| Matt Kelty | |
|---|---|
| Matt Kelty | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Fort Wayne, Indiana |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Tami |
| Children | Four |
| Residence | Fort Wayne, Indiana |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Matt Kelty, is an Indiana politician, an architect and founder of Kelty Tappy Design. He was the 2007 Republican candidate for Mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana[1] and the 2002 candidate for the 81st District Indiana House of Representatives.
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He was selected by Congressman Dan Coats for the Congressional Student Program. He later served as the Regional Political Director for the Dan Coats for Indiana Campaign, went on to become the Joint Staff Regional Director for both Indiana U.S. Senators Richard Lugar and Dan Coats. Kelty was appointed Chairman of the Young Republicans (YR) for the 4th District of Indiana organizing YR chapters in eight counties in northeastern Indiana. In 1994 he worked for Senator Dick Lugar's successful re-election campaign, and later worked in the grass roots organizing campaign in Iowa during Lugar's unsuccessful presidential bid in 1995.
In 2003, hours into the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Matt Kelty, with the assistance of Cathy Hawks and others, organized the massive "Rally for America" held in Auburn, Indiana, and headlined by conservative TV and Radio personality Glenn Beck. The Fort Wayne Rally for America was attended by over 20,000 people from Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan and was simulcast (via website) around the world.
The next year Kelty again spearheaded and organized an event to support U.S. soldiers in the Middle East. Kelty executed "Operation Recreation" in Fort Wayne, mobilizing hundreds of volunteers to collect over eleven tons of recreational equipment to send to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Kelty also raised over $10,000 in donations to pay for the packing and shipping.
Kelty serves on the boards of the Fort Wayne Chapter of the American Red Cross, the Fort Wayne Drug & Alcohol Consortium, the Fort Wayne Ballet Capital Fundraising Committee, and the Allen County Right to Life Board of Advisors.
Kelty was the Republican nominee for the 81st District Indiana House of Representatives seat held by incumbent Win Moses in 2002. Kelty very nearly pulled off an upset in this election. Winfield Moses won the election by only 63 votes (verified by a recount).
Kelty upset Allen County Commissioner Nelson Peters in the May 8, 2007, Republican primary election, setting a matchup against Democrat Tom Henry in the general election.
Kelty took 50.3% of the vote compared with 46.7% for Allen County Commissioner, F. Nelson Peters IV, in the primary, defeating Peters by 658 votes.[2]
On November 6, 2007, Matt Kelty lost in the general elections to Democratic candidate Tom Henry. Matt Kelty conceded his loss with his family in the early evening at Allen County Republican Party headquarters. The final results showed Tom Henry with 60% of the vote, compared to Kelty's 40%.
On August 14, 2007, Kelty was indicted on 9 charges relating to his campaign. Five of the nine charges are felonies for filing fraudulent campaign reports, two of the felony charges are for perjury, and the 2 misedemeanor charges are for co-mingling of funds.[3][4]
Kelty's lawyers filed a motion to dismiss all charges on October 22, 2007.
On February 8, 2008, Kelty's motion to dismiss all charges was denied.
Kelty was scheduled to stand trial on October 20, 2008 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Prosecutor Dan Sigler stated it does not appear Kelty has any plans of pleading out. Judge Scheibenberger said he would accept a plea bargain no later than October 19.[5] Kelty's lawyers were granted a one day continuance on October 20, 2008 in order to look into new evidence obtained over the weekend. Due to this Kelty's trial was pushed back to October 21, 2008.[6]
On October 20, 2008, Kelty pleaded guilty to three of the nine counts against him. Due to his plea, Kelty will avoid jail time in which he was facing upwards to 20 years in prison. Pursuant to the plea bargain Kelty will pay a $250 fine for each conviction (total of $750) and serve 80 hours of community service. Kelty will also serve one years probation.
Two of the three counts Kelty pleaded guilty to were related to campaign finance laws. He also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of false informing, admitting to providing false testimony to the grand jury. The other charges, including perjury, were dropped. Kelty will be allowed to keep his architecture license despite the felonies, but they will prevent Kelty from being eligible to run for public office again at the state or local level. He may petition the court to have the felonies reduced to misdemeanor.[7]
In 2010 Matt Kelty filed for bankruptcy citing debts in excess of $450,000.[8]