Connie Sellers said the criminal allegations against Clark County Republican Party Chair Jamey Noel are what led to her decision to leave the vice chair position, though she remains active in the party.
In an interview with LPM News, Sellers said she told Noel she was going to resign Jan. 10. She said he asked her to stay on while he found a replacement, but as the situation escalated, she and her family decided she needed to step away. She turned in her resignation to Noel Jan. 16, which was effective immediately.
“I was hoping that he would step down and when he didn’t … my reputation is at stake and I could not continue,” she said.
Noel, who has chaired the Clark County Republican Party since 2009, has been under investigation since June for allegations including theft and ghost employment related to his time as sheriff and head of a local nonprofit.
He was arrested in November and charged with 15 felonies.
Noel tendered his resignation as Indiana’s 9th Congressional District Republican Party chair over the weekend. A closed caucus will be held Feb. 1 to replace him.
He is still listed as Clark County’s party chair online. Sellers said she feels Noel should step down at the county level, too.
“Even though it's personal, it's interfering with our party and the morale and we just need to move [on],” she said. “These elections coming up are important. And we need to focus on those and he needs to focus on his defense.”
Sellers is running for reelection as a Clark County Commissioner.
Noel was sheriff from 2015 to 2022 and has led the Utica Township Volunteer Firefighters Association, also known as New Chapel EMS.
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