Brewer Won't Get Charlie White Treatment, Election Board Dismisses Complaint

An attorney representing the slated Republican candidate for Indianapolis mayor Chuck Brewer produced an affidavit from his client, along with other evidence he said established his intent to reside at the Slate Drive apartment in Perry Township he established last July in order to prove he lived there and not the luxury downtown condominium in the Athletic Club the complaint filed by his Republican opponent, Jocelyn-Tandy Adande, claimed he actually resided when he registered to vote in Perry Township. After hearing evidence offered by Adande and the evidence submitted by Brewer's attorney, David Brooks, the Marion Co. Election Board voted unanimously to dismiss Adande's complaint.

During today's hearing, Brooks conceded his client had moved to Perry Township last March with the intent of running for District 23 but mistakenly rented an apartment in District 20 on Dakota Ridge Drive just outside the district. Brewer amended his voter registration from the Dakota Ridge apartment to a second apartment last July. Brooks said there was still uncertainty over whether the district boundaries he drew when the Republicans still controlled the City-County Council would stand at the time because of an an appeal pending before the Supreme Court. As Adande's complaint asserted, however, Brewer failed to remove the homestead exemption he claimed on his downtown condominium where he registered to vote on March 27, 2012 as required by law, which allowed him a substantial break on his property taxes. Brewer filed paperwork last week to remove that homestead exemption only after Adande filed her complaint against him. Under Indiana law, he was required to file that form within 60 days of moving to an apartment in Perry Township last year. The election board did not consider Brewer's violation of the homestead exemption law within its jurisdiction, although it was the key piece of evidence presented by Adande to prove his intent to make it his primary residence and not either of the apartments where he registered to vote last year in Perry Township.

Evidence Brooks attached to Brewer's affidavit to prove his intent to live at the Slate Drive apartment included photos taken after Adande's complaint was filed showing a fully-furnished apartment there, photos showing his downtown condominium empty, proof that he received mail at that address, a driver's license issued in 2014 at the Slate Drive address and evidence of his intent to sell the Athletic condominium, including real estate listing agreement and evidence it had been shown by realtors during the past year at least 40 times. Interestingly, Brooks did not include with Brewer's affidavit what should have been his strongest piece of evidence, a lease for the Slate Drive apartment. After board members requested it, he produced a copy of it after shuffling through his papers. Brooks didn't offer to produce a lease for the Dakota Ridge apartment.

The election board's attorney, Andy Mallon, instructed members that they only needed to find that Brewer established sufficient intent to reside at the Slate Drive apartment as of the date he filed his statement of candidacy on February 6, 2015, even though the law required him to state under penalties of perjury he actually resided in the Dakota Ridge and Slate Drive apartments on the dates last year when he twice filed change of voter registration forms with the Marion County Board of Voter Registrations. Records obtained by Advance Indiana showed Brewer voted absentee in last year's primary at the Dakota Ridge apartment in the Republican primary and also cast an absentee ballot at the Slate Drive address in last year's general election. Brewer, who moved to Indianapolis from Chicago in 2011, did not register or participate in Indianapolis' 2011 municipal election. The first municipal election in which he will cast a ballot will feature his name at the top of the ballot for mayor.