Carmel mayor’s campaign accused of bribing opponent to leave election
CARMEL, Ind. (WISH) — As the Republican primary for Carmel mayor nears, an accusation of bribery has arisen.
The issue is what exactly happened at a meeting in February.
Fred Glynn is a Hamilton County councilor who is running against Mayor Jim Brainard for the Republican nomination for mayor of Carmel.
According to an article in Current in Carmel, Glynn’s then-campaign manager Dan Hennessey went to a Feb. 3 meeting with Brainard’s campaign and the Hamilton County Republican Party chair.
Glynn said Hennessey came back from that meeting and told Glynn that Brainard’s campaign was offering Glynn $140,000 to drop out of the race.
Shortly thereafter, Hennessey left the Glynn campaign and went to work for the Brainard campaign.
“I don’t know any specifics of what they talked about in that meeting, but I do find it rather peculiar that he came to me with that, wanting me to get out of the race, and then he turns around and says that he went to work them,“ Glynn said of Hennessey’s actions.
Brainard’s campaign manager Laken Siskk told News 8 in a statement:
“Despite the accusations coming from the Mayor’s political opponents, neither him or myself, were in the meeting. Unfortunately this is politics at its worst but fortunately Carmel’s voters are smart enough to see right through it.“
The Hamilton County Democrats held a news conference Thursday to ask the Hamilton County Election Board to get involved. The Democrat Party chair also gave the board a letter, stating the Democrats are concerned about the election law violation.
The election board’s next meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. April 5. They might review the letter then, or it could be scheduled for a separate meeting.
Joe Weingarten, chair of the Hamilton County Democratic Party, said, “I know myself, as a county chair, if I heard about this, immediately following the meeting, my next step would have been the county prosecutor’s office because to me, shady politics should not occur at any level.“
The Carmel primary is May 7. No Democrats have entered the primary race. The general election is in November.
PREVIOUS: Hamilton Co. Election Board called to investigate Carmel mayoral bribery claims