Meet the candidate for City-County Council District 7

Democrat and incumbent John Barth, 55, is running unopposed for Indianapolis City-County Council District 7. This Northside Indianapolis district includes Butler-Tarkington and parts of Meridian Kessler.

Barth will continue as its representative Jan. 1, 2024. He previously served on the council from 2011 to 2015 as the at-large Democratic member. He was elected to represent District 7 in 2019.  

*Editors' note: An earlier version of this story said that Barth was on the Executive Committee for Indy Reads. He previously served on the board for Indy Reads. 

WFYI and the Indianapolis Recorder sent Barth six survey questions to help voters learn about his goals. The answers are below.

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 opened Oct. 11. Election Day is Nov. 7.

JOHN BARTH

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? 

Public safety is my top priority. To that end, I supported the $150 million investment in public safety. Bike and pedestrian safety/infrastructure investments are critical and I authored and passed the city’s first and expanded ‘complete streets’ ordinance. Finally, a focus on improving the environment and investing in urban forests: I proposed, passed, and chaired the city’s first ever standing committee on environmental sustainability. To date, the committee has reviewed and proposed new approaches for green funding and expanding recycling.

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

I support the city taking a comprehensive approach to address affordable housing. For example, the city’s Housing to Recovery Initiative, in collaboration with CICF and CHIP, is using a housing-first approach to help deal with the immediate issue of housing first, and then connect people with needed physical and mental health services, job training and other supports.

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

Public safety is my top priority. Our city must be a safe city in every zip code, in every neighborhood. To that end, I supported the $150 million investment in public safety that includes both new officer resources and technology investments such as license plate readers. I also championed a mental health pilot project to test clinician-led responses to mental health crisis calls. Finally, in response to concerns from my constituents about dangerous driving and increased accidents, I pursued and won overtime dollars in the IMPD budget to boost enforcement efforts to address reckless driving.

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

I have consistently been a voice on the council for expanding our recycling program to be a curb-side, county-wide program. Beyond recycling, I continue to advocate for our program to include an option for composting. As chair of the council’s Committee on Environmental Sustainability, I recently held hearings on our recycling program and options for improvement as well as how to expand access to greenspace.

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?

This is an important issue and, across my years on the council, I have been an advocate for minority-owned businesses. I am especially focused on expanding the number of minority-owned businesses that contract with the city – I’d like to see more entrepreneurs have the opportunity to build their businesses. 

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?

According to the most recent ILEARN scores (2023), Indiana students are falling behind on reading. To address this issue, I think the city can do more to support schools in identifying new teachers we can attract to work in Indianapolis (where we face a staffing crisis with over 200 teaching vacancies in IPS schools) and to retain existing teachers. In the past I offered a proposal that would support teachers in buying a home in Indianapolis, and I think the council must continue to find ways to collaborate with the IPS and township school boards.