A magistrate has determined the St. Joseph County Council has violated Indiana’s Open Door Law and he’s ordered the council to obey the law in the future.
Specifically, the council can no longer interview prospective political appointees behind closed doors. Such interviews must be done with public notice and during a public meeting.
St. Joseph Circuit Court Magistrate William Wilson recently ruled that council members broke the law when they interviewed two candidates for seats on the county redevelopment commission.
The Republican-led council ultimately appointed the two candidates, Republicans Ben Horvath and Dick Pfeil, to the county’s seven-member commission, removing Democrats Jason Critchlow and Tom Gryp.
In court filings, the council hadn’t denied breaking the law during their March 7 executive session. But they argued Wilson should throw out the case anyway because the plaintiff, retired attorney Mike McManus, had missed the law’s 30-day window to file the suit.
But Wilson disagreed, finding that McManus’ 30-day clock never started ticking because the council never told the public when the interviews happened.
McManus, a retired attorney, represented himself in the case.
“I believe that our democracy is in danger these days,” McManus said, “and that we need to make sure as citizens that we do our part to hold our public officials accountable, and make them subject to the rule of law.”
