After 190 years of Indianapolis being led by men, some voters may decide that the City-County Building could use “a woman’s touch.”
Residents may make that decision on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 8, if a majority of them vote for Melina Kennedy, who is running for mayor against incumbent Greg Ballard.
In 2007, Ballard became the first veteran of the armed forces in almost 40 years elected mayor of Indianapolis, and the first in generations to have never held a previous political office. This year, Kennedy could also make history by becoming its first woman mayor.
“I have a lot of young girls tell me they are excited about that,” Kennedy said, smiling. “They would love to see the first woman mayor, something that they could see themselves aspiring to. I hope to be a positive role model in that regard.”
Kennedy joins Gary Democrat Karen Freeman-Wilson and Fort Wayne Republican Paula Hughes, who could become the first women to lead their respective cities this year.
Freeman-Wilson believes she, Kennedy and Hughes are facing an electorate that is more open to gender equality in politics than in the past. People, she says, simply want good leadership.
“I think that voters understand that both women and men provide good leadership and they’re no longer willing to let their personal biases govern who they elect or how they vote,” she said.
When asked what skills she thought a woman could bring as mayor, Kennedy said, “I think oftentimes women have the balance of needing to be tough when appropriate, but also having compassion, which is important because this is about governing people and trying to make life better for all of our residents.”
Although Kennedy would be the first woman to serve as Indianapolis mayor, women have been nominated to run in previous mayoral elections.
The late Z. Mae Jimison became the first African-American and first woman nominated by a major party when Democrats chose her to run against Republican incumbent Steve Goldsmith in 1995. In 1999, then Secretary of State Sue Ann Gilroy, a Republican, was chosen to run against Democrat Bart Peterson.
It seems every recent Indianapolis mayor has made history of some kind. In 1975, William Hudnut became the first minister elected mayor, while Goldsmith was the city’s first Jewish mayor and Peterson became the first Democrat elected in 32 years.
Supporters of Kennedy agree that the idea of Kennedy becoming the first woman mayor is something to celebrate. But they also hope voters look beyond her gender and notice how she has managed the busy lifestyle of running a complicated campaign, being a business owner in a tough economy, being a mother to her school-age children Marcus and Sophia, and wife to her husband Bob, a successful Olympic runner.
“She is able to achieve remarkable things in her professional life, while keeping a balance between her professional life and personal life,” said former Mayor Peterson under whom Kennedy served as deputy mayor. “It’s because she is so incredibly productive when she is working, that she is able to preserve time for family. She can be a very normal and well-rounded person while achieving remarkable things on the professional side of her life.”
Kennedy is a former partner at Indianapolis law firm Baker & Daniels, and serves as co-owner (with Bob) of BlueMile, a running-oriented business.
Kennedy said she is able to keep her life balanced by keeping her family and close friends involved, and prioritizing what should be done first on a daily basis.
“I believe in the extended family,” she said. “I’m lucky to have a supportive husband, and both my mom and mother-in-law are active in our lives. We keep balance and make sure there is time for us to enjoy breakfast and dinner as a family. I’m also an early riser, so I try to accomplish a lot of things before everybody is up.”
She said the best lesson she has learned during the campaign so far is listening to voters.
“I’ve learned that listening is an important component of good leadership,” Kennedy said.
