COLUMBUS, Ind. — A trial date has been set for litigation to determine whether or not a newly re-elected Bartholomew County councilman lives in the county he represents.
Special Judge Mary Wertz of Brown County has scheduled 8:30 a.m. Dec. 23 as the start of a bench trial that will determine whether Bartholomew County Council president Matt Miller’s legal residence is in the Highland Ridge subdivision south of Petersville – or at a different residence outside of the county.
A dozen Highland Ridge residents signed a petition in July claiming that Miller actually lives on property he owns in a rural area of Jennings County.
In another new development, all members of the Bartholomew County Election Board – Jay Phelps, James Holland and Julie Schuette – have been removed from the litigation because they are no longer a necessary party in the dispute, court records state.
That’s according to Ross Thomas, an Indianapolis lawyer representing Bartholomew County Democratic Party chairman Steve Schoettmer, as well as three Democratic candidates who had unsuccessful campaigns for the at-large county council seats.
Claudette Schroer, Olisa Humes and Tiffany Bosley all lost during the election in what became a Republican sweep of county offices on Tuesday.
The local election board was initially named in the lawsuit in an effort to persuade the panel to investigate the neighbor’s petition, Thomas said. The neighborhood residents who signed the petition believe the rental home at 1331 N. County Road 500E that Miller has listed as his legal residence has actually been vacant for years.
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.
