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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.