Fairfield trustee’s ouster defense: OK, but what has she done wrong lately?

Attorney for Fairfield Twp. Trustee Taletha Coles tells township board their effort to oust Coles won't stand up in court. Board: We'll probably take our chances, schedules vote to start the process

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Alexandra Hawkins, attorney for Fairfield Township Trustee Taletha Coles, tells Fairfield Township Board members that their attempt to oust the trustee is ‘based on lies.’ (Photo: Dave Bangert)

Facing a board determined to get rid of her before her term ends in December and about to become a test case for a new Indiana law aimed at ousting derelict township officials, Fairfield Township Trustee Taletha Coles’ defense seemed to rest on this after more than three years of feuding:

Sure, but what has she done wrong in the past few days?

Alexandra Hawkins, a Fishers-based attorney representing Coles, on Wednesday night told the three-member Fairfield Township Board that a proposed resolution to remove the trustee from office wouldn’t hold up in court. She said the resolution was “based on lies.”

Hawkins’ point: The three-page document cited problems that dated all the way back to 2019, the earliest days of the Democrat’s term. But did it include evidence that Coles had done anything wrong – anything serious enough to disqualify her from the job – since the law went into effect July 1?

“That’s what the law requires – you can read it,” Hawkins said after the board’s meeting.

The three board members, also all Democrats, responded in various ways that they would probably take their chances.