Meet the candidates for City-County Council District 17

Two candidates are running for Indianapolis City-County Council District 17: Democratic incumbent Jared Evans and Republican candidate Lisa Schmitz. Evans is an incumbent council member representing District 22. Due to redistricting, he is running for District 17 – on the west side of Marion County.

Evans, 39, joined the Indianapolis City-County Council in 2016, and he serves on the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee, Metropolitan and Economic Development Committee and Municipal Corporations Committee. 

Lisa Schmitz, 60,  has worked as a human resources consultant and leadership coach, including roles at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Galyans. She also co-founded the Mars Hill Art Center and owns a small full-service flower design shop. 

WFYI and the Indianapolis Recorder 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. 

JARED EVANS

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? 

Most residents voice concerns about infrastructure issues, wanting their neighborhood street repaved, sidewalk connectivity, trails, or stormwater flooding issues. I believe we’ll need to continue to increase investment in our roads, sidewalk connectivity and focus on new strategies for revitalizing areas such as West Washington Street.

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

We need to examine areas that can be major hurdles for developers such as zoning, permit delays, financing tools and look at how public-private partnerships can increase housing development. At the end of the day, not meeting demand is exacerbating cost on residents. I also believe we should look at creating a new municipal corporation focused on housing in our city as well as having a more hands on approach with the Indianapolis Housing Agency.

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

The top concern at this point is making sure we have enough officers to police our neighborhoods and communities across the city.* We have made great progress in technology, which allows us to focus on problem areas and micro-target our resources. And with the investment in license plate readers and cameras, we’re able to utilize this evidence-based technology to convict criminals. The council further needs to become more vocal about the criminal justice system which is allowing repeat offenders and violent criminals to go through the revolving door and back on the streets to commit more criminals. I will fight to make sure our police department is funded and with the resources IMPD needs. Continue to advocate to address root causes, food insecurity, public education, housing issues and much more.

*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.

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

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management is the state agency dedicated to addressing pollution controls, so as a local elected official it is imperative to work with our state legislature on issues impacting our residents. As the city-county councilor I have focused on improving parks, increasing the city’s budget for green space purchases and building out trail connectivity to give residents access to green spaces, parks, business nodes and the ability to live a healthier lifestyle.

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? 

Work with our development teams to host workshops for minority-owned businesses to help them apply for contracts and promote them. Work with the Office of Minority and Women Business Development to help promote new business development in fields that we identify needing more minority companies to be able to apply and to help them get certified.

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? 

While the state has the majority of control over K-12 issues, I do believe we should focus on improving our public schools and close failing charter schools that are funneling public tax payer dollars away from public neighborhood schools. 

LISA SCHMITZ

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?

Infrastructure (roads and sidewalks) – homelessness – abandoned homes/squatters are the biggest issues with residents right now. In the next two to three years I see that the issues will be the same unless we get city officials to put plans together in the next 12 months to address these things. It will take time to see results on any plans that tackle these problems.

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

Council should look at ways to increase rental assistance, land use for housing, and reuse of existing structures for multi-family housing. Furthermore, permitting and building red tape in Indianapolis is a cumbersome and costly burden to home building and homeowners who are remodeling.* If we improve these processes, we can cut down on housing costs.

Editors’ note on permitting obstacles: The Department of Business and Neighborhood Services, DBNS, has been attempting to streamline the permitting process. Residents have reported issues with the Department of Metropolitan Development and DBNS. Candidates point to problems that include staffing and bureaucratic inefficiencies. Watch the budget hearings for the DBNS and Metropolitan and Economic Development Committee here.

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

A top concern is lack of support for IMPD. They need updated training facilities, policies that support recruitment and retention, and public support from city leadership. Also, we need to do a better job investing in and addressing root causes for many safety problems across our county. Lastly, we need to invest more in mental healthcare and other human services for officers as well as our neighbors.

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

The environmental concerns in District 17 are the floodplain issue, and the lack of infrastructure surrounding sewage and moving standing water from roadways that creates a lack of safe travel within the district. I will work on any initiatives that address these things to improve the quality of life for our residents. I believe that strong environmental policy can mean strong economic development.

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? 

I will work with local nonprofits to connect diverse small locally-owned businesses to the right channels within the city to bid on city contracts. I will also work to create events that bring diverse small businesses together to bring awareness of their organizations, help them connect with one another, and also connect with city leadership to develop relationships that support strong growth within our diverse small business population.

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?

We need to focus on teacher development, policies and benefits that attract good talent, higher pay, and supporting family involvement. I will work to promote strong public education opportunities. A good education is foundational to opportunity, and I will do everything I can to make sure all residents of Marion County have good educational opportunities.