HAMILTON COUNTY

Challenger decries $99,000 donation to Westfield mayor

Chris Sikich
chris.sikich@indystar.com

Hearing criticism from fellow Republicans that he unduly influenced who won past primary elections, Hamilton County GOP Chairman Pete Emigh said he planned to stay out of this year's closely contested Westfield and Carmel primaries.

He says he has. But the political action committee he helped form donated $99,070 on Thursday to Westfield Mayor Andy Cook. And Cook's son and business associate, Brian Cook, is doling out the money as the new chairman of the committee, called the Shamrock PAC.

Such a large donation is unheard of in Westfield, a suburb of about 33,000 residents with a relatively small number of active voters. Four years ago, Cook won with 1,735 votes.

The financial boost was crucial for the mayor's war chest. After winning that re-election by 61 votes, Cook raised only $10,851 on his own this year. He is facing a strong challenge from Pike Township firefighter Jeff Harpe, who is raising questions about overspending, debt and lack of transparency.

The mayor has put his campaign cash to use with little more than a week left before the primary. He has launched an aggressive TV and radio campaign centered on his vision to grow the local economy through the Grand Park and Grand Junction developments.

The mayor could not be reached for comment. Harpe, though, told The Indianapolis Star he worries that the donation could influence the election.

Harpe has far less money to spend, having raised $7,507. The majority, $6,185, he funded himself. He is putting up yard signs and sending out mailers but says he doesn't have the cash to go on TV or the radio.

Harpe said Emigh should stay out of the race. But he thinks putting the mayor's son in charge of the PAC is hardly an improvement.

He said he would not accept any PAC money if offered, knowing contributions come from businesses that do work for the city.

"For me," Harpe said, "I think that opens the door to a conflict of interest. Someone can buy the election."

The situation in Westfield looks bad, said Julia Vaughn, policy director of Common Cause Indiana. But weak campaign finance laws, she said, open the door to such ethical conflicts.

"It certainly looks like an awful lot of inside baseball," she said. "If people were howling earlier (when Emigh chaired the PAC), I think they will probably be howling even more now."

Andy Cook co-owns Hoosier Tradewinds, a trucking company based in Arcadia, with his son Ben Cook. Brian Cook is an executive with the company, as is Matthew Deck, who is the treasurer of the PAC.

Emigh formed the PAC six years ago, but he resigned as chairman after The Star reported March 1 that some Republicans were upset he was directing money to Cook and other preferred candidates. The county does not slate.

Such financial support can be vital in determining who wins the race in Hamilton County, where a Republican primary victory all but ensures a win in the general election.

GOP officials in other one-party counties told The Star they refrain from supporting one Republican over another to avoid the appearance of bias within the party.

Emigh has maintained he was supporting candidates on his own time, not as a party official. He formed the PAC before he was county chairman and said he is simply busy now with his official duties. He also said he thought Cook was a strong enough candidate to win without his support.

Emigh said he had no involvement with writing the check from the Shamrock PAC to Cook's campaign. But he thinks the mayor should be re-elected and has no concerns with the mayor's son running the PAC or with the donation.

"As a citizen of Westfield, I support Andy Cook," Emigh said. "For the sake of the future of Westfield, we need him to continue on over his opponent."

Brian Cook said people have donated to the PAC because they like the direction of the city, not because of who runs the PAC.

"I am involved in this PAC because I want to see our city continue to head in the right direction, and this committee supports candidates who will do just that," Brian Cook said.

The primary is May 5.

Call Star reporter Chris Sikich at (317) 444-6036. Follow him on Twitter: @ChrisSikich.