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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett is seeking a third term to finish an agenda he says was stalled by the 2020 onset of the pandemic. But he’s facing his toughest challenge yet from Republican Jefferson Shreve, a businessman and former city councilor who says it’s time for a change.
IBJ reporter Taylor Wooten spent time with both candidates and talked with supporters and critics for stories meant to help you decide how to vote.
Can Jefferson Shreve sway enough Democrats and independents to win?
Republican Jefferson Shreve knows that to unseat two-term Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett, he’ll need to win over a lot of Democratic-leaning voters.
His advisers acknowledge that he started the race at least 15 percentage points behind the incumbent mayor because that’s the built-in advantage Democrats enjoy in Indianapolis, where they hold every countywide elected office.
But Shreve says he has a winning message about fighting crime and improving public safety. And his campaign sees a recently released poll that puts him just 10 points behind Hogsett as evidence that the issue is moving the needle as the Nov. 7 municipal election nears.
“I believe that there is an appetite for change,” Shreve told IBJ. “I believe that issues of public safety cross party lines. People are party-agnostic to how I feel about my hometown.” SEE MORE
Incumbent Joe Hogsett, critics agree unfinished business remains
When Democrat Joe Hogsett announced last year that he would seek a third term as mayor, he said he wanted a chance to complete unfinished business stalled by the pandemic.
Still dealing with persistent gun violence and the challenges of refilling downtown office buildings amid the work-from-home trend, Hogsett now faces his strongest mayoral challenger yet in the Nov. 7 municipal election.
The incumbent is pitching a continuation of his downtown resiliency strategy and pointing to a planned expansion of the Indiana Convention Center. On crime, the incumbent mayor touts record funding for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and funding for new, non-police violence-reduction and crisis strategies. SEE MORE
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We stand with Hoggsett!! Shreve save your money!! We’re not interested!! Head down to the southern states.
What’s there really to stand with?
That this time around he’ll accomplish a single one of his campaign promises from 2019?
Not sure who “we” is…but there are many people who believe in Shreve. Hogsett has had eight years and failed on multiple fronts. It is time for a change! Vote for Shreve!
Speak for yourself, I don’t stand with either of these two clowns.
Shreve is far from a clown. Built a business from the gound up! Loves his home town and wants more for it! He will be the first mayor to serve on the City/County Council. That experience will help him hit ground running. He has friends on both sides of the aisle and will work with the council to lift Indianapolis to new levels.
Shreve makes a lot of promises but never tells us where he’s going to get the money for all these things.
Shreve says he’s changed his position on gun safety and that HE is more able to convince state legislators to enact gun control than Joe Hogsett. If that’s true, why hasn’t Shreve done it? Nothing is stopping him. Or is he only willing to work with state legislators on gun controls if he’s elected Mayor? If that’s true, he’s not so interested in reducing crime after all.