Floyd County GOP chair, who represents Jamey Noel's former nonprofits, stepping down
Heather Peters made the announcement Wednesday night. A fellow Floyd County Republican had gathered signatures to consider a change in leadership. Heather Peters, the chair of the Floyd County Republican Party, is stepping down effective June 1. Peters, who represents Jamey Noel's former nonprofits, made the announcement during a private meeting of the county Republicans. A fellow Republican, Dee Roney, had gathered signatures to consider a change in leadership but was unsuccessful. During the meeting, nearly 30 people spoke about Peters' perceived connection to Noel and she announced her resignation. Peters is now suing Noel on behalf of UTVFA to stop him from using their company credit cards.
Published : 4 weeks ago by Travis Breese in Politics
Heather Peters made the announcement Wednesday night. A fellow Floyd County Republican had gathered signatures to consider a change in leadership.
Example video title will go here for this video
Example video title will go here for this video
NEW ALBANY, Ind. — Heather Peters, the chair of the Floyd County Republican Party, is stepping down effective June 1. Peters made the announcement Wednesday night during a private meeting of the Floyd County Republicans.
Peters is the current lawyer for Utica Township Volunteer Firefighters Association and New Chapel EMS, which former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel ran for many years. Noel is facing 25 felonies and is accused of stealing millions of dollars, much of it tax dollars, from the nonprofit EMS entities.
"Initially, my concerns were just the optics as far as the storylines that were taking place in our county," Dee Roney, the Georgetown Township Trustee, said.
Roney started gathering signatures in late March from fellow Republicans and precinct captains to consider a change in leadership. He said the petition was widely received, but it ended up not being necessary.
During a party meeting Wednesday night, which was not open to the public, Roney said nearly 30 people spoke about Peters' and by proxy the party's perceived connection to Jamey Noel, and she announced she would be stepping down.
"Heather heard that message, and she got out ahead of that. It was really --the signature list wasn't even needed. She called for the meeting, and it was the right thing to do," Roney said.
"As I advised yesterday evening, I have had a lot on my plate the past several months. I have stayed over the last several months to get through our Lincoln Day event this evening and the primary election. I set my resignation for a future date so that I can work alongside party leaders in the coming months to ensure a smooth transition," Peters wrote.
While she did represent UTVFA and New Chapel while Noel was still in power for several months, Peters is now suing against Noel on behalf of UTVFA to try and get him to stop using their company credit cards.
"Mr. Noel and our current party chair, Heather Peters, were close friends. However, Mrs. Peters is more than capable of thinking for herself and making her own decisions. Mr. Noel did not have any undue influence over her, and it is insulting to Mrs. Peters and the Republican Party to see the repeated implications (or, in some instances, outright statements) that she could not act without some influence from Mr. Noel," Travis wrote over email on March 12.
Topics: GOP