GUEST COMMENTARY: I didn't break the law, will fight federal charges - Portage Mayor James Snyder
NWI Times
James Snyder
UPDATED - December 06, 2016 - 3:45PM
You can only imagine that the federal cloud of investigation I have been dealing with the last 2 1/2 years has been overwhelming. However, the investigation has not slowed the huge strides Portage has been making.
Most communities are devastated by such actions, but Portage has continued to thrive because many staff and residents work as normal and believe in my innocence.
Portage leaders, myself included, have striven to comply with the relentless investigation that has engulfed nearly every facet of the city and has touched my church, my wife and family, my supporters, my private business and just about any area of my life you can imagine.
Government agents have sifted through hundreds of thousands of documents, including city and personal emails, to find something they could call “breaking the law.” Even my pastor has been interviewed, and my tithes and offerings have been scrutinized.
This investigation has cost the federal government hundreds of thousands of dollars and will probably eclipse the $1 million mark in federal taxpayer resources.
Public corruption is serious, and as the mayor you have elected and entrusted to lead Portage, I believe that wholeheartedly. People who know me well, and even many who know me just in passing, are confident that there is no way the accusations levied at me are true.
It is important for Portage residents to know that concluding this matter will take some time and that I intend to fight — in every way — to protect my family, my name and the city I love.
My conduct has never violated the law.
Because Portage’s success is not because of any one person, the city will continue to see unparalleled success while we are under this dark cloud. I have the best staff a mayor could ask for, and I and Portage residents owe them a debt of gratitude.
The government’s allegations against me are only one side of the story.
I have no intention to quit and subvert democracy and the Constitution by which we all are governed. Thank you for your overwhelming support and prayers. Through all this, I still have faith in the system, a fair trial and the goodness of our God.
We all say we believe in “innocent until proven guilty.” There has never been a time in my life that I have clung to and believed that more than today.
James Snyder is the mayor of Portage. The opinions are the writer's.
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