Editorial: What Indianapolis needs is an inspiring mayoral race

The dust has barely settled on the mayoral primaries in Indianapolis, where incumbent Mayor Joe Hogsett and Republican Jefferson Shreve earned their parties’ nods. But it’s already time for the winning candidates to get down to brass tacks, lay out a vision for the city’s future and give voters a clear choice come November.

Shreve seemed to acknowledge as much after his win on Tuesday. After a primary that focused almost exclusively on crime and how he believes Hogsett has failed to tackle it, Shreve said it was now time to “put some policy meat” before voters.

We couldn’t agree more. And it’s not just Shreve who needs to supply some vision.

Hogsett has provided some outlines of what he wants to do with a third term. But we want more—and we think the residents of Indianapolis do, too.

What the city needs from both candidates is a vison that is broader and grander, something along the scale of the sports strategy longtime Mayor Bill Hudnut developed and that led to the city’s winning national acclaim for its hosting of several NCAA Final Fours and the Super Bowl in 2012.

And we think this is a perfect time to roll out a new vision.

Indianapolis—like most cities—has yet to fully recover from the pandemic. Downtown, in particular, still feels like it’s seeking a new identity. The wave of remote and hybrid work means striving for a pre-pandemic version of downtown isn’t an option. So what should downtown be?

Beyond the city’s Mile Square, what will the next mayor do to strengthen neighborhoods, address crime, and close the wage and achievement gaps that divide wealthy neighborhoods and low-income neighborhoods, where people of color are too often concentrated and rarely get ahead?

How can Indianapolis embrace its riverfront—downtown and throughout the city—as so many other communities have done? Will the candidates endorse the idea of a downtown investment district—which the Legislature voted to allow—to raise money to address homelessness and other concerns? Will they back proposals to rethink the interstates that divide downtown? What are their creative ideas for attacking the city’s crumbling roads and sidewalks?

These are big problems that need big solutions.

We want to be inspired—and campaigns focused on negative messages just won’t do it.

Of course, we expect the candidates to be critical of each other. We expect each campaign to draw contrasts. But with big money available on both sides to spend on the race, the candidates should put more of their resources behind telling Indianapolis residents why each deserves their vote.

The messages from Hogsett and Shreve should be so compelling that they drive voters to the polls to cast a ballot for someone, not against someone. Let’s shoot for record-breaking voter turnout.

We believe Hogsett and Shreve can run those kinds of campaigns if they choose to. We hope they do. The city’s future depends on it.•

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