The friction among local Democrats reached a new level this week, with the party chair, Stan Wruble, asking South Bend Mayor James Mueller to investigate whether two council members are violating any laws because they receive income indirectly from the city.
Wruble aired his views in a letter, dated March 1 and postmarked March 5, that he sent to the mayor, saying âeven a perceived conflict of interest can have serious political fallout and lead to voter distrust.â He named council members Canneth Lee and Sheila Niezgodski, both of whom are Democrats.
It was an unusual move for a chair, raising ethical questions about members of his own party and calling out South Bendâs mayor, typically a high-profile party leader. It came amid a bitter fight for Wruble to hang onto his chairman position, overcoming an opponent backed by the mayor.
This fall will mark a decade since a 2011 investigation by the South Bend Tribune and Howey Politics Indiana triggered a criminal probe of St. Joseph Countyâs longtime Democratic Party chair, Owen âButchâ Morgan. He would eventually land in prison for a scheme to forge petition signatures for the 2008 presidential primary.
Morgan has resurfaced in local politics, and his past scandal now seems much fresher to some party leaders.
Morgan says he has quietly helped candidates in recent years. And he recently campaigned for longtime friend Dave Nufer, who was vying to unseat Stan Wruble as head of the countyâs Democratic Party.
SOUTH BEND â St. Joseph County Democratic precinct committee chairs and vice-chairs re-elected Stan Wruble as party chair by a wide margin Saturday.
Wruble won 67% of the vote, while Dave Nufer took 28% and Oliver Davis received 6% of 267 votes cast in a first-ever pandemic-friendly, drive-thru election at party headquarters.
Davis had declared his candidacy only eight days before the vote but Nufer mounted a serious campaign over six weeks, having touted endorsements from several former and current elected officials, including Mayor James Mueller.
Their race turned bitter toward the end, with their supporters exchanging a volley of combative emails.
Wruble argued that Nuferâs affiliation with former party chair Owen âButchâ Morgan, who had made calls urging support for Nufer, showed that Morgan would seek to exert control in the party.
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