Former mayor getting new trial in 1 of 2 counts
Dubois County Herald
November 29, 2019
https://duboiscountyherald.com/b/former-mayor-getting-new-trial-in-1-of-2-counts
HAMMOND — A federal judge has denied a motion for acquittal by a former northwestern Indiana mayor who was convicted by a jury in February of bribery and tax obstruction but he granted a new trial on one of the counts.
The ruling is a partial victory for former Portage Mayor James Snyder, who argued that he should be acquitted because of prosecutorial conduct and insufficient evidence. Snyder didn’t get the acquittals but the (Northwest Indiana ) Post-Tribune reports that U.S. District Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen granted him a new trial on the charge that he accepted a $13,000 bribe in exchange for contracts to sell garbage trucks to the city.
The judge let stand the conviction on the charge that he hid income and assets from the Internal Revenue Service.
Former Portage Mayor Snyder to get new trial on bribery charge
NWI Times
November 27, 2019
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/former-portage-mayor-snyder-to-get-new-trial-on-bribery/article_6f134dd7-7942-59ab-9b21-0fa1e99c5629.html
HAMMOND — Former Portage Mayor James E. Snyder has won a new trial on a bribery charge.
U.S. District Court Judge Joseph S. Van Bokkelen ruled Wednesday afternoon there were enough irregularities in the government’s prosecution to warrant a new trial by a new jury on whether Snyder solicited a bribe from former owners of a Portage truck sales firm.
Snyder, a Republican businessman, served as mayor of Portage from 2011 until his conviction Feb. 14 by a federal jury on felony counts of bribery solicitation and tax evasion following a 19-day trial.
The judge’s ruling Wednesday means the bribery conviction is now null and void.
The judge did rule in favor of federal prosecutors and denied defense requests to either acquit Snyder or grant Snyder a new trial on the tax evasion charge.
The split decision represents a victory for Snyder and his legal team, led by Indianapolis attorney Jackie M. Bennett Jr. and a rare loss for federal prosecutors.
Bennett staked Snyder’s defense following the guilty verdicts on accusations of prosecutorial misconduct and a prosecutorial failure to submit sufficient evidence to convict Snyder of wrongdoing.
Had Wednesday’s ruling had completely gone against the former mayor, Snyder could have faced years in prison.
The judge has canceled Snyder’s sentencing for now and has yet to schedule a date for a new trial.
Neither Snyder, his defense attorneys nor a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago handling the federal prosecution could be reached for comment.
As the case stands, federal prosecutors must now prove to a new jury he solicited a $13,000 bribe in 2014 from the former owners of Great Lakes Peterbilt of Portage in return for steering a $1.125 million contract to firm's owners to provide the city with garbage trucks.
Snyder is pleading not guilty to the charge.
The judge stated in his 17-page ruling Wednesday the Feb. 14 bribery verdict against Snyder had to be overturned because of several irregularities practiced by federal prosecutors.
He said the government tried to prove bribery against Snyder without the testimony of the central players — Steve and Bob Buha, former owners of Great Lakes Peterbilt, who made the $13,000 payment to Snyder five years ago.
Federal prosecutors refused to call the brothers to the witness stand at trial.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill R. Koster told the judge she believed the brothers might give the jury false or conflicting testimony about their motive in giving Snyder $13,000.
The brothers then refused to testify as defense witnesses, on Snyder’s behalf, either.
Snyder’s legal team said they were unable to call the Buhas as defense witnesses because federal prosecutors refused to grant the brothers immunity from future prosecution.
The government had given the brothers immunity earlier to testify before a grand jury investigating the bribery allegations three years ago.
Faced with the threat of future prosecution, the brothers exercised their Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.
Snyder didn’t take the witness stand either.
Van Bokkelen stated in a footnote of his ruling, “From years of experience on every side of litigation, (Van Bokkelen) cannot recall a case that was tried without the testimony of the giver or the receiver of the bribe or the testimony of some other direct witness of the bribery."
The judge also criticized federal prosecutors for alleging the corrupt award of reconstruction work of Willowcreek Road, a major traffic thoroughfare in Portage and then failing to present any evidence to support that allegation.
The judge said the government failure to go forward on the Willowcreek road construction allegation unfairly caused Snyder’s lawyers to waste time preparing to defend against allegations the jury never heard.
The judge said another irregularity involved federal prosecutors presenting evidence at trial they hadn’t previously disclosed to Snyder’s attorneys.
The judge said the effect was to unfairly deny Snyder’s lawyers the chance to better prepare against the surprise evidence.
The judge said federal prosecutors presented too much of the government’s case against Snyder through testimony by an FBI agent who investigated the case, rather than witnesses with first-hand knowledge of the disputed acts by Snyder and others.
This tactic denied Snyder’s defense attorneys a meaningful chance to question the validity of government allegations. Defense efforts to interrogate the FBI agent were stymied by federal prosecutors objections.
The judge did find the government met its burden to prove Snyder obstructed the U.S. Internal Revenue Service efforts to collect taxes from a private mortgage firm Snyder managed, beginning in 2010.
Judge denies acquittal for former Portage Mayor James
Chicago Tribune
November 27, 2019
https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/ct-ptb-snyder-order-st-1128-20191127-dniixcjzpbgb7jnomkbk3yfueu-story.html
A federal judge denied former Portage Mayor James Snyder, who was found guilty of bribery and obstructing the IRS, a motion for acquittal on two counts on Wednesday, but granted a new trial on one of the counts.
U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen denied Snyder’s motion for acquittal to both charges of the purchase of garbage trucks and corruptly interfering with the administration of the Internal Revenue laws, according to the court order.
Van Bokkelen denied a motion for a new trial for the corruptly interfering with the administration of the Internal Revenue laws charge, but he granted the motion for a new trial on the purchase of garbage trucks charge, according to the order.
With the most recent ruling, Snyder’s sentencing dates of Dec. 6 and Dec. 17 were vacated. A new sentencing date has not yet been set.
In February, Snyder, 41, was convicted of taking a $13,000 bribe in exchange for contracts to sell five garbage trucks to the city and using a shell company to hide income and assets from the IRS while owing back personal and business taxes. The jury acquitted Snyder of a third count that alleged he took a $12,000 bribe to get a company on Portage’s tow list.
Snyder has agreed to forfeit $13,000 to the federal government, documents said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, which oversaw the prosecution, said that Snyder could face up to 10 years in prison on the bribery charge, and up to three years in prison on the obstruction charge.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana was recused from the case, absent two prosecutors, as U.S. Attorney Thomas Kirsch II previously represented Snyder.
Snyder, a Republican, was indicted in November 2016 and charged with allegedly violating a federal bribery statute and obstruction or impeding the IRS.
Prosecutors said that when Snyder ran for mayor in 2011, he told residents he planned to automate Portage’s trash pickup, but wound up steering contracts for $712,882.50 and another for $425,355 to Great Lakes Peterbilt, which was then owned by Robert and Stephen Buha.
Defense attorneys say that Snyder used his experience in offering health insurance to city employees through the Affordable Care Act, and making technology upgrades to advice Great Lakes Peterbilt about making similar changes.
A second count said that Snyder, while owing tens of thousands of dollars to the IRS, funneled income through a shell company, and failed to disclose any of those assets to the IRS.
In September, Snyder’s sentencing date had been pushed back a second time from Sept. 24 to two days in December “to allow time to rule on the pending post-trial motions,” according to court records.
Federal prosecutors said Snyder allegedly solicited money from co-defendant John Cortina, of Kustom Auto Body in Portage, and “Individual A” and gave them a towing contract for Portage.
Cortina, 80, in January pleaded guilty to a charge that he paid bribes to Snyder to get a spot on the tow list. Cortina did not testify during the trial, invoking his Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate himself, according to court documents.
Snyder has maintained his innocence during the more than two years since he was indicted.
Following Snyder’s sentencing delay, Cortina, who was indicted alongside the mayor, requested his sentencing be reset to Jan. 10.
Prosecutors: Former Portage Mayor James Snyder, found guilty of bribery, should spend 46 months in prison
Chicago Tribune
November 22, 2019
https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/ct-snyder-sentencing-memorandum-st-1123-20191122-y4m2tv2uvnd7hlus4zhhtd4osm-story.html
Prosecutors recommend former Portage Mayor James Snyder, who was found guilty of bribery and obstructing the IRS, spend just under 4 years behind bars, according to a federal sentencing memorandum.
In total, prosecutors believe a sentence of 46 months in prison followed by one year of supervised release “is fair and reasonable based on the nature and seriousness of Snyder’s offense conduct,” according to the sentencing the sentencing memorandum, filed Nov. 20.
In response, Jackie Bennett Jr., Snyder’s attorney, filed a motion to strike the sentencing memorandum arguing that the prosecutors filed the sentencing memorandum too late. The sentencing memorandum is due 14 days before the hearing and no later than 21 days before the hearing, Bennett said.
Snyder’s sentencing hearing is scheduled to start Dec. 6, a day to present final evidence and additional arguments regarding objections to the pre-sentence report, according to court records. On Dec. 17, the court will issue a ruling and sentence, according to court records.
“The government did not file its mandatory filing on November 15 (21 days before Dec. 6). Instead they filed it late, on Nov. 20, leaving Mr. Snyder with two days to file his response in compliance with the dates ordered by the court,” according to Bennett’s response.
Bennett requested that the prosecutor’s sentencing memo “should be struck” and for guidance from the court “regarding when he should file a sentencing memorandum," according the response.
Prosecutors argued that three weeks prior to Dec. 17, Snyder’s sentencing, is Nov. 26, and they planned to file the sentencing memorandum that day.
“However, earlier today defense counsel contacted the government claiming its memorandum was overdue and should have been filed on Nov. 15,” according to the sentencing memorandum. “Although the government disagrees with defense counsel ... it nonetheless agreed to file its sentencing memorandum (Nov. 20).”
In February, Snyder, 41, was convicted of taking a $13,000 bribe in exchange for contracts to sell five garbage trucks to the city and using a shell company to hide income and assets from the IRS while owing back personal and business taxes. The jury acquitted Snyder of a third count that alleged he took a $12,000 bribe to get a company on Portage’s tow list.
Snyder has agreed to forfeit $13,000 to the federal government, documents said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, which oversaw the prosecution, said that Snyder could face up to 10 years in prison on the bribery charge, and up to three years in prison on the obstruction charge.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana was recused from the case, absent two prosecutors, as U.S. Attorney Thomas Kirsch II previously represented Snyder.
Snyder, a Republican, was indicted in November 2016 and charged with allegedly violating a federal bribery statute and obstruction or impeding the IRS.
Prosecutors said that when Snyder ran for mayor in 2011, he told residents he planned to automate Portage’s trash pickup, but wound up steering contracts for $712,882.50 and another for $425,355 to Great Lakes Peterbilt, which was then owned by Robert and Stephen Buha.
Defense attorneys say that Snyder used his experience in offering health insurance to city employees through the Affordable Care Act, and making technology upgrades to advice Great Lakes Peterbilt about making similar changes.
A second count said that Snyder, while owing tens of thousands of dollars to the IRS, funneled income through a shell company, and failed to disclose any of those assets to the IRS.
In September, Snyder’s sentencing date had been pushed back a second time from Sept. 24 to two days in December “to allow time to rule on the pending post-trial motions,” according to court records.
On Dec. 6, the court will give the parties an opportunity to present evidence and any additional arguments regarding their objections to the pre-sentence report and sentencing factors, according to a court order.
On Dec. 17, the court will issue a ruling regarding the objections to the pre-sentence report and will announce Snyder’s sentence, according to the court order.
Federal prosecutors said Snyder allegedly solicited money from co-defendant John Cortina, of Kustom Auto Body in Portage, and “Individual A” and gave them a towing contract for Portage.
Cortina, 80, in January pleaded guilty to a charge that he paid bribes to Snyder to get a spot on the tow list. Cortina did not testify during the trial, invoking his Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate himself, according to court documents.
Snyder has maintained his innocence during the more than two years since he was indicted.
Following Snyder’s sentencing delay, Cortina, who was indicted alongside the mayor, requested his sentencing be reset to Jan. 10.
Prosecutors ask for 47-month prison term for ex-Portage mayor
NWI Times
November 22, 2019
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/prosecutors-ask-for--month-prison-term-for-ex-portage/article_959c8c25-eb56-54b8-a5e2-00c67510c856.html
HAMMOND — Federal prosecutors want former Portage Mayor James E. Snyder in prison for 47 months for public corruption.
Assistant U.S. attorneys submitted arguments earlier this week in a court memorandum with their recommendation for Snyder’s sentence, now scheduled to be announced Dec. 17.
They argue justice demands his imprisonment to deter other elected officials from public corruption.
But it remains unclear whether Snyder will be punished at all since his defense teams vigorously contest his guilty verdicts and are demanding that U.S. District Court Judge Joseph S. Van Bokkelen order the former mayor acquitted of all wrongdoing.
The defense claims the government’s case was so lacking in credible evidence jurors could only have based their guilty findings on improper speculation.
Snyder’s legal team also contends prosecutorial misconduct hobbled the former mayor’s effort to cast doubt on the charges against him.
Van Bokkelen has yet to rule on defense motions for acquittal and a new trial.
Snyder served as mayor of Portage from 2011 until his conviction Feb. 14 by a federal jury on felony counts of bribery solicitation and tax evasion following a 19-day trial.
Federal prosecutors said in their memo they presented damning evidence that Snyder accepted a $13,000 bribe in 2014 in return for steering a $1.125 million garbage collection contract to the Buhas Great Lakes Peterbilt firm.
They said Snyder actively sought to award those contracts to Great Lakes Peterbilt, a truck sales firm in Portage, by rigging the specifications for garbage trucks the city was buying to give Great Lakes an unfair advantage.
Prosecutors said Great Lakes gave Snyder $13,000 within weeks of Great Lakes winning the contracts.
The government also presented evidence Snyder obstructed the Internal Revenue Service’s efforts to collect unpaid taxes on his personal income as well as taxes on a private mortgage company he ran.
Snyder’s legal team haven’t responded to the government’s sentencing recommendation, but did make their case to the judge for an acquittal during a post-trial hearing earlier this month.
At that hearing, the judge expressed concern about the propriety of federal prosecutors refusing to grant immunity to potential witnesses Steve and Bob Buha, the former owners of a Portage trucking sale firm, who paid Snyder $13,000.
The Buhas' testimony could have been a pivotal moment in Snyder’s trial earlier this year, but federal prosecutors refused to call the brothers to the stand.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill R. Koster told the judge the government believed the brothers might give the jury false or conflicting testimony about their motive in giving Snyder $13,000.
And the brothers then refused to testify as defense witnesses on Snyder’s behalf. The brothers' attorney said he advised them to remain silent.
Snyder’s defense team argues the jury should have heard the Buhas deny bribing the mayor.
Defense attorneys argue the $13,000 was legitimate pay Snyder earned as a consultant, advising the brothers on matters of how their business could save money on employee health insurance and information technology.
Snyder didn’t take the witness stand in his own defense.
Jackie M. Bennett Jr., a member of Snyder's team of defense attorneys, made a written request late Thursday asking the court to disregard the government's sentencing memo on grounds it was filed too late for the defense to respond to it under the court's deadlines.
Bennett asked the court to set new deadlines for the parties to file their final arguments on the case. He also renewed his argument to acquit Snyder on grounds of prosecutorial misconduct and that there is insufficient evidence to convict.
Lawyers for former Portage Mayor James Snyder, found guilty of bribery, argue two witnesses would have proved his innocence
Chicago Tribune
November 08, 2019
https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/ct-ptb-snyder-mistrial-hearing-st-1109-20191109-kyxievwd5ncwdhxlvcxd34e5ue-story.html
The legal team for former Portage Mayor James Snyder, who was found guilty of bribery and obstructing the IRS, made its case Friday for why two key witnesses should’ve testified before the jury, but prosecutors stated the witnesses weren’t called because it was likely they would’ve lied.
Snyder’s attorneys argued that during trial, the prosecutors presented the jury with a “gap” in evidence and that “the government’s case was merely speculative.”
Jackie Bennett Jr., Snyder’s attorney, stated the prosecutors blocked the former owners of Great Lakes Peterbilt, Robert and Steve Buha, from testifying.
Both brothers denied the bribery and payment for garbage trucks in grand jury testimony, and stated that they paid Snyder $13,000 for consultant work, Bennett said. Both brothers also stated that Snyder was in a financial bind and needed money, but was willing to work for it, Bennett said.
Ultimately, Bennett said, Snyder provided health insurance and information technology consultants, and referred the brothers to a lawyer.
“(Snyder) was, in a word, innocent,” Bennett said. “We have not found, and the government hasn’t shown, any evidence contrary to the Buha grand jury testimony.”
Federal prosecutors said “ideally, it would be nice” to have the Buha brother’s testify, but that the prosecution did not believe their story because of inconsistencies in what they told law enforcement and their grand jury testimony.
Additionally, prosecutors said, based on the Buhas grand jury testimony, their statements wouldn’t have helped Snyder. But, prosecutors said, had his defense lawyers wanted the brothers’ side of the story presented to the jury, the attorneys could’ve presented the transcript of their grand jury testimony to the jury.
Judge Joseph S. Van Bokkelen will consider the information before Snyder’s December sentencing.
In February, Snyder, 41, was convicted of taking a $13,000 bribe in exchange for contracts to sell five garbage trucks to the city and using a shell company to hide income and assets from the IRS while owing back personal and business taxes. The jury acquitted Snyder of a third count that alleged he took a $12,000 bribe to get a company on Portage’s tow list.
Snyder has agreed to forfeit $13,000 to the federal government, documents said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, which oversaw the prosecution, said that Snyder could face up to 10 years in prison on the bribery charge, and up to three years in prison on the obstruction charge.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana was recused from the case, absent two prosecutors, as U.S. Attorney Thomas Kirsch II previously represented Snyder.
Snyder, a Republican, was indicted in November 2016 and charged with allegedly violating a federal bribery statute and obstruction or impeding the IRS.
Prosecutors said that when Snyder ran for mayor in 2011, he told residents he planned to automate Portage’s trash pickup, but wound up steering contracts for $712,882.50 and another for $425,355 to Great Lakes Peterbilt, which was then owned by the Buhas.
Defense attorneys say that Snyder used his experience in offering health insurance to city employees through the Affordable Care Act, and making technology upgrades to advice Great Lakes Peterbilt about making similar changes.
A second count said that Snyder, while owing tens of thousands of dollars to the IRS, funneled income through a shell company, and failed to disclose any of those assets to the IRS.
In September, Snyder’s sentencing date had been pushed back a second time from Sept. 24 to two days in December “to allow time to rule on the pending post-trial motions,” according to court records.
On Dec. 6, the court will give the parties an opportunity to present evidence and any additional arguments regarding their objections to the pre-sentence report and sentencing factors, according to a court order.
On Dec. 17, the court will issue a ruling regarding the objections to the pre-sentence report and will announce Snyder’s sentence, according to the court order. Federal prosecutors said Snyder allegedly solicited money from co-defendant John Cortina, of Kustom Auto Body in Portage, and “Individual A” and gave them a towing contract for Portage.
Cortina, 80, in January pleaded guilty to a charge that he paid bribes to Snyder to get a spot on the tow list. Cortina did not testify during the trial, invoking his Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate himself, according to court documents.
Snyder has maintained his innocence during the more than two years since he was indicted.
Following Snyder’s sentencing delay, Cortina, who was indicted alongside the mayor, requested his sentencing be reset to Jan. 10.
Debate over Snyder’s guilt rages on months after guilty verdicts
NWI Times
November 08, 2019
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/portage/debate-over-snyder-s-guilt-rages-on-months-after-guilty/article_b6d0dbb8-23c8-5419-a2de-a414f16e8293.html
HAMMOND — Federal prosecutors and defense attorneys still are arguing about whether former Mayor James E. Snyder is guilty of public corruption nine months after a jury convicted him of two felony counts.
Allegations of prosecutorial misconduct most concerned U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen, who ordered Snyder and lawyers on both sides of the dispute into his courtroom Friday afternoon for their final words on the matter.
Dozens of Snyder’s supporters were in the courtroom. Snyder smiled through most of the hearing, even when he was accused of lying repeatedly to government investigators.
The judge heard three hours or argument and counterargument without signaling who’s right. He has promised to issue his verdict as early as Dec. 17, when the judge stated he intends to announce Snyder’s sentence.
Snyder, a Republican businessman, served as mayor of Portage, the third-largest city in Northwest Indiana, from 2011 until his conviction and removal from office on two felony counts of bribery and tax evasion Feb. 14 following a 19-day trial.
Snyder’s legal team, which includes Indianapolis attorney Jackie Bennett, argued Friday and for months that the verdicts should be overturned on grounds of prosecutorial misconduct and insufficient evidence to support any conviction.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Philip Benson and Jill Koster rehashed the evidence and their argument that Snyder’s guilt was overwhelming and nothing in their conduct of the case warrants a new trial or his acquittal.
The judge expressed the most doubt and concern he has about whether prosecutors improperly silenced two crucial witnesses, Steve and Bob Buha, the former owners of a Portage trucking sale firm, who paid Snyder $13,000.
Prosecutors said the money was a bribe Snyder demanded in return for steering $1.125 million in city business to the benefit of the brothers.
Defense attorneys argue the money was legitimate pay Snyder earned as a consultant, advising the brothers on matters of how their business could save money on employee health insurance and information technology.
Snyder didn’t take the witness stand in his own defense.
Nor did the Buhas. They refused to testify after Koster warned they had no immunity from self-incrimination.
Federal prosecutors gave the Buhas immunity three years earlier in the hope they would give testimony to a federal grand jury bolstering the case against Snyder.
Koster said the Buhas have contradictory stories, at one time claiming Snyder was a legitimate consultant and later saying they felt they had to pay the mayor’s demand for money.
Koster informed the Buhas’ attorney she wouldn’t call them as government witnesses and warned they would not have immunity if they testified as defense witnesses.
Without immunity, the brothers took the Fifth and wouldn’t testify at all.
Bennett said the Buhas would have denied bribing the mayor. “All of the evidence of his innocence never reached the jury," Bennett said. "The government blocked it, and (Koster) abused her immunization authority.”
Koster said it would have been unethical for her to let the Buhas testify under immunity when she thought they would lie.
The judge took issue with Koster on whether withdrawing the brothers’ immunity was correct in a heated exchange with her. At one point the judge apologized for rolling his eyes in disbelief at Koster’s arguments.
Snyder’s defense team argued prosecutors fooled jurors into believing the former mayor guilty based on arguments and “gut feelings” that didn’t add up to proof of guilt.
Benson responded Friday that the defense’s message was, “The government didn’t know what it was doing, and the jury didn’t know what it was doing. Only (the defense) knew.”
He said the government presented documentary evidence and testimony Snyder accepted a $13,000 bribe in 2014 in return for steering a $1.125 million garbage collection contract to the Buhas' Great Lakes Peterbilt firm.
They said Snyder actively sought to award those contracts to Great Lakes Peterbilt, a truck sales firm in Portage, by rigging the specifications for garbage trucks the city was buying to give Great Lakes an unfair advantage.
Prosecutors said Great Lakes gave Snyder $13,000 within weeks of Great Lakes winning the contracts in the form of a check made out to SRC Consulting, which prosecutors said was a non-existent company. They said the money eventually found its way to Snyder’s personal bank account.
The government also argued and presented evidence Snyder obstructed the Internal Revenue Service’s efforts to collect unpaid business and personal taxes he owed by hiding his taxable income.
Defense lawyers argued there was no evidence Snyder was knowledgeable about tax matters and intended to defraud the Internal Revenue Service. They said the IRS eventually collected all overdue taxes.
Benson said Snyder is still guilty of falsely underreporting his income from private business sources and delaying tax collections by more than six years.
Although jurors convicted Snyder on two felony counts, they acquitted Snyder of another bribery count alleging he steered contracts to towing firms seeking city business.
Democrat Sue Lynch unseats incumbent Mayor John Cannon in Portage nail-biter
NWI Times
November 05, 2019
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/democrat-sue-lynch-unseats-incumbent-mayor-john-cannon-in-portage/article_cde2065a-2186-54fb-b6f5-c04aebaf2603.html
PORTAGE — Democrat Sue Lynch pulled ahead late in a tight race Tuesday night to unseat Republican Mayor John Cannon.
It will be a return to the office for Lynch, who had served as mayor for a couple of weeks following former Republican Mayor James Snyder's federal conviction in February on bribery and tax obstruction charges.
Lynch had taken over the city's top job by virtue of her position as city council president.
"We both worked very hard to win our race," Lynch said.
She said her edge came in remaining focused and having a strong team.
Her victory was part of a Democratic sweep in the city, including all seven seats on the city council and the clerk-treasurer's office.
"It'a great day for Portage Democrats," she said.
"I am running for mayor because it is time to bring fiscal responsibility, honesty, integrity and transparency back to our city," Lynch had said. "It is time to put politics aside and work for all citizens. Now more than ever we need a person with leadership skills and experience working with our business community, our schools, our employees and our citizens. After eight long years of negative headlines it is time to move forward and create a positive image for our city."
Lynch was replaced as mayor at the start of March by Cannon, who was voted in by Republican precinct officials to finish Snyder's term.
Lynch said her top goals include getting the city's finances in order in the wake of "living 'paycheck to paycheck,' spending money that was not budgeted for, and running our city into debt."
She also intends to focus on downtown development by updating the city's 11-year-old master plan to create a "new, shared vision."
Infrastructure improvements are also a priority, including "the west side of our city, a plan we develop and stick to, without going over budget," she said.
Lynch is a retired office manager from Calumet Park Cemetery and had served as executive director of the nonprofit environmental organization People Against Hazardous Landfill Sites.
She has served on the Portage City Council since 2008 and had held other local elected offices.
Lynch also is a member of the Portage Historical Society, several veterans groups, the Indiana Sheriff's Association and the Police Memorial Fund that assists widows of fallen officers.
She is chairwoman of the Mayor's Senior Advisory Committee and the Porter County Recycling and Waste Reduction Board. Lynch is an active member of St. Peter Lutheran Church.
Lych said what sets her apart from her opponent is her 12 years on the city council.
"I am able to converse and communicate well with our business community, our county officials and our state legislators," she said. "I know how to manage people and budgets."
"I am a consensus builder and believe there is no 'I' in team," Lynch said. "There will be no room for politics in my administration."
