Party officials ask Schulte to resign

CELINA - Mercer County Republican Party Chairman Bob Hibner is encouraging Celina City Councilman Steve Schulte to resign from office in light of his late September OVI arrest and comments he allegedly made during the incident.

Schulte told The Daily Standard that as of Thursday afternoon, he has no plans to resign. He also shared with the newspaper a statement about his arrest that addresses comments made by former city firefighter Brian Anderson at Monday night's regular council meeting. The complete statements shared with The Daily Standard on Nov. 12 by both Schulte and Hibner can be read at dailystandard.com/go/4, or by scanning the QR code at left.

Schulte, a Republican who represents Ward 1, was arrested for OVI in Celina on Sept. 27. According to a Celina Police Department report, after his arrest Schulte refused a breathalyzer test at the Mercer County Adult Detention Center.

Schulte struggled through a series of field sobriety tests, according to the report. While positioning Schulte for the one leg stand test, Schulte had difficulty listening to instruction and "then stated he was unable to perform the test."

"I then placed him under arrest for OVI," Celina Pat. Seth Heindel wrote. "As I was placing him in handcuffs, he stated 'you do understand you're arresting a city council member right'. I informed him I'm just doing my job. I then placed him in the rear of my cruiser. He then states 'I got a lot of friends in this city buddy so whatever'. I again informed him I'm doing my job."

Party response

Hibner on Thursday afternoon issued a news release outlining the party's response to the allegations against Schulte.

"Mr. Schulte allegedly made comments that potentially threatened, pressured or intimidated arresting officers," Hibner wrote. "If true, the alleged comments Mr. Schulte made at the time of the arrest were completely inappropriate and unacceptable!"

Hibner said it's his understanding that neither the City of Celina nor the party can force Schulte to resign from office.

"In regards to the city of Celina's response, I have had several discussions with Mayor Jeff Hazel beginning within several days of the arrest and the mayor has consistently voiced serious concerns about the allegations," Hibner wrote. "Mayor Hazel, among others, to ensure the public's trust, have encouraged Mr. Schulte to resign from the Celina City Council."

Touching on the party's response, Hibner said he personally contacted Schulte by phone several days after his arrest.

"I voiced the party's concerns over not only his arrest, but more importantly the comments that he allegedly had made," Hibner wrote. "He was encouraged to make a timely public response in regards to his alleged offenses. Our party leadership and I as Chair, question his ability to continue to effectively serve as a city councilman for the city of Celina and feel that his resignation at this time would be appropriate."

Schulte statement

Prior to Hibner's issuance of the news release, Schulte provided a lengthy statement to The Daily Standard on Thursday morning.

"First, I would like to start by saying, officially, and publicly I am in fact sorry for my comments made during my alleged OVI arrest," Schulte wrote. "I embarrassed myself, my constituents, the City of Celina, the Republican party and the residents that voted for me. To my wife, my family, my extended family, relative's friends and neighbors. I made a bad decision, some poor comments in haste and I'm not defending it."

Schulte argued the incident is not a council problem.

"This isn't a reflection on the City of Celina's administration, the Republican party, the Mayor, or any other City Councilman or Statutory Body. The right place for this discussion is not at City Council Meeting!" Schulte wrote. "Council meetings are designed for City Business. City Council meetings are designed for 'Formal gatherings of a city's elected legislative body designed to make policy decisions, enact local laws, and manage community governance.' Not have discussion of personal comments made during a councilman's arrest."

Schulte directly responded to Anderson, who at Monday night's council meeting asserted, among other things, that the situation is made even more troubling because of the lack of a public apology from Schulte and a statement from city officials.

"First of all, how do you know that I haven't apologized already to my Fellow City Councilman, the President of City Council, the Chief of Police and his administration, Officer Heindel, my constituents or any other legislative body up to and including the republican party or the chairman thereof. How do you know that I haven't apologized to The Prosecuting Attorney for having to recuse him from my case or Judge (Speelman) also for having to recuse herself from my case."

Schulte also referenced the comments made during his arrest.

"Do my comments hinder me from having the ability to perform my responsibilities as a City Councilman?" he wrote. "I was voted into this position because of my past performance. Because of my 30 years of financial experience, because of my education, because of my service organization donations, quite frankly because of my 63 years of trying to be part of this community. I'm a humble man Mr. Anderson! I'm not (too) arrogant to know that a mistake was made here. I get that I owe my constituents, in my Ward that voted for me an apology. Officially or unofficially, public or non-public, in time they will get it."

Schulte emphasized the importance of second chances and suggested the possibility of emerging from the ordeal as a better person.

"I've seen it with the community at large, I've seen it with my family, my neighbors and my friends, and in many of those cases they rise to the call," he wrote. "They learn, they take their knocks, they apologize, they suffer, they develop, they grow and they learn from it, and in even many cases they are a better person for it."

He concluded his statement by reiterating that the incident is not a reflection of city leadership, and that the issue is not within their control.

"Furthermore, in my opinion, The City of Celina has never been in better hands than the current administration. And we will let the voters decide that. I will see you at the (polls)," Schulte wrote.