Fishers councilor Cox kicking off mayoral run

Fishers Town Council member Renee Cox is set to kick off her mayoral campaign Saturday, formally announcing her candidacy after months of speculation.

Cox, 42, is serving her first term on the seven-member council, which acts as the fast-growing suburb’s executive and legislative bodies. An appointed town manager runs day-to-day affairs.

Renee Cox

But residents voted last year to turn the town of 80,000 into a second-class city with an elected mayor and nine-member city council. In May, they’ll return to the polls to choose partisan candidates for mayor, council and city clerk.

The general election will follow in November, but primary battles can be heated in the overwhelmingly Republican community.

Former Town Council President Walt Kelly was the first to enter the race, in July. Town Manager Scott Fadness has said he’s considering a run but has not announced a decision yet.

Cox, a self-employed health care professional, said she is enjoying her part-time council role but wants to make a bigger impact on her adopted hometown. She and husband David moved to Fishers from Connersville in 2005.

If elected, she plans to call on her sales and marketing experience—her resume includes stints at Omnicare Inc. and Grandview Pharmacy—to sell Fishers to businesses and residents alike.

“We have highly educated and talented residents here in Fishers and a quality of life that is not commonly found,” she said in a prepared statement. “Companies throughout the country may find a new ‘home’ in Fishers … and I will seek them out and bring them here.”

Cox is vice president of the Hoosier Heritage Port Authority, which owns and maintains 37 miles of railroad from Tipton to downtown Indianapolis, and serves as the council’s representative to Fishers’ Parks and Recreation Committee.

Before joining the council, Cox served one year on the Fall Creek Township board as its president.