There’s a new face representing the six Republicans on the City-County Council.
Michael-Paul Hart, 35, was elected minority leader in a private vote last month and confirmed at Wednesday’s council meeting. He replaces Councilor Brian Mowery, who held the minority leader position since 2020. Mowery remains on the council.
Hart has represented District 20 in the southeast side since 2019.
In addition to serving on the council, Hart works for a global technology company and serves as chair of the Warren Township GOP. He and his fiancee, Sheena VanHook, own a hair salon together and live on the southeast side with their two children.
Hart spoke to Mirror Indy about his upbringing, his political ambitions and why the city’s effort to join “Meatless Mondays” left a bad taste in his mouth.
Taking on a new role
What made you decide to run for minority leader?
I want to change the trajectory of how we operate as a caucus. I’m coming in with three main goals. No. 1 is really building a brand. I want to make sure when people ask about the Republican caucus they know exactly who we are and what we’re working on.
My No. 2 goal is really connecting to the community. We want to grow that through many facets: organizing town halls, being present at various meetings and organizing quarterly meetings with high-stakes public officials. We want to make sure we’re communicating effectively.
Our other goal is setting a smart initiative for our caucus. I want Indianapolis to be the smartest city in America. We’re going to decide as a team what it is we want to hang our hat on for the year, whether that’s public safety, parks or infrastructure.
From fixer upper to politician
You’ve said you got into politics because you didn’t like what you saw on TV and heard on the radio. Can you elaborate on that?
While I was working on my associate’s degree, I got certified in HVAC from Ivy Tech Community College. I would drive around fixing air conditioners and furnaces during the day and go to school late at night. While I was doing that I started listening to the radio. I got tired of hearing the same songs, so I started listening to NPR and WIBC. I had never voted in my life, never talked politics. I just started listening and didn’t like what I was hearing.
In 2016, I heard a story about the city of Indianapolis urging residents not to eat meat on Monday. I said to myself, nobody’s telling me when I’m eating meat. That’s when I started learning about how the government gets involved in people’s lives. What stood out to me is we have a local government body that’s having conversations about what we should eat on Mondays.
I went to a Republican club meeting in Warren Township and did every job there is. I was hooked. I brought them technology. I became the president, and then I was a precinct committeeman, a ward chairman and am now township chair for the party. I worked on everybody’s campaign on the east and southeast side, trying to elect people that weren’t going to have meatless Mondays.
I ran for council in 2019 and won by about 300 votes.
Humble beginnings
What was your upbringing like?
I grew up in a bungalow on Third Avenue in Beech Grove, raised by a single mom in a low-income household on every government program known to man. My parents were divorced. I knew my father, but he passed away when I was 17. And I would only see him every other weekend.
My mom worked early in the mornings as a waitress in downtown hotels and went to bed early. She would call us on the phone in the morning to get us up for school. I found out later that my sister used to get a dollar a day to make sure we got to the bus stop.
I went to college on the 21st Century Scholars program. I went to Ivy Tech Community College to get my associate’s and Western Governors University for my bachelor’s. I’ve got a similar background to a lot of people within the city that don’t come from politically connected families.
My mother was very education-focused. My summers were spent doing extracurricular activities that were education-focused. I was in Big Brothers Big Sisters. I went through IMPD’s “Shop with a Cop” program. By the time I was 10 years old, I had free autonomy, walking around doing whatever I wanted in Beech Grove. I was very independent. I was always a computer kid. That’s always been my passion. I spent a lot of time in front of a computer and went to a career and technical education high school.
At 15, I had my first job working at Greatimes Family Fun Park. I did that so I could afford gas money to go to school. I had my first child when I was 20 years old. I worked full time and went to school at night. It took me eight years to get both of my degrees.
I don’t have much family. I’m the last of an old generation. Most of my family died off when I was really young. My mother passed away when I was 24 or 25. We never did a lot of family stuff. I moved out when I was 19 years old.
Staying focused on Indy
Do you have political aspirations beyond the City-County Council?
I ran for Statehouse in District 89 in 2022, but anything I do the first time I usually fail. It was close. After that race I reflected, and people asked me why I ran for council again. I said I’m just now getting good at it. It takes a little bit of time to learn how things are working.
Peter Blanchard covers local government. Reach him at 317-605-4836 or peter.blanchard@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @peterlblanchard.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
