I'm not assuming Matt Kelty's guilt in bringing this up, but it's something I haven't seen discussed yet. Has anybody considered the possibility of a plea bargain in which Kelty pleads guilty to misdemeanors? That's an idea the candidate might not want to entertain if he's absolutely certain he did nothing wrong. But it would be the least complicated way to ensure the mayoral election still goes on with the two candidates the primary voters preferred.
It is interesting, at least, that the last time special prosecutor Daniel Sigler was involved in campaign finances in Fort Wayne mayoral politics, there was a plea bargain that allowed Mayor Win Moses to continue in that office. Hey, the plea bargain said he had to leave the office. It said nothing about a Democratic caucus voting him right back in.
The prosecution, of course, would also have to want to plea bargain. It's my assumption -- perhaps an Indiana lawyer could speak to the issue -- that there would be less interest in bargaining on the perjury charges than on the campaign-finance violations. Prosecutors tend to take such things very seriously.
Comments
Campaign finance laws are numerous and not always black and white. How many candidates do the very same thing that Matt Kealty has done and not even know it? As I understand it, Matt borrowed money to finance his campaign for Mayor. He signed documents stating when payments are due and interest to be paid. This was no different than a Mortgage loan, Bank Credit Card, Car Loan, Student Loan or for that matter any other type of debt instrument.
Let us take a look at a theoretical candidate. They wish to run for office and have stocks that are doing well, but they do not wish to sell any. They decide to borrow money against the equity in their account. They can open a margin account and draw on this to buy more stock or take out cash. If they take cash out and contribute it to their campaign, must they report this new
A plea bargain would serve the constituency of Fort Wayne well. Sigler is going to have an extremely difficult time pursuing this case and Kelty is going to be under a cloud no matter what he does. The plea bargain allows life to move on and serves the taxpayer because the issues are discussed and not some election board form and who paid for the poll. The legal word is PROPORTIONALITY and there is none of that around here.