Published: June 28, 2007 11:33 am      

Charlestown candidates to pay utility bills

GOP says a drawing isn’t vote-buying because anyone can win

If you’re a Charlestown resident, you could be having a few of your bills paid for the rest of the year.

Charlestown Republican mayoral candidate Bob Hall — along with city council candidates George Roberts, Mark Goodlett and Dan Roberts — will have a booth at this weekend’s Founder’s Day festival, where residents can register to win free water, sewer and garbage bills for the next six months.

The group is paying the bills for two lucky residents to raise awareness of one of their central campaign issues: Cost of living.

Hall argues that residents have faced an increase in the cost of living with a rise in water rates and fees associated with city services.

According to an advertisement placed in a newspaper, The Leader, the giveaway is the candidates’ way of telling residents that they’re listening to the complaints.

“This is simply a down payment on our campaign promises of lowering the cost of living in the city of Charlestown,” the ad reads.

In an interview Wednesday, Hall said the drawing is free, political affiliation doesn’t matter and that there are no strings attached — thus avoiding what could be misconstrued as “buying” votes.

“It’s just focused advertising on an issue that’s on everybody’s hearts,” he said.

Political opponents can even sign up, he said.

Some newly annexed areas of the city use outside water and sewer services not controlled by the city. The candidates will pay for those, as long as they’re Charlestown residents, Hall said.

This concept is not new among political candidates, said Glenn Murphy Jr., Chairman of the Clark County Republican Party. He points out that his party raffled vacuum cleaners during last year’s Clark County 4-H fair. The Democrats had a similar raffle at the same time.

“It’s not vote-buying,” he said. “All campaigns, all political parties, have done a raffle.”

The Founder’s Day event is simply drawing attention to a campaign issue, Murphy said.

Last year, a couple of Democratic congressional candidates — Rep. Baron Hill in Indiana and Mike Weaver in Kentucky — used campaign funds to buy gas at below-market price during the 2006 campaign season. Officials never investigated Hill’s incident, while Weaver’s drew a federal inquiry.

Even Hall’s opponent, Charlestown Mayor Mike Hall (no relation), would not go so far as to say there was any wrongdoing with the Founder’s Day giveaway.

For an independent legal assessment, the question was posed to Larry Wilder, attorney for the Jeffersonville Ethics Commission.

“It’s a very provocative campaign marketing tool,” Wilde said.

However, he agreed with Murphy and Bob Hall that it wasn’t illegal. It’s no different than a lot of campaign giveaways, he said.

“It’s not, ‘if you vote for me I’ll do something for you,’” Wilder said.

Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter — who happened to be in the area for another event — commented that it’s an unusual giveaway. But he offered no comment on the legal ramifications, saying his office would have to more closely examine it. The Indiana Secretary of State’s office took a similar stance, saying they would look into it if a voter were to file a formal complaint, but officials would not otherwise offer comment.