A judge heard nearly three hours of arguments from attorneys Tuesday on whether Republican St. Joseph County Council member Dan Schaetzle can run for re-election as a Republican in the May primary election.
After listening to the three attorneys’ arguments, Democratic St. Joseph Circuit Judge John Broden took them under advisement and said he’ll rule “sooner rather than later.” Sooner because the county this weekend must start printing ballots for the May 5 primary election.
Republican 2nd District committee secretary Griffin Nate, who works as communications director for Rep. Rudy Yakym, is asking the court to reverse a recent 3-0 ruling by the county election board. The board ruled that Schaetzle should be allowed to run despite the party finding him not in good standing.
Nate’s attorney, Sean Sirisi, referenced numerous prior court rulings, one dating back to 1906 in Marshall County, finding that a political party can dictate which candidates it affiliates with.
But Schaetzle’s attorney, Pete Agostino, and the election board’s attorney, Michael Smyth, told Broden he must instead follow Indiana statute, which says nothing about being in good standing with the party. Instead, the statute says a candidate can affiliate with a party in two ways: having voted in their two most recent primary elections, or if that hasn’t happened, they can be approved by the county party chair.
