As reported in a Gary Post Tribune story quoted in this August 25th IBL entry:
The Indiana Supreme Court followed up on its Aug. 6 ruling that threw out the results of the 2003 Democratic mayoral primary [Pabey v. Pastrick] by denying a petition by Mayor Robert Pastrick to have the high court rehear the case. The court, in a 3-to-2 vote, had sided with Special Judge Steven King — who found evidence of widespread corruption in the mayoral primary — and ordered him to set a new election as soon as their ruling became final.Well, yesterday was the special East Chicago primary, and as reported here today in the Munster Times, "Pabey wins in historic do-over election."[Judge] King ruled quickly Tuesday to set the ground rules for a new primary. Following the statute, which calls for special elections to take place nine Tuesdays after a court ruling is issued, King set the new primary date for Oct. 26 — one week before the presidential/gubernatorial election.
He also set a tentative date of Dec. 28 for a new general election in East Chicago, but he promised to revisit the issue after the primary. Arthur Santos was the lone Republican in the 2003 mayoral race, garnering just 22 percent of votes cast.
The players in the new primary will be those who participated in the May 2003 Democratic primary — Pastrick, former City Councilman George Pabey and former City Judge Lonnie Randolph.
But apparently it was not pretty. As the Gary Post-Tribune reports here:
After a year of court fights and a unprecedented level of scrutiny, the East Chicago election would not go quietly.Posted by Marcia Oddi at October 27, 2004 08:16 AMMarred by a nearly four-hour-late start at the 151st Street Recreation Center that kept the polls open until 8 and 9:30 p.m. at Precinct 14, election monitors prayed for a blowout to put aside any allegations of fraud and tampering.
They appear to have gotten one. * * * In the end, the vote margin was out of reach of any of the schemes and chicanery which marred past elections.
Less than an hour after the totals began flowing out of the central counting office in Crown Point, Pastrick stood up before the crowd at Riley Park and conceded defeat.