Ready, set, restart. After a new set of indictments, Mayor Sheila Dixon finds herself right back where she started.
"How many months ago has it been? 6 or 8 or 10 months ago since she was first indicted. We are back to that day with everything still sitting in front of her, " says Byron Warnken, an attorney who says this legal do-over sets the whole case back to square one.
"There can't be a trial date on an indictment that does not exist so the whole time frame and process will start over," says Warnken
But it is that time frame that some say could interfere with the 2011 election cycle, essentially dragging out the mayor's legal issues right to the beginning of another run for mayor.
"I think this will become a greater political problem for the mayor as the election draws closer," says Warnken
Matthew Crenson is a retired professor of political science from Johns Hopkins University.
He says, as it stood, Dixon’s trial would have been 9 months after her indictment...add another 9 months on these new charges, and her trial could hit next spring as politicians begin campaigning for the mayoral primary and general election.
"This could extend her vulnerability into a time period where it becomes really dangerous for her," says Crenson
And on two fronts.
Her legal troubles stay in the news longer for voters to assess and it could weaken her. It also opens the door for other challengers looking to take advantage.
"As the election draws closer, people who perhaps didn’t think they would challenge Dixon for the office may now start to think that way.” Says Crenson.
