The exact page text, read by your browser's voice.
2017 — June 2019
The ordinance: Fort Wayne prohibited business entities from bidding for city professional-services contracts if they had contributed more than $2,000 within one year to candidates or officials responsible for awarding the contract. The council passed the ordinance in 2017 and amended it in 2018 — both times over Mayor Tom Henry's veto.
The suit: In April 2019 Kyle Witwer, the owner of Witwer Construction, and Kimberly Witwer sued the city, alleging the ordinance violated free speech and equal protection. In June 2019 Allen Superior Judge Jennifer L. DeGroote enjoined the city from enforcing it, citing the Indiana Court of Appeals' decision in Indianapolis v. Fields. The case — Witwer v. City of Fort Wayne, cause 02D03-1904-MI-318 — stands in the record reached at the injunction; its later course is a named gap in the expand note. The fight itself is complete in outline: a reform the council wanted twice over its mayor's objection, stopped by a court before it ever governed a bid.
Sources:
- The Indiana Lawyer, 12 June 2019 — the ordinance's terms, the 2017 and 2018 veto overrides, the Witwers' suit and Judge DeGroote's injunction.