Matt Kelty is an American architect and former politician from

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 census ...

. He is the founder of Kelty Tappy Design. Kelty was the 2007 Republican candidate for Mayor of

and the 2002 candidate for the 81st District Indiana House of Representatives. In 2008 he pleaded guilty to two felonies and one misdemeanor for violating campaign finance laws.

Public service

Kelty was selected by Congressman

Dan Coats Daniel Ray Coats (born May 16, 1943) is an American politician, attorney, and diplomat. From 2017 to 2019, he served as the Director of National Intelligence in the Trump administration. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a Unite ...

for the Congressional Student Program. He later served as the Regional Political Director for the

for Indiana Campaign, went on to become the Joint Staff Regional Director for both Indiana U.S. Senators

Richard Lugar Richard Green Lugar ( ; April 4, 1932 – April 28, 2019) was an American politician who served as a United States Senate, United States Senator from Indiana from 1977 to 2013. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republ ...

and Dan Coats. Kelty was appointed Chairman of the

Young Republicans The Young Republican National Federation, commonly referred to as the Young Republicans or YRNF, is a 527 organization for members of the Republican Party of the United States between the ages of 18 and 40. It has both a national organization ...

for the 4th District of Indiana, and organizing Young Republican chapters in eight counties in northeastern

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. In 1994 he worked for Senator Dick Lugar's successful re-election campaign, and later worked in the grassroots organizing campaign in

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

during Lugar's unsuccessful presidential bid in 1995. In 2003, hours into the U.S. invasion of

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, Kelty, with the assistance of Cathy Hawks and others, organized the massive "Rally for America" held in

Auburn, Indiana Auburn is a city in DeKalb County, Indiana, United States. The population was 13,412 at the 2020 census. Founded in 1836 by Wesley Park (1811–1868), the city is the county seat of DeKalb County. Auburn is also known as ''Home of the Classics' ...

, and headlined by conservative TV and Radio personality

Glenn Beck Glenn Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative political commentator, radio host, entrepreneur, and television producer. He is the CEO, founder, and owner of Mercury Radio Arts, the parent company of his television and rad ...

. The Fort Wayne Rally for America was attended by over 20,000 people from Indiana,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, and

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

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 Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. Kelty also raised over $10,000 in donations to pay for the packing and shipping. Kelty served on the boards of the Fort Wayne Chapter of the

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

, the Fort Wayne Drug & Alcohol Consortium, the Fort Wayne Ballet Capital Fundraising Committee, and the Allen County Right to Life Board of Advisors.

2002 State Representative campaign

Kelty was the Republican nominee for the 81st District

Indiana House of Representatives The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House mem ...

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).

2007 mayoral campaign

Kelty upset Allen County Commissioner Nelson Peters in the May 8, 2007, Republican primary election, setting a matchup against Democrat

Tom Henry Thomas Christopher Henry
(biography), ''The Waynedale News'', September 1, 2009 (November 8, 195 ...

in the general election. Kelty took 50.3% of the vote against 46.7% for Peters, defeating Peters by 658 votes. On November 6, 2007, Kelty lost in the general elections to Democratic candidate Tom Henry. 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%.

Legal issues

On August 14, 2007, Kelty was indicted on nine charges relating to his campaign. Five of the nine charges were felonies for filing fraudulent campaign reports, two of the felony charges were for perjury, and the two misdemeanor charges were for co-mingling of funds. Kelty's lawyers filed a motion to dismiss all charges on October 22, 2007. On February 8, 2008, the motion was denied. Kelty was scheduled to stand trial on October 20, 2008 in

Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 United S ...

. Prosecutor Dan Sigler stated it did not appear Kelty had any plans of pleading out. Judge Scheibenberger said he would accept a plea bargain no later than October 19. 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.http://www.wane.com/Global/story.asp?S=9203454

Guilty plea

On October 20, 2008, Kelty pleaded guilty to three of the nine counts against him. Due to his plea, Kelty avoided jail time in which he was facing up to 20 years in prison. Pursuant to the plea bargain Kelty paid a $250 fine for each count, for a total of $750, and served 80 hours of community service. Kelty also served one year 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 was allowed to keep his architecture license despite the felonies, but the guilty pleas prevent him from being eligible to run for public office again at the state or local level.

Education degrees and awards

*1988 graduate of the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

College of Architecture

Personal life

In 2010 Kelty filed for bankruptcy citing debts in excess of $450,000.

References

External links

Kelty's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelty, Matt 1960s births Architects from Fort Wayne, Indiana Artists from Fort Wayne, Indiana Candidates in the 2002 United States elections Candidates in the 2007 United States elections Indiana Republicans Indiana politicians convicted of crimes Living people Politicians from Fort Wayne, Indiana University of Notre Dame alumni Year of birth missing (living people)