This week, the Recorder spoke with the first time African-American candidates running for City-County Council. They were asked why they are running and why they believe they are the best candidate for the seat.
Democrats
District 14
Maxine King – “I am running because I believe I can make a viable difference. Unfortunately for too long, some of our neighborhoods in District 14, particularly Haughville, have been neglected. I have a passion for people and because I’m an attorney I have the ability to connect with people, identify their issues and connect them with resources. I believe I can use my skill as a lawyer for the benefit of the residents. I believe I’m a great advocate for my clients, therefore I will be a great advocate for all of the residents in District 14.”
District 12
Regina Marsh – “I’m running because the mayor removed the swimming pool at Wes Montgomery Park. I’m sorry it’s not deep and pretty, but when he removed that pool, I thought it was insensitive to not look at that community as a whole and see how you can improve the community. It is a beautiful spray park, but we deserve a pool. There’s no other pool on the Eastside. Instead of continuing to complain, I decided to be a part of the process. Part of being on the City-County Council is being a part of the community, working with the community, to be an advocate for the community, to help change communities – I do that now everyday.”
District 15
Vop Osili – “I’m running for City-County Council because I love and want to serve the district where I live and grew up as a kid. There are many great things to be celebrated about the district that make it unique and special in the city and the state. The long history of our residential and business communities, and the diversity of its people, cultures, and ethnicities make it a great and exciting place to live, work and play. But there are also many areas of concern that have been overlooked and areas that have been neglected. We have pockets of high unemployment, vacant and abandoned houses, and issues with crime that make certain places hard to live in.
“I believe my background makes me uniquely qualified to serve as the councillor in the district. I spent my formative years in Haughville, growing up in the home of my grandparents who were already 30-year residents of the neighborhood when I moved in. As long-term residents they developed in me a sense of responsibility and commitment to community that I carry to this day.
“And, as a small business owner, I have the understanding to address the issues we face with the unemployment and lack of investment in certain areas of our district. In the tough economic times we are in today our highest priorities are jobs and job creation, and few people understand the challenges of our business climate better than small business owners. Small businesses are the major generators of jobs in our country and I have founded and grown two successful small businesses, hired employees and met a payroll. I learned how to weather the shocks of a tough economy and know what is needed for our small businesses to open their doors every morning, and how to incentivise others to locate in our neighborhoods, hire from within our communities, and help provide greater stability to our neighborhoods.
“I believe that because of this knowledge and experience I can speak in the best interests of our district’s residents and small business owners in order to make all pockets of the district and its communities great and exciting places to work and raise our families.”
District 9
Joe Simpson – “I am running for City-County Council District 9 because my district residents have felt that their needs have been neither heard nor met. I would like to improve communications between District 9 residents and the City-County Council, particularly to ensure that the priorities of the District 9 residents are voiced and acted upon whenever possible.
“The City of Indianapolis cannot be all things to all people. It cannot be looked to to solve all the issues. There will be times where we should look within our communities to solve problems with other resources that we have. It’s vitally important to me that people in need be made aware of resources that currently exist within our community.
“I have served on the Washington Township Board for 15 years, with plenty of budgeting experience, successful tax conservation, accountability in the use of reserves, restructuring, and practices that help insure that services are being provided.
“In my 34 years at Indiana Legal Services as director of administration of a multi-million dollar statewide nonprofit law firm, I have gained a great deal of budgeting and operational experience. I have learned that times of change always require a refocusing of priorities and objectives.
“I have been fortunate to serve as chairman and president of many community and non-profit boards such as the American Red Cross of Indianapolis and Community Centers of Indianapolis, among many others. Working together with others, especially those with differing viewpoints provides a basis for negotiating in a way that helps get needs met on all sides of an issue. I prefer win-win situations to a winning and losing side.
“District 9 is a community of diversity in race, ethnicity, religious practice, economics, age and education, not only within homes but within the businesses as well. This diversity helps to strengthen and provide healthy and vibrant communities within District 9.”
Republicans
District 10
Barbara Holland – “I’m running because I’ve been in politics for over 30 years from a percent committeeman to a ward chairman in Center Township. I’ve also worked on the committee as the president of the Parent-Teacher Organization at IPS #110, vice president of Drexel and Manor Court Neighborhood Association and the crime watch.
“Having lived in the 10th District my entire life some of the concerns that I have seen are safer streets, jobs and better neighborhoods. Running for the seat of City-County Council would give me the opportunity to be the voice and representative for a district that has been left behind.
“Furthermore, I’ve been employed with the State of Indiana for over 20 years as a customer service representative serving the constituents of Indiana.
“I bring expertise from a range of experiences, willingness to listen to the concerns of my neighbor and the willingness to build partnerships to decrease crime in the community and improve neighborhoods.”
District 7
Sahara Williams – “I wanted to really connect with residents over here. We don’t usually have any competition in District 7 and we weren’t going to this year either. I didn’t run in the primary – I came on in July. This is my first time running for political office and what I’ve learned is that when an area is slated as not competitive, the other party doesn’t feel like they have a chance or no one will step up and run against the incumbent, then the area is ignored and that’s what’s been happening in District 7.
“I have walked more than half of this district since I started and I’ve met two people that know who their councillor is. Two.
“It’s not to say anything bad against my opponent. She does what she feels is important. What’s important to me is that regular, every day people know and have access to their councillor, that they know what resources are available to them and they know where they can go when they have problems.
“A lot of their wants are simple things. When I was walking around, I’d ask people ‘What are the issues you face every day?’ Some are the big things like jobs, but the small, quality of life things have also come up. These are things that can easily be fixed – a driveway apron that needs to be repaired, a fire hydrant that has been leaking into their yard or where is their street on a list for drainage repair – those are things that are easy but they just don’t know who to contact.
“What I’ve been pledging is that the big political meetings are fine, but I want to attend the small meetings. Those meetings that only happen a few times a year that is in the neighborhoods. I think that’s why I’m the best candidate because I’m willing to talk with people to understand what their priorities are – get down on a grassroots level. That’s the basics of representation.
“Another reason is that I have initiative to get things done on my own. The biggest way we make improvement in our community is regular people taking the initiative to do something extra for their community, to look at a problem and say, ‘What can I do.’ Not ‘what is somebody else going to do.’ I’ve proven that in my life with the initiative I’ve taken particularly with running my own engineering company and starting Desert Moon, a non-profit equestrian program for kids.”
