COUNCIL MEMBER RESIGNS UNDER CLOUD OF CONTROVERSY
Indianapolis City-County Council Member Patrice Abduallah is resigning his council seat. I reported this week that documents filed with the Marion County Clerk showed Abduallah did not live in his district, as required by law.
On his way out the door Abduallah took a swipe at the media, the blogs and his own Democratic Party. He blamed the media and blogs for hounding him and blowing the story out of proportion. And he blamed his fellow Democrats for not standing up for him.
Blame aside, this controversy is not over as it only raises more questions. Will Abduallah have to give back any pay? What about his votes, were they legal? If not, what does that mean for all the 15-14, including the public safety tax? City officials say they have case law that says those votes are legal. I’ll be interested to see it. Speaking of 15-14, with Abduallah off the Council, the balance of power has shifted and Democrats are no longer the majority. What does this do for the budget and other proposals?
There is a news conference planned for later this morning. I’ll try to have details.
