The spokesman for Indiana’s Secretary of State quits just days after the chief of staff resigns
The secretary of state’s office lost another staffer today, as Charlie White’s chief spokesman quit.
Jason Thomas quit to “pursue other career opportunities,” he said in an e-mail. Thomas, a former Indianapolis Star reporter who resigned in December to take the position with the secretary of state’s office, didn’t respond to several follow-up questions.
“Other career opportunities”? You mean he doesn’t want his name tied to Charlie White’s.
Thomas’ resignation came after another top White staffer, deputy secretary of state and chief of staff Sean Keefer, abruptly quit Friday.
Thomas resigned hours after issuing a press release naming election law attorney Jerold “Jerry” Bonnet as Keefer’s replacement. Bonnet had previously served as general counsel for the office, as well as deputy secretary of state during parts of 2008 and 2009.
It’s not known if Thomas’s resignation is tied to an impromptu press conference White gave minutes before he pled not guilty Friday to seven felony charges in Hamilton County Magistrate Court. During a sometimes frantic 12-minute exchange with reporters in the Hamilton County Government and Judicial Center in Noblesville, White at one point seemed to criticize Thomas for telling reporters that White wasn’t in the office for several days following his indictment.
White said Thomas apparently hadn’t received word that he was still tending to his duties.
“I told one of my staff, and they told everyone but (Thomas),” White said.
“Give him a break,” White added. “He just made a mistake.”
Most of the charges against White center on alleged voter fraud — specifically, that he allegedly lied about his Fishers address when voting in the 2010 Republican primary in order to hide the fact that he had moved from his designated district as a Fishers Town Council member.
That sucks. Everybody is bailing on him. Hope he enjoys prison.