“Let me see that baby! Aww, she’s so cute,” exclaimed Karen Freeman-Wilson as she paused from talking politics during a recent golf outing to hold a baby girl nearby.
The Gary mayor’s flowered-dress indicated that she was not there to swing her clubs, but instead, show her support and gratitude for an organization who hosts an annual golf tournament on behalf of her late father, Travis Freeman, an avid golfer.
As the mayor of Gary for the past two and a half years, Freeman-Wilson has worked to restore her hometown to the productive place it once was. Prior to taking the post of Gary’s lead beaurocrat, the city experienced multiple ills such as blight, crime, and a crumbling infrastructure.
With the assistance of a strong team, Freeman-Wilson has helped the city become part of President Barack Obama’s Strong Cities, Strong Communities Initiative; has begun constructing an industrial park; and is building new homes.
She’s also had to face the unfortunate side of public service such as shooting death of Gary Police Officer Jeffrey Westerfield who was killed in the line of duty earlier this month.
Freeman-Wilson is currently looking toward a second term as mayor. The primary election is May 2015 and if successful, citizens will go to the polls in November 2015 to vote yay or nay.
Though the city hasn’t returned to its full glory, Freeman-Wilson has imposed numerous changes to help get her city back on track.
The Recorder sat down with the Gary mayor to learn about some of her latest initiatives, how she keeps the Northwest Indiana city connected to the state capitol and her call to other Gary natives who’ve moved away.
Recorder: So what brings you out to the golf course this sunny afternoon?
Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson: I’m here for the Travis Freeman Memorial Golf Classic in honor of my dad. He loved golfing! As a kid he’d say ‘don’t touch my golf clubs’ (laughing). The New Day Foundation hosts this event and they’re a great partner because they pick up and provide help where the government can’t.
I’m sure your father would be proud of this event and your mayoral administration. There’s so much going on in Gary. Tell me about initiatives happening here.
Like Indianapolis, we’ve seen tragedy in the loss of Officer Westerfield. We’ve had other tragedies throughout the city. At the same time, there have been some good things.
We’re on the way to completing our airport runway extension and also seeing the erection of a new building at Indiana University Northwest that is going to be the anchor for the rebirth of the University Park project. And we are in the final stages of getting the Sheraton Hotel torn down. That really represents blight removal in its greatest form. There were some good times in the Sheraton, but it has long outlived its lifespan.
That’s the hotel on 5th and Broadway, correct?
Yes. It’s next door to city hall. When you come off the toll way, that’s the first thing you see. You almost miss city hall because you see that large building. In addition to tearing down the hotel, we were awarded over $6 million by the state to do demolition of additional buildings around the city.
It’s our expectation that once everything is said and done, we’ll have over 500 structures that will have come down this year and next. That’s a big deal for us.
With all of these buildings coming down, are there any plans to add developments?
There are. The University Park is currently in development. We’re going to do new housing for all residents; mixed development along the Broadway Avenue corridor as a part of what is already going on with the university.
There’s also going to be housing developments near a multi-million dollar Boys and Girls Club renovation.
We still have our Dollar House program which deals with rehabilitation of existing housing. There’s also a program called the Jackson Street of Dreams that is a partnership between the Fuller Center, the city and the (Michael) Jackson family. We’re going to take the 2300 and 2400 blocks of Jackson Street and transform them.
Then there’s the public/private partnership at the Gary/Chicago International airport in addition to development along the lakefront. Part of the Strong Cities, Strong Communities is focusing on development near the Horace Mann area, Emerson area, the hospital in the downtown area and the beachfront near Marquette and the Glenn Ryan and Edna communities.
Many cities across the U.S. have faced a surge of crime. What have been your crime-reduction strategies?
Across the board, crime is down in every category – from the most violent crime to crimes like theft. It’s different percentages, but its down. But because of the nature of the crime that still exists in many instances it’s so shocking. Last week, we had a guy kill his stepfather and his mother. When you have events like that, because it’s so shocking, it has such an impact on the community, those statistics don’t matter. I’m focusing on things that we can do to prevent crime and address it in a more comprehensive way – not just enforcement, but to look at prevention, remediation, and reducing recidivism – very much in the way that the City of New Orleans did with the Nola for Life Initiative. That’s been very successful and we’re hoping it will work here.
Who else do you look to for ideas and guidance?
Mayor Mitch Landrieu of New Orleans and Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia. I’ve had the great privilege of having former Chicago Mayor, Richard Daly serve as my mentor.
Let’s talk about jobs.
That’s at the top of everyone’s list because the more people have jobs, the less likely they are involved in anti-social behavior. We’ve been fortunate in this administration to have partnerships with folks moving into the area or increasing their capacity in the area. They’ve always been willing to talk about jobs and earmark certain jobs in this community. I’d be surprised if we haven’t seen 500-1,000 (jobs) created during my administration. There (have) been partnerships and companies that we’ve been able to build upon or create.
The steel industry has been Gary’s anchor. How do you maintain that relationship while courting other large companies?
While U.S. Steel has established this city and at one time was the driving industry in this city, we understand that being a one-industry town didn’t bode well. We have to look at steel but also other industries such as gaming, health care, clean industry and education. That’s why we work on relationships with people like IU, NIPSCO and Methodist Hospital. That doesn’t mean we ignore the steel industry, but we bring other relationships into the picture.
With Gary being so close to Chicago, there’s somewhat of a disconnect between the city/county and the rest of the state. How do you stay connected?
We’re a part of the Chicago television market and have gotten great coverage from them. We embrace Chicago. At the same time, we make a concerted effort to reach out to Indianapolis. I was in town a few days ago to do the ‘Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick’ show and stopped by WIBC-FM (93.1). And I did the “Afternoons with Amos” show on WTLC-AM (1310). We understand we are a part of the state and work hard to build upon our relationship with Gov. Mike Pence’s office and the Indiana General Assembly. We’ll continue to do that.
Although you’ve done a lot for the city, not everyone agrees with your approach.
You have to take that in stride. Everybody’s not going to be a cheerleader. That’s part of life. One of the things you learn is that you can’t be thin-skinned about this.
What’s your ultimate vision for Gary?
To create a clean, safe, vibrant community where people feel comfortable and proud to raise their children. Many people grew up here, so they should be able to say to their children ‘you too can raise a family here.’ We’re not quite there, but I believe we will get there.
You seem to work hard for the City of Gary, but what do you do in your free time?
I like concerts and sporting events. I enjoy going to Chicago Bulls games and I’m a Gary Railcats fan.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
The last time we talked, we discussed Gary natives moving away, but I’ve seen a lot of people come back home. Many of the people in our administration came home. There’s not a day that passes that I get an email from someone who says ‘my parents are older…I see what you’re doing…I want to help.’ We welcome everyone. Come back home!
