Meet the candidates for City-County Council District 16

Two candidates are running for Indianapolis City-County Council District 16: Republican candidate Julie Calvert-Watts and Democratic candidate Jessica McCormick.  McCormick is the incumbent council member representing District 15, but after redistricting by the council, she is now in District 16. This district remains on the city’s west side.  

Calvert-Watts, 54, is the principal of Emmaus Lutheran School in Fountain Square. 

McCormick, 42, works in higher education and currently runs the dual engineering program between Butler University and the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI. 

WFYI sent each of the candidates six questions to help voters learn more. Their answers are presented in alphabetical order.

Editors’ note: Responses were edited for style and grammar, and any numbers used were checked for accuracy. When a statement required more clarification or could not be independently verified, WFYI reached out to candidates before publication. Those instances, and those candidate responses, are noted throughout in editors’ notes, marked by an * and presented in italics.

Early voting started Oct. 11. Election Day is Nov. 7. 

JULIE CALVERT-WATTS

What are the top concerns that your district’s constituents have shared with you, and what are the issues that you foresee affecting them most in the next two to three years?

As I have been out meeting with constituents three issues have jumped to the forefront: crime, drug houses and quality of side streets. Constituents are concerned about the crime in their neighborhoods. They do not feel safe, and many have had to install safety cameras. There are some constituents that live next to alleged drug houses. All stated they have reported the suspicious activity. Finally, the conditions of side streets and alleys are of great concern. Alleys consisting of major holes that get filled when it rains and streets needing to be paved cause hazards to those driving and walking-particularly near schools. 

The issues I foresee in the next two to three years would include lack of affordable and effective drug rehabilitative services, criminal activity in neighborhoods and quality education for students. 

Affordable housing is a major issue in Indianapolis. What measures should the council take to address this?

Each council member should research the district for which they represent to understand the demographics of the area to determine past, current and future housing needs. This information is vital to make the best regulations in the housing arena.  One important note is that not all landlords are bad, but we must ensure that landlords are following guidelines and providing housing that is in proper working order and not a detriment to families living in these rentals. In addition, different districts in Indianapolis will have varying needs and a one size all approach to fixing the problem is probably not the best way to combat the affordable housing issue.  

What is your top concern regarding public safety in Indianapolis? What steps will you take as a council member to address it?

My top concern regarding public safety is that we need more police officers on the streets in Indianapolis who will be supported by our mayor in fulfilling their job responsibilities. I was endorsed by the Indianapolis FOP #86 and I had a great discussion with the officers about ideas to recruit and retain police officers in Indianapolis. To combat this issue, I will meet with stakeholders, survey officers and work on ensuring that pay, health benefits, and ongoing training for officers are reviewed to make sure our officers in Indianapolis have the above at a level that is top in the state of Indianapolis. The keys to addressing these issues successfully include communication, education and unwavering support for our police officers who serve to protect our citizens of Indianapolis. 

What specific steps will you take to address environmental concerns in your district that affect your constituents’ quality of life and life expectancy?

Before any steps can be taken to address environmental concerns in my district, I will need to review past environmental assessments from the area to fully understand the environmental issues beyond the quality of drinking water.  My constituents deserve to have and should expect clean water, quality air to breathe and land free of chemicals for children to play. I will do what is needed to address environmental concerns in my district. 

What specific steps will you take to connect minority-owned businesses in Indianapolis with contracts for city projects? How else will you support growth opportunities for minority-owned businesses?

First, the city of Indianapolis needs to learn from other cities who are doing this successfully. In a 2017 article from Harvard Kennedy School titled “Improving Government Vendor Diversity,” Edelman and Azemati stated several improvements cities can make to improve in this area. The following is a few of these which I fully support our city implementing (or improving) to better the process and systems currently in place: prompt payment to vendors; simplify language on contractor registration page with single landing page; electronic submission of paperwork; break large projects into smaller projects to increase accessibility for small businesses; provide feedback to those not receiving the contracts on how to strengthen the submission for future applications.  

I want to understand our current process and how it has evolved over the years, which will help in guiding future success in this area. In addition, I want to be involved with the education and promotion of those minority-owned businesses to help them toward sustained success.  

What would you like to see happen for K-12 education in Indianapolis, and how would you work as a city-county councilor to achieve that?

This subject is very important to me as I am in the field of education currently as a principal and teacher.  I believe that education (along with police/fire protection) is the most important resource we have for our citizens. We need to raise teacher salaries, which will help to address the teacher shortage we are now facing. Conversations need to take place with state legislatures to support the current and future teachers in our state. Data sharing along with current teachers, students and parents presenting real life classroom situations to state legislatures needs to occur. Everyone needs to be reminded of the critical role teachers play in the future success of our state.  

JESSICA MCCORMICK

What are the top concerns that your district’s constituents have shared with you, and what are the issues that you foresee affecting them most in the next two to three years?  

Safer neighborhoods are absolutely one of the issues that I hear most from my neighbors, as well as affordable housing and access to jobs that offer fair wages.

Safer neighborhoods include streets, walkable sidewalks, and infrastructure. We cannot have safer neighborhoods without the support of law enforcement and emergency responders. We need to continue to support advancement in technology and staffing for first our responders. The City-County Council has provided funding to increase salaries for new and current first responders which has resulted in the hiring of 700 new officers.* But, we must also address the issue of retention.

Editor's note: Mayor Joe Hogsett has hired more than 700 officers since he took office in 2016, but from 2016 to 2022, IMPD lost close to 740 officers. In 2023, the department reported hiring 75 officers and losing 136 officers as of September's IMPD budget hearing. The department is currently looking to hire about 300 more officers to the force.

Equity and access for all to support housing and infrastructure. Not only do residents need good streets and sidewalks; but also access to public transportation, sidewalks, and trails. Housing prices are skyrocketing, leaving many residents with little to no safe, affordable options.

Quality education and workforce development opportunities are crucial for residents and business owners. We need to fill the current job openings and expand training for jobs of the future. Many high paying job opportunities will require training and investment. These jobs are needed to support residents and provide security for them and their families. Having residents trained and ready to fill these high paying jobs of today and the future will help attract business to our neighborhoods.

Any issues in our city and our neighborhoods cannot be improved with addressing just one issue. There needs to be comprehensive efforts to develop opportunities for improvement and advancement in our communities. We, as the city county council, need to not only work to improve our communities but to also be forward thinking, forward looking and make sure we are prepared to welcome new businesses and residents in the best way possible.

Affordable housing is a major issue in Indianapolis. What measures should the council take to address this?

As a member of the Metropolitan and Economic Development Committee I work with the administration and support affordable housing developments, encourage collaboration with external partners to make decisions that include all Indianapolis residents, especially vulnerable populations, and strive to be a good steward in fiscal spending of tax dollars. Last year, the council unanimously supported the 2023 Property Tax Relief for Marion County residents on their property tax bill.

I advocate for bringing strong, stable jobs to our communities on the west side. Steady employment will assist residents in accessing housing. But, in addition to good stable jobs that pay a livable salary there also needs affordable ways to access these jobs from the neighborhoods. One cannot just address affordable housing without addressing availability of transportation and access to food.

What is your top concern regarding public safety in Indianapolis? What steps will you take as a council member to address it?

My priority for public safety is reducing violent crime in our city with immediate and long term goals.

As councilor I voted to fully fund our police officers, firefighters and emergency services every year. I supported record investments in crime prevention including mental health crisis response teams. We are seeing a reduced crime rate of 15 percent* with my support of hiring more than 700 officers** and community-based policing and enacting policies that target violent crime. While we have hired more local law enforcement officers, retention of officers is still an issue that needs to be addressed. It will be important in the coming year to assure that the open line of communication between first responders and the City-County Council continues so that strategies can be developed to retain our trained officers.

*Editors’ note: The candidate said this 15% number was heard during a Public Safety and Criminal Justice council committee meeting. With some fluctuations, the number of criminal homicides has trended up in Indianapolis in recent years, with a spike after the pandemic. 

**Editors’ note: Mayor Joe Hogsett has hired more than 700 officers since he took office in 2016, but from 2016 to 2022, IMPD lost close to 740 officers. In 2023, the department reported hiring 75 officers and losing 136 officers as of September's IMPD budget hearing. The department is currently looking to hire about 300 more officers to the force.

I will continue working with stakeholders, using data-driven research and collaborating with subject matter experts in making decisions with short and long term impacts. We can expand on initiatives showing successful results and invest more in these strategies showing positive impact.

Safety in our community for residents, first responders, and law enforcement must be a priority at all times, including during runs and transport. That’s why I expressed interest and requested to join the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee in 2024.

What specific steps will you take to address environmental concerns in your district that affect your constituents’ quality of life and life expectancy? 

Three of my five committees have direct environmental impact for our residents: Environmental & Sustainability, Parks & Recreation, and Public Works. I will continue to lead efforts that increase funding for Speedway and west-side projects like sidewalks and multi-use paths. My work will continue with Indy’s largest investment into trails in our history, a once in a lifetime opportunity for our communities. Planning and development of the trailhead project, which began in 2021 with the purchase of a four-acre location, at the Eagle Creek and B&O Trails intersection. I have supported funding increases that have totaled $1.1 billion in infrastructure improvements in communities all over Marion County.* Improvements that work to fulfill the complete streets plan across our county, with multimodal transportation lanes that provide safe options for travel in our communities.

*Editors’ note: WFYI confirms the city has committed more than $1.1 billion over the next five years for infrastructure improvements.

What specific steps will you take to connect minority-owned businesses in Indianapolis with contracts for city projects? How else will you support growth opportunities for minority-owned businesses? 

On the Metropolitan Economic and Development Committee I see the successes and growth opportunities we’ve had connecting with minority-owned businesses. Equitable representation of minority, women, veteran and disabled certified businesses with the city benefits in multiple ways throughout our community. Information campaigns and community event participation has shown to be a good strategy in educating minority-owned businesses on the process of becoming a certified business for city projects. We also see a disparity between supply and demand for minority-owned businesses.

Expanding community awareness programs across the county, in every township, is one way to address this gap. I also encourage continuous improvement in programming based on data driven review and decisions. It is important to connect prospective entrepreneurs with current minority-owned businesses. The saying “if you can see it you can be it” is so important. We need to continue to support initiatives to help current and future minority-owned business with training and funding.

What would you like to see happen for K-12 education in Indianapolis, and how would you work as a city-county councilor to achieve that? 

With little oversight on K-12 at the municipal level I use my experience as an educator to collaborate with all stakeholders to ensure Indianapolis’s youngest residents receive the education they deserve. I will continue to use my voice at the statehouse advocating for data driven legislation that benefits our schools, teachers, and students.

As a member of the Education Committee, I am a champion for quality education programs where our children are prepared for work, college, and vocational programs. I also support and promote adult education opportunities and re-entry programs so all our residents can fulfill their potential.