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(IBJ Photo/Aaron P. Bernstein)On the way to City Hall: While specializing in public finance at Bingham McHale LLP (now Bingham Greenebaum Doll LLP) and working with local governments on financial issues, Mayor Ballard asked him to work at the bond bank, the buyer and seller of securities for the city. “I thought it would be a great vehicle to eventually figure out what I wanted to do.”
With a J.D. from Indiana University, why not law? “Being a trial attorney looked fun on TV. And I was always told I was a good debater … or arguer—although I’m not sure if that was meant in complimentary terms. But I realized that only a very few attorneys find themselves in the courtroom and those who don’t aren’t usually happy about it. I’ve always enjoyed numbers—I was a finance undergraduate—and that’s what eventually got me into public financing. It’s evident now and should have been more evident all along.”
Political jobs: “I didn’t come from a political background. That’s not my draw here. My draw is working in government for a time and seeing how things get done while contributing to things that help the city. Quite frankly, when I came over, I didn’t know if I’d stay for four years, so I’m not one of those guys who are worried about finding a job if the mayor wasn’t re-elected.”
Influencers: “I cannot overstate the mayor’s role or thank him enough for the opportunity.”
Family: wife, Kelly Harrison Kintner; newborn son, Calvin (“Cal”)
Points of pride: He cites the CityWay development, “because of the complexity of getting a project like that done in the real estate environment that we were dealing with. And the Market Square Arena redevelopment after two strike-outs.”
Indianapolis pluses: “We’re a city that I think maximizes its potential as much or more so than any other city I’ve seen.”
What he learned from F. Scott Fitzgerald: “Fitzgerald said that the test of first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas at the same time. Well, both can be right. The trick is to be able to take that and come up with the best solution. That’s helped me try to keep my sanity in a room full of competing interests.”•
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