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Candidates grilled on Black issues

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Mayor Joe Hogsett and state Sen. Jim Merritt talked about issues that affect the African American community in a mayoral debate Oct. 21 at Arsenal Technical High School. Topics included K-12 education, homicides and food insecurity.

The debate ā€” sponsored by the African American Coalition of Indianapolis (AACI), Radio One and the Recorder ā€” is believed to be the first time candidates have participated in a debate specifically about Black issues.

Both candidates were asked near the end of the debate if they have a ā€œperson of color agendaā€ or a ā€œBlack agenda.ā€

Merritt, a Republican, released his Black agenda recently as part of a response to concerns raised by the Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis and Baptist Ministerā€™s Alliance. His plan includes creating the Indianapolis Commission on the Social Status of African American Males and establishing affordable housing set-aside requirements for new residential development projects.

ā€œYou have my solemn oath that I will follow this when I become mayor,ā€ he said at the debate.

Hogsett, the Democratic incumbent seeking his second term, has given mixed messages on if his campaign has a Black agenda ā€” and even what constitutes a Black agenda. Asked after another debate in August, he said his campaign doesnā€™t have a Black agenda and maintained his policies help all of Indianapolis.

Hogsettā€™s response to the Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis and Baptist Ministerā€™s Alliance was mostly a recap of what his administration has done in his first term.

ā€œLet me be clear so thereā€™s no confusion,ā€ he told the audience in his response. ā€œIndianapolis and its elected leadership should absolutely have an agenda to lift up communities of color generally and our African American community specifically.ā€

At the debate, Hogsett said he has ā€œbothā€ a person of color agenda and Black agenda. He added that his policies represent a ā€œrising tide that lifts all boats.ā€

AACI leaders and debate organizers have made it clear that establishing a Black agenda is about more than this mayoral election. Along with hearing presentations from both candidates on what their administrations would do for Black people, the organization hosted a Black agenda town hall Oct. 18. There will be more town halls in the future.

On the issue of Black male homicides, Merritt called it ā€œjob No. 1 for the mayor of Indianapolis.ā€

He wants a public safety director who is also deputy mayor and has been touting his chief of police pick in Bill Benjamin, a Democrat and former deputy chief for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) who recently accepted Merrittā€™s invitation to become police chief should he be elected mayor.

Hogsett noted that the number of homicides began rising before he took over as mayor in 2016 and said itā€™s encouraging that violent crime overall is down. He also touted IMPDā€™s hiring of more police officers so the department can get back to beat policing, which makes officers responsible for a smaller area.

Long-time journalist Tina Cosby, the moderator, pushed Merritt on why he continued to support legislation as a state senator that would expand penalties for minors involved in pharmacy robberies after Black leaders approached him about the issue.

ā€œThe world has changed,ā€ he said, ā€œand I support the idea of those individuals going to juvenile court.ā€

Asked what their administrations would do as a long-term solution for food insecurity, Hogsett said the city canā€™t ā€œsolve a problem with 20th-century grocery stores and supermarkets if weā€™re not embracing 21st-century solutions.ā€

His plan includes the Indy Food Fund, a grant program to provide support for food initiatives. The first round will start in 2020. The plan also includes expanding home grocery delivery, which the city-county council passed as part of a larger package of food access measures in July.

Merritt has proposed a tax incremental financing district, or TIF, to incentivize grocery stores to open in neighborhoods that donā€™t have reliable access to healthy food.

As part of undoing some of the systemic racism students face in education, Merritt said he would end zero-tolerance policies at mayor-sponsored charter schools and work with Indianapolis Public Schools to do the same.

Hogsett focused on raising teacher pay and advocating for a more equitable school funding formula.

At the end of the debate, both candidates had a chance to make a significant impact on an audience that was mostly Black. Asked if it should be ā€œBlack lives matterā€ or ā€œall lives matter,ā€ both candidates sidestepped and basically said both, missing an opportunity to explain how ā€œall lives matterā€ became a response ā€” not a principled statement ā€” to the Black Lives Matter movement.

The next debate, which will also feature Libertarian candidate Douglas McNaughton, is 7 p.m. Oct. 28 at Chapel Hill 7th and 8th Grade Center, 7320 W. 10th St. Fox 59 will host and televise the event.

Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick at 317-762-7853. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick.

Mayor Joe Hogsett (left) and state Sen. Jim Merritt (right) participated in what is believed to be the first mayoral debate about Black issues in Indianapolis. (Photo/Tyler Fenwick)

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