of the electoral process depends on it. http://advanceindiana.blogspot.com/2008/02/citizen-complaint-filed-against-carson.html
As we are all aware, the cornerstone of a free and democratic society is the election process whereby ordinary, everyday citizens are responsible for choosing the people who will represent them. It is of the utmost importance that the integrity of each and every election be maintained to prevent those that the people DO NOT elect from being put into office.I am not the person to sit back and simply refuse to speak up when there is a breach in said integrity. I have been perturbed lately to see several violations of election law which would typically have been picked up by the mainstream media go unchecked and indeed unmentioned.Therefore this will constitute a formal complaint against the Andre Carson campaign. Over the last week or so, Mr. Carsonʼs campaign has had two press conference in which Marion County Sheriffʼs deputies, dressed in their full uniform have been seen in plain view of the camera. This of course is illegal, not only for the Andre Carson campaign, but also for those deputies involved. There was also a press conference at Forest Manor Multi-Service involving Mr. Carson. Forest Manor Multi-Service center located at 5603 east 38th street. This center is a not for profit and having a political press conference at a not for profit is illegal as well. This could mean that the not-for-profit could have its tax exemption revoked.The question has also been raised in regards to the campaign ads that Mr. Carsonʼs campaign has released as of late. They depict three sheriffsʼ deputies, one of whom is Kerry Forrestal (the other two names escape me at the moment) listening to Mr. Carson while they pose for a photo, and while they are in their uniforms. While this in of itself is not illegal by state statute, the question has been raised as to the location of the photo shoot and whether or not these officers were on the clock. I believe this also requires investigation. It is believed, from reliable sources, that the photo shoot took place in the Marion county jail; possibly a conference room. Clearly city utilities including electricity and gas were used to illuminate and heat this space as the shoottook place.I believe most of the offenses can be covered by the following statute:IC 3-14-1-6 Solicitation, challenge, or performance of election function by state police department employee, police officer, or firefighterSec. 6. (a) A state police department employee or a police officer or firefighter (including a special duty, auxiliary, or volunteer police officer or firefighter) of a political subdivision who recklessly:(1) solicits votes or campaign funds;(2) challenges voters; or(3) performs any other election related function;while wearing any identifying insignia or article of clothing that is part of an official uniform or while on duty commits a Class A misdemeanor . . .If any officer is found to be in violation of this statute, they can be charged with a class A misdemeanor.As I stated before, I believe these issues need to be addressed immediately. The integrity of the electoral process depends on it. http://advanceindiana.blogspot.com/2008/02/citizen-complaint-filed-against-carson.html
Note Picture is from http://www.digitalfarmers.org/2008/02/indianas-7th-andre-carson-campaign.html
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2 comments:
The complete law then reads:
(b) This section does not prohibit any of the following:
(1) A state police department civilian employee from voting while on duty.
(2) A police officer or firefighter from voting while wearing any part of an official uniform or while on duty.
(3) An individual described in subsection (a) from consenting to a photograph (or other visual depiction) of the individual wearing any part of the individual's official uniform appearing in an advertisement in support of a candidate or political party.
In other words, its perfectly legal for LEOs to appear in political ads. It happens all the time in Indiana.
The poor Elrod folk are getting so desperate they have to invent crimes to holler about!!!
Are you ever going to come up with something original, or just cut and paste other, established blogs? Your site is mch like Greg Ballard himself: initially promising, but then shown to have no substance or original thinking.
-GOP
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