Indy residents offer advice for new mayor

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Joe Hogsett will be sworn in Friday as mayor, and the people of the Indianapolis already have some advice for him.

“I’d like to see the economy pick up a bit,” Geraldine Reed said.

“Listen to your constituents,” Michael Griffiths said.

“Don’t be partisan,” Rev. Charles Harrison said.

Both Griffiths and Harrison have the same request: find a way to reduce crime.

Hogsett will take office just days after the city’s 144th criminal homicide of the year. That’s the highest number of criminal homicides recorded in the city’s history.

It’s a record Harrison hopes the city never breaks again.

“It’s very disappointing,” he said. Harrison works to combat local crime with the Ten Point Coalition.

“We have to do a better job of working with neighborhood and community groups in these high-crime areas,” Harrison said.

Hogsett has promised to crack down on crime and blight in inner city neighborhoods. It’s a promise Harrison hopes he keeps.

Harrison and other locals are praising recent downtown developments, but Reed said there’s still room for improvement.

“I think everything is really great here, other than if you’re in the bottom half of the middle class,” Reed said. “It’s been a very difficult year for you.”

From the sanctuary of his church, Rev. Harrison is praying that the city can fix its problems together.

“If he includes all of the community, I think he’s going to be a successful mayor,” Harrison said.

Hogsett will be sworn in Friday at noon at the Hilbert Circle Theater.