February 4, 2010
GOP stands behind candidate
Dems question donation to Wyser's run for prosecutor
By Carrie Ritchie
carrie.ritchie@indystar.com
Hamilton County Republicans are rallying around David Wyser, their only announced candidate for prosecutor, in the wake of questions about his campaign finances.
Wyser, chief trial deputy in the Marion County prosecutor's office, has been criticized for a $2,500 donation that he received last year from the father of Paula Willoughby, a convicted murderer whose jail term Wyser agreed to reduce.
Wyser said he agreed to change Willoughby's sentence in 2006 -- three years before the donation -- to conform to a change in the law that happened after Willoughby was originally sentenced.
Willoughby's shortened jail term happened to be up last year, and Wyser did the final paperwork for her release within months of the donation, but the donation -- which Wyser recently returned -- was unrelated to the altered sentence, Wyser said.
Keith Clock, chairman of the Hamilton County Democratic Party, said Wyser should quit the race. The Democrats haven't announced a candidate yet but might in the coming weeks, Clock said.
"No matter how you spin it, it doesn't look good," Clock said of Wyser's situation. " . . . I don't think Hamilton County needs someone like him."
Wyser said he was "not even going to respond to such a ridiculous proposition," and he intends to stay in the race. A passel of Hamilton County's Republican officeholders say they will continue to support him.
"Over the last few days, I've been contacting my supporters and offering them as much information as they want in regards to the Willoughby matter," Wyser said Tuesday.
Hamilton County Sheriff Doug Carter took Wyser up on his offer. The two spoke over the weekend, and Carter said he still supports Wyser.
"I got a very different account of the process than what was reported," Carter said.
Other politicians, including County Commissioner Christine Altman and Hamilton County Republican Party Chairman Charlie White, say Wyser still has their vote.
"It really hasn't affected my belief that he's a very qualified candidate," said Altman, who's running for re-election.
Wyser, who already has returned thousands in donations from troubled financier Tim Durham and Marcus and Michelle Schrenker, said he plans to go out in public to promote his mission and talk to people about his goals.
He hopes people eventually will learn the truth behind the media reports, which he claims are false.
"In retrospect, I would've been much smarter to not accept a campaign contribution from someone who I had worked on his daughter's case three years before," Wyser said.
