VIDEO: Elections could change chemistry between city council and the mayor's office

The Muncie mayoral race is underway but there is still concern about the shaky relationship between the Muncie City Council and the Mayor's office. Alberto Pimienta from NewsLink Indiana reports.

The Muncie mayoral race is underway, and by Tuesday night, the city will know who its next mayor is. But for the past four years, there has been a concern about the unstable relationship between the Muncie City Council and Mayor Sharon McShurley.

The disagreements between the Democrat-dominated City Council and Republican McShurley are nothing new.

"We've never really had a terrific relationship," McShurley said.

For McShurley, who is running for re-election, the friction between her and the city council goes back to the 2007 election. James Mansfield, the Democratic candidate at the time, was declared the winner by nine votes. But after a recount, McShurley won the mayoral election by 13 votes.

This announcement and the conditions on how the race was decided led to the animosity.

"The very first city council meeting we had made it very clear that they were not going to cooperate with my administration," she said.

When the mayor's office faced a budget squeeze, McShurley had to lay off some city employees, including Sam Marshall, who used to work in the Muncie Street Department. But Marshall was and still is the elected president of the city council, which controls the city budget. The council has retaliated ever since, cutting funding for different expenditures from a deputy mayor to a copying machine for the mayor's office.

State Rep. Dennis Tyler, McShurley's Democratic challenger, said the communication between the mayor's office and the city council will be better if he is elected.

"I can just tell you that if I'm mayor next year that won't happen," he said.

Tyler also said the relationship was better before McShurley took office.

"Prior to this administration, things worked well together and there was communication, and somewhere shortly after Mayor McShurley went into office, it was pretty evident there was a breakdown," he said.

McShurley said dealing with the shaky relationship has not been easy.

"It's been frustrating for all of us to know that while we may have good ideas for the community, we may not get the support of our city council just because it doesn't go along their party line and what their leadership wants them to do," she said.

Charles Taylor, assistant professor of political science, said this bad dialog harms the Muncie community.

"The citizens would be better served if they [the council and the mayor] could put aside whatever personal differences they have and try to work together for the betterment of the city," Taylor said.

But whoever the next mayor is, Sam Marshall won't be coming back as city council president because he is seeking re-election. However, Doug Marshall, his son, is on the ballot in his place. Doug Marshall is unchallenged.