JEFFERSONVILLE —
Less than 24 hours before being arrested for allegedly operating a vehicle while intoxicated, Jeffersonville Clerk-Treasurer Peggy Wilder gave The Evening News a rare interview in which she addressed other legal and personal controversies that have earned her headlines during the last year.
During the sit down, she told the newspaper she wanted to get her life back together and looked forward to a life of anonymity after her term expires at the end of 2011.
CREDIT CARDS
Wilder’s legal trouble began in late 2008, when an Indiana State Board of Accounts audit revealed she had used city credit cards for personal purchases. Since then, she’s been charged with conversion, a class A misdemeanor.
Wilder maintains that it was a misunderstanding, saying she thought the card had been issued to her.
“I just used it. It’s not something that I ever did with any malicious intent. I never meant for it to be an issue. I never turned in a claim that wasn’t a legitimate city expense.”
She said she had to give her Social Security number when applying for the card and that the city’s tax identification number wasn’t enough. She said she couldn’t recall when asked if the bill went to her home or city hall.
“It came here [City Hall] some. Then it came to my house. I can’t remember exactly. When I had to give my own [Social Security] number to get the card, I just assumed it was definitely my responsibility.
“That was clearly a mistake on my behalf, for which I deeply regret,” she said.
“I just used it for everyday things. And if there was ever a situation where I needed it for a city-related purchase, then I would purchase it and just turn the claim in.”
She said after the state board of accounts began to question the credit card use — and even after it did an exit interview with her — she didn’t believe criminal charges were going to be filed.
The information the state collected was forwarded to the Clark County Prosecutor’s office. A special prosecutor was named months later and charges were filed in June. Wilder is scheduled to appear in Clark Superior Court. No. 3 at 1:30 p.m. today for a pretrial conference.
“I made a serious error in judgment and I take full responsibility for it. I never tried to skirt that,” she said.
THEFT IN KENTUCKY
In November 2009, several months after her use of city credit cards became a controversial topic, Wilder found herself in more legal trouble, this time in Kentucky, when she traded in a vehicle for which she didn’t have a title.
“I thought that the car had been titled,” she said. “That goes back to an agreement and I guess a misunderstanding during the divorce where communication was difficult at best.”
Peggy Wilder and her former husband, Larry Wilder, who had worked as attorney for the Jeffersonville City Council, divorced in 2008.
The owner of the car lot, Ronnie Anderson, of Carter and Anderson Motorsports, allowed Wilder to trade in her car and drive off the lot with another car under the agreement that she would bring the title the next day. She never did.
During Tuesday’s interview, Wilder declined to comment on why she never got back in touch with Anderson to bring him the paperwork.
It later was revealed that she didn’t have a proper license plate on her car, because a driver has to have a title in order to register a vehicle. Asked about that, she said she didn’t realize the plate she had on her car was on the wrong vehicle. It was linked to another vehicle in her name.
The charge in Kentucky initially was theft by deception, to which Wilder said, “I thought that was a bit over the top.”
That was later pleaded down to a misdemeanor — failure to register transfer of a motor vehicle — and she was sentenced to community service at Goodwill Industries for the charge.
“I’m still working on that,” she said, declining to say specifically what the agency was having her do. She has a hearing on the Kentucky charges in Jefferson County District Court at 1 p.m. Sept. 27.
MISSING WORK
As all this was occurring, another controversy arose because she was routinely missing work. Only last week, she said she was going to start keeping regular office hours.
“It was very difficult to face people after the situation with the credit cards. I felt like I let a lot of people down and struggled with what to do.”
Getting over that took “a lot of therapy, a lot of thought about the future” she said. “[I’m] trying to get my life back for myself, for my kids.”
Asked what she thought of repeated calls from the public for her resignation, she said, “certainly I gave it some thought. Honestly, who wouldn’t think that. My staff, my kids — they didn’t want me to resign. That would have been definitely the easy thing to do. I’m doing the best I can to get my life back.”
Wilder said she recently enrolled in classes at Ottawa University, seeking to finish her bachelor’s degree in business administration. She also said she recently completed a triathlon at Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville.
TIME IN OFFICE
Wilder, 44, said she does not plan to run for office again next year.
“I do love city government and I loved having the opportunity to serve as long as I have. I think that once the term is over, it’s time for me to step down for a while.”
She said she felt confident in what her office had accomplished “as far as open communication between the [Jeffersonville City] Council and this office. The first thing I did when I took office was make sure that there was a flow of information to the people who needed it the most — the city council.
I think that we have together worked very well to make sure that city finances are a matter of open record to the public, to the council, to the mayor.”
Access to public records has been a contentious issue between her office and the newspaper, as The Evening News has repeatedly been denied access to the city credit card statements referenced in the state board of accounts audit.
“What is on those is personal expenses,” she responded when asked about it. “And those aren’t necessary to make sure the city runs properly.”
She said the statements in question are being reviewed by an attorney. City attorney Darren Wilder has indicated that when the statements are released, personal purchases will be redacted.
REPEATED CONTROVERSY
Wilder said the repeated controversies that have surrounded her were the result of “an accumulation of things.”
“Any time you’re in a marriage for 18 years and you’ve got three kids and you get a divorce, it’s not easy,” she said.
“My kids are still scattered between two houses. And they’ve been in the middle of this mess. That’s not an easy thing to live with to know that I’ve subjected my kids to embarrassment and exposure to media in a negative way.”
She said she misses the anonymity that comes with not being in office.
“I’m not complaining because that’s part of the job and I’m grateful for the position that I’ve been given, but the anonymity will be nice.”
“I have made mistakes. I’ve made a lot of mistakes. And for that I am truly sorry and I hope it won’t affect what goes on with this office in the future.”
