WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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Monroe County Commissioner and City of Bloomington Mayoral Candidate, Amanda Barge, announced she will suspend her political campaign, this afternoon.
The announcement comes after an Indiana Daily Student exposé – published late last night – released emails, texts, and recordings of the mayoral candidate allegedly sexually harassing a former county contractor.
The IDS story detailed allegations that Barge sexually harassed Brandon Drake, co-founder of Courage to Change and former Monroe County contractor, for over a year. Drake handed over secretly-recorded audio to the IDS, along with email and text correspondence between himself and Barge.
The Monroe County Commissioner, and challenger to incumbent Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton, allegedly pursued Drake repeatedly, despite his alleged attempts to shut down her advances.
IDS reporter Caroline Anders reportedly spent two months speaking with Drake about the allegations, before soliciting a statement from Barge. In that statement, which is included in the IDS piece, Barge refutes the allegations of sexual harassment, calling Drake a “disgruntled former health department contractor who has chosen to take public and private communications out of context to further his personal and political agenda.”
Barge received the endorsement of the Democratic Women’s Caucus on Friday, before the IDS story broke. In a statement today, Democratic Women’s Caucus Chair Carolyn VandeWiele wrote, “We have read the article in the IDS and take the allegations very seriously. Our steering committee is working on setting up a meeting to discuss the situation, but the organization will not have an official statement until after that meeting has taken place.”
In a statement to supporters and media, released at 3 p.m. today, Barge announced she will suspend her campaign indefinitely. “Although I vehemently deny engaging in sexual harassment, I recognize that my actions have caused pain to my family and others. I also do not want to distract our community from the very important issues we face. For that reason, I am suspending my campaign, and I wish John Hamilton all the best in his candidacy for mayor.”
First-term Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton will run in this May’s Democratic Primary unopposed.
