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[Southsider2k12]

https://www.southbendtribune.com/news/polit...c39868ae6c.html

When Michigan City voters went to the polls to choose their mayor Tuesday, they had to consider an unusual factor — criminal charges that had been filed against incumbent Mayor Ron Meer less than a week earlier.

LaPorte County Prosecutor John Lake says the criminal charges, stemming from a dispute between Meer and the city police chief over the arrest of the mayor’s stepson, had “nothing to do” with politics.

But after Meer lost the four-way mayoral race by just 76 votes, the criminal case will now unavoidably focus on political and ethical questions about the prosecutor’s decision to pursue the charges on the eve of the election.

In fact, Meer has already filed a request for a special prosecutor to be appointed, arguing in part that Lake charged the mayor “as part of a personal political agenda by Mr. Lake” and vowing to seek “evidence of such impropriety.”

Meer and his attorney have said Lake supported one of the mayor’s opponents, and have pointed out the fact Meer supported Lake’s opponent in the 2018 Democratic primary for prosecutor. They also question whether the charges were intentionally made public days before the election, instead of being sealed at least until a judge found probable cause for the accusations.

[Southsider2k12]

https://www.kokomotribune.com/opinion/colum...36727e4ca9.html

Michigan City Mayor Ron Meer was upset by Republican Duane Parry just days after the Democratic incumbent was indicted by a Republican county prosecutor on multiple felony charges after the drug arrest by the LaPorte County Drug Alliance of his stepson and the ensuing turmoil in the police department. Parry won by just 76 votes in a race many believed was Meer’s to lose until the arrests and indictment.

There are some real warning flags with Meer’s loss. In such a high profile situation, a prudent course for LaPorte County Prosecutor John Lake would have been for the sheriff to call in the Indiana State Police to investigate. If the mayor was deserving of felony charges, those should have come from a special prosecutor. Now Meer’s attorney, former Gary Mayor Scott King, is calling the indictments a “hatchet job” and believes he can win a motion to dismiss.