The biggest surprise at Marion County’s Republican Slating Convention wasn’t the party finally picking a candidate for mayor. No, the big surprise was the announcement that the Republicans’ shining star just two years ago is not running for re-election.
Jose Evans, the only African-American Republican on the Indianapolis City-County County, will not seek a third term.
While attending the GOP Slating Convention, Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper columnist Amos Brown discovered that Evans wasn’t one of the party’s slated Council candidates.
Brown then broke the story on Twitter with Evans confirming it minutes later saying in a tweet: “With great consideration, I’ve decided NOT to run for reelection and pursue my PhD in Urban Education at Indiana University.”
Jose Evans was first elected to the Council in 2007 as a Democrat from District 1 in Pike Township. He was the first Democrat to win that formerly Republican district in the northwest corner of Indianapolis.
Evans attempted to run for Mayor in 2011 in the Democratic Primary against Melina Kennedy, Ron Gibson and Sam Carson, but dropped out of that race to run for re-election to the Council.
Then 17 months after winning re-election, Jose Evans stunned his district and the city by switching parties – from Democrat to Republican – the second City-County Council member to ever switch parties.
Besides Evans, three other Republican City-County Councilors aren’t seeking re-election: Will Gooden (District 3), Virginia “Ginny” Cain (District 5) and Jefferson Shreve (District 23).
Marion County Democratic Chairman Joel Miller said he “wasn’t surprised” by Evans’ announcement. Miller said he didn’t think the GOP was committed to seriously supporting Evans.
“I don’t think that Republicans were serious about winning back that district,” Miller said.
Evans’ withdrawal didn’t leave the GOP time to find and endorse a replacement candidate. So, right now the party doesn’t have an endorsed candidate in the District 1 race.
Making matters worse, out of 18 Council candidates Republicans slated (endorsed), only one was African-American; Susan Smith, who will run in the new Council District 12, a white-majority district located on the Eastside including Irvington, Ellenberger Park, and the area around Community East Hospital.
Meanwhile, Republicans officially slated Charles (Chuck) Brewer as their candidate for mayor. Republican officials describe Brewer as a local restaurateur who owns two downtown eateries. He’s also a 23-year Marine who served two combat tours in Iraq, as well as a businessman with graduate degrees from Harvard and Northwestern, with 10 years experience at a Fortune 500 company.
However, the 43-year-old Brewer has only lived in Indianapolis since sometime in 2011 and is virtually unknown, even to many Republicans and party activists.
Meanwhile two African-Americans well known to both Republicans and the Black community, are running against Brewer for mayor.
Deputy Mayor Olgen Williams didn’t go through the GOP’s slating process and he is running against Brewer for mayor. So are longtime political veteran and African-American activist Jocelyn-TandyAdande, and two other candidates.
