Brown, J.
Bloomington Magazine, Inc. (“Bloom”) appeals the trial court’s order denying its Verified Motion to Set Aside Judgment in Trial Court pursuant to Indiana Trial Rule 60(B)(2), 60(B)(3), or alternatively 60(B)(8) (the “Motion to Set Aside”), entered on January 4, 2010, in favor of Mark Kiang d/b/a Mikado Restaurant, Sunbeam Corp., and Truffles 56 Degrees, Inc. (“Mikado” and “Truffles,” respectively, and collectively, “Kiang”). Bloom raises three issues one of which we find dispositive and which we consolidate and restate as whether the court erred in denying Bloom’s Motion for Change of Venue from Judge / Motion for Disqualification/Recusal (“Motion to Recuse”) and Motion to Set Aside. We reverse and remand.
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…Bloom’s Motion to Recuse requests that Judge Haughton recuse herself from the hearing on the Motion to Set Aside and notes that the Motion to Set Aside “is based on the trial court’s failure to disclose a political relationship with opposing counsel” and thus would require examination of such failure. Appellant’s Appendix at 49. Both motions also cite to Indiana Code of Judicial Conduct Rule 2.11 as the underlying basis for recusal. Accordingly, the analysis in answering these questions applies with equal force in both instances. We will first examine the court’s denial of Bloom’s Motion to Recuse and will subsequently examine, to the extent necessary, its denial of Bloom’s Motion to Set Aside pursuant to Ind. Trial Rule 60(B).
A ruling upon a motion to recuse rests within the sound discretion of the trial judge and will be reversed only upon a showing of abuse of that discretion. In re Estate of Wheat, 858 N.E.2d 175, 183 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006) (citing In re Guardianship of Hickman, 805 N.E.2d 808, 814 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004), trans. denied). An abuse of discretion occurs when the trial court’s decision is against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before it. Id. When reviewing a trial judge’s decision not to disqualify herself, we presume that the trial judge is unbiased. Id. “In order to overcome that presumption, the appellant must demonstrate actual personal bias.” Id. (quoting Hickman, 805 N.E.2d at 815). In addition, the mere appearance of bias and partiality may require recusal if an objective person, knowledgeable of all the circumstances, would have a rational basis for doubting the judge’s impartiality. Patterson v. State, 926 N.E.2d 90, 94 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010). Upon review of a judge’s failure to recuse, we will assume that a judge would have complied with the obligation to recuse had there been any reasonable question concerning impartiality, unless we discern circumstances which support a contrary conclusion. Hite v. Haase, 729 N.E.2d 170, 176 (Ind. Ct. App. 2000) (quoting Moore v. Liggins, 685 N.E.2d 57, 63 (Ind. Ct. App. 1997)); see also Leisure v. Leisure, 589 N.E.2d 1163, 1169 (Ind. Ct. App. 1992), aff’d in part and rev’d in part, 605 N.E.2d 755 (Ind. 1993).
Ind. Trial Rule 79(C) governs the disqualification or recusal of a judge and provides:
A judge shall disqualify and recuse whenever the judge, the judge’s spouse, a person within the third degree of relationship to either of them, the spouse of such a person, or a person residing in the judge’s household:
(1) is a party to the proceeding, or an officer, director or trustee of a party;
(2) is acting as a lawyer in the proceeding;
(3) is known by the judge to have an interest that could be substantially affected by the proceeding; or
(4) is associated with the pending litigation in such fashion as to require disqualification under the Code of Judicial Conduct or otherwise.
Canon 2 of the Indiana Code of Judicial Conduct commands: “A Judge Shall Perform the Duties of Judicial Office Impartially, Competently, and Diligently.” Ind. Judicial Conduct Rule 2.11 governs the disqualification of judges and provides in part:
(A) A judge shall disqualify himself or herself in any proceeding in which the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned, including but not limited to the following circumstances:
(1) The judge has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party or a party’s lawyer, or personal knowledge of facts that are in dispute in the proceeding. . . .
Also, Rule 2.11 contains comments which are provided for “guidance regarding the purpose, meaning, and proper application of the Rules” and to “identify aspirational goals for judges,” Ind. Code of Judicial Conduct, Scope at 3-4, including:
[1] Under this Rule, a judge is disqualified whenever the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned, regardless of whether any of the specific provisions of paragraphs (A)(1) through (6) apply. In many jurisdictions, the term “recusal” is used interchangeably with the term “disqualification.”
[2] A judge’s obligation not to hear or decide matters in which disqualification is required applies regardless of whether a motion to disqualify is filed.
* * * * *
[5] A judge should disclose on the record information that the judge believes the parties or their lawyers might reasonably consider relevant to a possible motion for disqualification, even if the judge believes there is no basis for disqualification.
Ind. Code of Judicial Conduct Rule 2.11 cmt. 1-2, 5.
Bloom argues that “[i]f any question is presented as to impartiality, the court should err on the side of recusal,” and cites to a discussion penned by Chief Justice Shepard regarding the case of Tyson v. State, 622 N.E.2d 457 (Ind. 1993). Appellant’s Brief at 15. Bloom argues that “[w]hile the facts in Tyson differed from the facts in the present case, Tyson is instructive of the standard that should be observed in considering recusal when impartiality may be questioned,” which it cites as follows:
“[T]he question is not whether the judge’s impartiality is impaired in fact, but whether there exists a reasonable basis for questioning the judge’s impartiality.” A judge has a duty to promote public confidence in the impartiality of the judiciary. [Tyson, 622 N.E.2d at 459]. “[A] judge who sits on a case notwithstanding legitimate grounds for recusal can damage public confidence in his impartiality for years to come.” Id. at 460. “Indiana practice has always leaned toward recusal where reasonable questions about impartiality exist.” Id. “In a close case where impartiality might reasonably be questioned, a judge must recuse.” Id.
Id.
Bloom argues that Abrams was not aware of the relationship between Grodner and Judge Haughton in advance of the trial, that this relationship was relevant to him and presented questions to him about impartiality, that he has “asserted that had the fact been known he would have requested a new judge prior to the trial,” and that “[g]iven the nature of the issues raised, a reasonable question as to impartiality is presented concerning the propriety of whether the trial judge should have made a determination on the Motion to Set Aside” and thus “recusal would have been proper for consideration” of that motion. Id. at 16. Bloom also notes that Judge Haughton had personal knowledge of her relationship with Grodner and cites to her statements at the hearings in which “the court discussed the relationship and at one point in the hearing on December 2, 2010, indicated that she felt like she was testifying.” Id. (citing Appellant’s Appendix at 140).
Kiang argues that “[t]wo important distinctions” exist between this case and the matter in Tyson, namely that “in this case there are no allegations of ex-parte communications and the request for recusal was made after the order was entered.” Appellees’ Brief at 9. Kiang focuses on the Code’s requirement that a judge need only “disqualify herself from a proceeding [] where her impartiality ‘might reasonably be questioned,’” and argues that “Bloom has not shown that an objective person, knowledgeable of all the circumstances would have a reasonable basis for doubting the judge’s impartiality.” Id. Kiang argues that “[i]n fact, Bloom and his counsel admitted there was no evidence the judge’s order was the result of bias” and that “Bloom failed to demonstrate that the judge did anything improper.” Id.
The crux of Bloom’s contention is that Attorney Grodner’s position as chairman of Judge Haughton’s 2008 election campaign presented a situation such that her impartiality during trial might reasonably be questioned, that her failure to disclose this information in advance of trial was to be the subject of the December 2, 2010 hearing on Bloom’s Motion to Set Aside, and that accordingly she should have granted its Motion to Recuse in advance of that hearing. In evaluating whether Judge Haughton abused her discretion in denying Bloom’s motion, we find certain cases, discussed below, instructive.
First, decisions from at least one court have made the proximity in time in which an attorney serves on a judicial campaign committee to the current matter the relevant inquiry in determining whether a trial court judge should grant a motion to disqualify. In Neiman-Marcus Grp., Inc. v. Robinson, the Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District, held that “where a judge selects an attorney to serve in the special role of campaign treasurer in an election campaign, and the campaign is not remote in time from the date the relationship is revealed to the opposing party, disqualification is warranted.” 829 So.2d 967, 968 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2002). In that case, at the conclusion of a summary judgment hearing, “the trial judge informed the parties that the Respondents‟ attorney served as his campaign treasurer in his reelection campaign,” and the petitioners moved for disqualification of the judge. Id. The trial court denied the motion, noting that “disqualification wasn’t warranted since the judge’s campaign ended before the motion for disqualification was filed.” Id.
On appeal, the court began its analysis by recognizing previous precedent that “an attorney’s involvement with the reelection committee of a judge’s ongoing campaign may be grounds for disqualification of the judge,” but it disagreed that a bright line between ongoing and concluded campaigns exists. Id. (citing Caleffe v. Vitale, 488 So.2d 627 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1986)). The court agreed with another Florida decision that “disqualification ‘for a period of time, perhaps two years, until . . . considering all the circumstances . . . , [the judge’s] impartiality cannot reasonably be questioned,’” was appropriate “guidance” that trial judges should follow in considering motions to disqualify. Id. (citing Barber v. Mackenzie, 562 So.2d 755 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1990), rev. denied, 576 So.2d 288 (Fla. 1991) (quoting Fla. Sup.Ct. Comm. on Stds. of Conduct Concerning Judges, Op. 84-23 (Oct. 26, 1984))). The court ordered the trial judge on remand to enter an order of disqualification, noting that “[h]ere, a matter of days separated the conclusion of the campaign and the date the judge revealed the basis for disqualification,” and that therefore “the relationship was not so remote in time as to dispel any appearance of impropriety.” Id.
In so holding, the court distinguished Garcia v. Am. Income Life Ins. Co., which held that “no error is shown in the denial of plaintiffs‟ post-trial motion to disqualify the trial judge” based upon the fact that defense counsel’s wife was the trial court judge’s campaign manager in the judge’s last re-election campaign “because the subject campaign was four years prior to the motion to disqualify in this case, and, thus, was too remote in time to engender a well-grounded fear by the plaintiffs that they would not receive a fair trial or hearing at the hands of the judge.” 664 So.2d 301, 302 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1995), rev. denied, 673 So.2d 29 (Fla. 1996); see Neiman-Marcus, 829 So.2d at 969. See also Gluth Bros. Const., Inc. v. Union Nat. Bank, 548 N.E.2d 1364, 1368-1369 (Ill. App. Ct. 1989) (holding that trial judge was not required to recuse from a matter in which one of the parties’ litigants had served as his campaign manager nearly six years previous and examining Caleffe, 488 So.2d at 629), appeal denied, 553 N.E.2d 395 (Ill. 1990).
Here, we find that the professional relationship between Judge Haughton and Attorney Grodner, in which Grodner served as the chairman of Judge Haughton’s 2008 election committee, was not so remote in time so as to dispel the appearance of an impropriety such that a reasonable person would have a rational basis for doubting her impartiality. We find particularly relevant that Grodner’s appearance in this matter was filed in February 2009, which was three months following the election at issue. Despite the fact that the Motion to Recuse was filed in August 2010, that motion requested recusal from a Trial Rule 60(B) hearing concerning Judge Haughton’s failure to recuse herself from a hearing taking place months earlier, in November 2009, at which Attorney Grodner had represented Kiang. Also, the chronological case summary reveals that following the filing of his appearance and leading up to the bench trial, Grodner filed documents in this matter in Judge Haughton’s court in March 2009, April 2009, June 2009, and August 2009. We also note that the Motion to Recuse itself was filed within two years of the 2008 election.
Thus, we conclude that the trial court abused its discretion by denying Bloom’s Motion to Recuse from hearing the Motion to Set Aside, and accordingly we remand for a hearing on Bloom’s Motion to Set Aside to be heard by a special judge in accordance with Ind. Trial Rule 79. [Footnote omitted.]
For the foregoing reasons, we reverse the court’s denial of Bloom’s Motion to Recuse, and we remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Reversed and remanded.
FRIEDLANDER, J., and BAILEY, J., concur.