It’s no secret that a Republican-controlled state legislature and a Democratic-run Indianapolis don’t always get along.
From trying to stall a bus route to nearly repealing a special downtown taxing district for a homeless shelter and related improvements to nullifying the city’s ban on the retail sale of cats and dogs, state lawmakers in Indiana routinely intervene in the affairs of the capital city.
Despite the ongoing friction, Gov. Eric Holcomb, a moderate Republican, has been a good partner to Mayor Joe Hogsett over the last eight years, according to interviews Mirror Indy conducted with half a dozen current and former elected officials from both political parties, current and former city officials and political observers.
Indiana governors, both Democrats and Republicans, have a long history of partnering with the city of Indianapolis on economic development projects, from financing sports stadiums to expanding the Indiana Convention Center.
That’s largely because it is in both the city and state’s economic interest that Indianapolis continues to run smoothly, said Rep. Ed Delaney, D-Indianapolis.
“Cooperation goes back a long way,” Delaney said. “Some of it occurred when the city was heavily Republican, but these are institutions now. Nobody’s gonna roll it back and say, ‘We don’t want these sports facilities and activities.’ That won’t happen. We see the results.”
Holcomb, who is in his last year as governor, has largely continued this tradition, working with the city to fund sports stadiums, a new Elanco headquarters downtown and the $600 million redevelopment of Circle Centre Mall.
He’s also exercised restraint where others might have not. During the pandemic, Holcomb let the city establish its own COVID-19 restrictions, a decision that has attracted criticism from his Republican counterparts. And when riots broke out following protests against the death of George Floyd, Holcomb did not call in the Indiana National Guard to quell the outbreaks.
“Holcomb is much more even-keeled and less prone to use his power to embarrass the mayor of Indianapolis than other governors might have been,” said former state Rep. Mike Murphy, a former Marion County GOP chair and an Indianapolis Republican who served in the legislature from 1994 to 2010.
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To understand how the next governor might approach a partnership with the Circle City, Mirror Indy reached out to all six Republican candidates, three of whom agreed to in-person interviews: Fort Wayne businessman Eric Doden, former Attorney General Curtis Hill and conservative activist Jamie Reitenour.
One of the candidates, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, responded to questions via email. Former Secretary of Commerce Brad Chambers did not respond to questions but sent a prepared statement.
U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, who is leading in most polls, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Suzanne Crouch
When asked how she would approach a partnership with Indianapolis, Crouch said home rule should be supported as much as possible, though on critical issues like public safety, she supports “state action to ensure Hoosiers, convention goers, and tourists feel safe and are safe.”
She pointed to the state’s appropriation of $20 million to develop a low-barrier homeless shelter in Indianapolis that would also include a hub for on-site service providers.
Crouch, who oversees the Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority, says the agency is working closely with the city to award the funds with a goal to begin construction by the end of the year.
“This is an example of the kind of partnership necessary to ensure that we get help to those who need services while keeping our capital city and the people who live and visit here safe,” Crouch said.
Crouch has more than three decades of experience in public service, beginning as a county auditor in her native Evansville in the 1990s and later as a state representative in 2005. In 2017, Holcomb tapped her to be his second-in-command.
Eric Doden
Of the six GOP candidates, Doden is the only one to offer a written plan for how he would govern Indianapolis.
In a white paper called the “Capital Zone Plan,” the Fort Wayne developer proposed “enhanced policing” across the city through a partnership between the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and Indiana State Police.
The plan received pushback from Hogsett, who said he was open to cooperation between police departments but felt IMPD officers are “doing an outstanding job of keeping downtown safe.”
When asked about recent efforts by Republican state lawmakers to target IndyGo, Doden said the fight over the Blue Line was an example of “healthy conflict” that led to collaboration and, ultimately, a solution.
“That’s where we need these leaders to come together and have a vision for the community,” Doden said. “From my point of view, I think these are healthy. Look, there’s unhealthy conflict in life, right? And then there’s healthy conflict. And healthy conflict makes us all better.”
The Blue Line survived, but the conversation about Indianapolis infrastructure is far from over.
A state task force will meet later this year to discuss the state’s road funding formula, which allocates infrastructure dollars based on center-lane miles, which means a one-lane road is treated the same as a multi-lane thoroughfare. The end result leaves Indianapolis with less overall funding than rural counties, and none of the gubernatorial candidates have expressed a willingness to change it.
Curtis Hill
Hill, the former state attorney general who lost his reelection bid in 2020 and had his law license suspended after being accused by multiple women of inappropriate sexual behavior, has sought to contrast himself from Holcomb. Hill has strongly denied the allegations.
If elected, Hill has promised to ban mask mandates, and he said he would have mobilized the state police to come up with an action plan during the 2020 riots.
Like Crouch, Hill believes that Indianapolis should largely be left to make its own policy decisions except in cases where public safety is at risk.
“If the downtown area becomes deteriorated to the point of a threat to public safety and economic stability, I certainly see a concern for the state to get engaged in that process,” Hill said.
During his tenure as attorney general, Hill worked with the Rev. Charles Harrison, a community activist, to stem youth gun violence.
“The primary model is engagement,” Hill said, “bringing together community members, police, OGs, folks who are invested in improving the lot around them. I think my type of leadership fits into that mold because it’s boots-on-the-ground leadership and going into the community directly. It’s not creating check-the-box programs.”
Jamie Reitenour
Indianapolis, Reitenour says, is a beautiful city where she feels at home, but she feels the other GOP candidates are trying to make it into something it’s not.
“What makes Indianapolis special is that when you come here, you get a city feel and you slow down at the same time, and that’s what people are looking for,” Reitenour said.
Active in her church, Reitenour has said she was “called by the Lord” to move to Indianapolis after bouncing around the Midwest for a number of years.
As a political candidate, she questions the effectiveness of the IndyGo bus system and the state’s $20 million investment in a downtown homeless shelter.
“The private sector is really where we want to see people taking in and helping others,” she said. “I need to know why the state feels the need to get involved in the conversation, because it’s a social program we’re talking about here.”
Brad Chambers
Chambers did not respond to a list of emailed questions provided by Mirror Indy. His campaign released the following statement: “Building an even better Indiana will take strong relationships and collaboration with every community across the state, including our capital city. Indianapolis has some real challenges, from infrastructure to public safety, and as governor, I’ll lead as appropriate to help address them.”
Mike Braun
Braun did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Peter Blanchard covers local government. Reach him at 317-605-4836 or peter.blanchard@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @peterlblanchard.
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