Dems tape Elrod tending campaign on House floor

From the Indianapolis Star

By Mary Beth Schneider
mary.beth.schneider@indystar.com

State Rep. Jon Elrod, the Republican nominee in the upcoming 7th Congressional District race, was caught on video by state Democrats writing campaign letters while on the floor of the House and handing them to a legislative employee to mail.

Elrod on Wednesday apologized for the incidents, calling them “really poor judgment on my part” and said it would never happen again.

There are few ethical rules for legislators, and no law or regulation appears to bar Elrod from signing political letters at his House desk.But House Minority Leader Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said the legislative employee who mailed the letters — Graig Lubsen, deputy media director for House Republicans — violated House personnel rules that bar employees from political activity during work hours.

“There will be consequences,” Bosma said, though he did not specify what they would be.Elrod, running against Democrat Andre Carson, said he was simply “multi-tasking” by signing thank-you letters to volunteers and contributors to his congressional campaign.“I feel horrible about it. I really do. To put our caucus and everyone else in this position, it’s just inexcusable,” he said.From now on, he said, “there will be none of my (campaign) materials anywhere near the Statehouse.”

Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Dan Parker said Democrats had heard that Elrod was working on his campaign while in the House chamber, so they sent a staff member with a video camera to watch. From a House balcony, the aide twice videotaped Elrod, once Feb. 5 and once Tuesday, signing the campaign letters.

“It raises questions about Jon Elrod’s ethics,” Parker said. “Here he is on the floor of the House doing campaign work. That says that politics is more important than the people’s work.”Indiana Republican Party Chairman Murray Clark, a former state senator, call the Democrats’ accusations “absolute nonsense.”

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it,” Clark said.

It shows, he said, that Democrats are desperate to hold onto the 7th Congressional District seat after losing control of the Indianapolis mayor’s office and City-County Council.“Democrats are going to pull out every trick in the book,” Clark said. “I’m going to call Jon and make sure he pulls his shades at night.”

Bosma also raised questions about the ethics of videotaping House members’ correspondence, saying legislators have communications with constituents that should be kept confidential. Julia Vaughn, who follows governmental ethics issues as policy director for the citizen watchdog group Common Cause/Indiana, said the incident “isn’t the biggest scandal since Watergate” but that lawmakers should refrain from doing campaign work in the Statehouse.

Using a House employee to mail the letters, she said, is the bigger concern.Lubsen said he had “no idea” the letters were campaign related, and that he routinely mails correspondence for legislators. Bosma said that while the incident was only “180 seconds,” it was a clear violation of House policy. He said he had a “stern talk” with Elrod and Lubsen.“I’m confident it has not ever happened before, and I’m very confident it will never, ever happen again,” Bosma said.

State Rep. Clyde Kersey, the Terre Haute Democrat who is chairman of the House Ethics Committee, said the legislative Code of Ethics doesn’t specifically prevent lawmakers from working on their campaigns while the House is in session. But, he said, “I think it’s a given.”

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