The St. Joseph County Election Board voted 2-0 Thursday to rule in favor of a challenge against school board candidate Ben Dallas because he tried to use the nickname “MAGA” on the November ballot.
The vote takes Dallas off this fall’s ballot.
Dallas had filed to run for the Penn-Harris-Madison school board — which, by Indiana law, is elected as a nonpartisan body. And that was part of the reason why the board ruled against Dallas.
But Andy Rutten , who’d filed the challenge against Dallas, also faced a challenge to his name as the Republican candidate for a District I county council seat. Local blogger Clifton French, a friend of Dallas, said he was challenging Rutten for using the nickname “Andy” when his legal first name is Anthony.
The board voted 2-0 against that challenge, saying that it came too late — it should have been filed before this spring’s primary, election board Chairman Tom Dixon said.
French claimed at Thursday’s meeting that Rutten has signed campaign documents with the county as Andy Rutten, rather than Anthony Rutten, and suggested that that could be a felony offense.
For that, Dixon said, the board would first discuss it in executive session before making a decision at its next public meeting. The board’s attorney, Andrew Jones, advised the board not to question Rutten on Thursday, citing his Fifth Amendment rights to seek counsel. Jones also noted that anyone can refer criminal concerns to the prosecutor — not just the board.
St. Joseph County Clerk Amy Rolfes , who sits on the three-member board, recused herself from voting, saying that her fiancé is part of a political action group that, unbeknownst to her, had recently made phone calls related to the issues.
Dallas and Rutten live in the Penn District in Mishawaka. Rutten told the board he’s known Dallas for several years, from school board meetings and even drinking beer together, and said he'd never heard Dallas use the nickname “MAGA.”
“'MAGA' is not a nickname, it’s a political slogan,” Rutten said.
MAGA is former President Donald Trump’s familiar campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
Laura Rydzinski, who also lives in the district, argued to the board that if it allowed Dallas to use the "MAGA" nickname, it would set a statewide precedent allowing other candidates in nonpartisan elections to add nicknames that advertise political leanings.
She played the video of a June interview between French and Dallas in which they talk about the nickname as a “workaround."
On Thursday, Dallas argued that state law allowed him to add a nickname. Dallas said in February, he had planned to add the nickname “Republican.” Then, he said, a coworker suggested “MAGA” as a better fit and Dallas said, “It just stuck.”
He said he disagrees with the state law classifying school board elections as nonpartisan.
“Where does it say you cannot have a nickname for political strategy?” he asked.
Dallas said that French and at least a few elected county officials have called him MAGA since March.
Board member Chuck Leone reasoned that school board races, as nonpartisan, are meant to consider the candidates’ ideas, not their identity. He’s bothered by the way that "MAGA" suggests a political label.
But he also pointed out that state law allows one nickname, not two, and he said Dallas was already using “Ben” as a nickname for his legal name, Benjamin.
Dixon said the name challenges on both sides seemed “petty.” He regrets that the board couldn’t reach a compromise that would have allowed Dallas to run but without the "MAGA" nickname. Dallas said he probably wouldn’t have run if he couldn’t use it.
South Bend Tribune reporter Joseph Dits can be reached at 574-235-6158 or jdits@sbtinfo.com .
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: School board candidate removed from ballot over 'MAGA' nickname
Most Popular
Comments / 0