Ali Brown elected vice president of Indianapolis City-County Council

Ali Brown, a Democratic councilor since 2019, was elected by fellow members of the City-County Council on Monday to become the vice president of Indianapolis’ legislative body.

Brown’s elevation to the role was among several house-keeping agenda items for the council’s first meeting of 2024, which included the formal introduction of seven new councilors—one Republican and six Democrats.

Brown, who represents District 10 in the northeast corner of Marion County, replaces Zach Adamson in the role of second in command. Adamson, the former representative of District 17, was ousted in the 2023 Democratic primary.

On the council, Brown has authored proposals that promote accessibility. In 2020, she launched the Indy Autism Project with the goal of making Indianapolis the “safest city in the country” for those with autism spectrum disorder, which causes impairments in behavior and social interactions. She authored a measure two years later that provided funding to implement closed captioning on city programming.

Brown has publicly opposed the state’s near-ban on abortion, which the Indiana Legislature’s Republican supermajority passed in 2022.

She was also part of the four-member, openly LGBTQ caucus of the council, which previously included councilors Adamson, Ethan Evans and Keith Potts. The Indianapolis Star reported in 2019 that Brown, who is bisexual, was targeted for her sexuality in an ad from her Republican opponent.

The remaining council office elections on Monday were uneventful. Democrat Vop Osili will continue as the city’s top legislative leader, a role he’s held since 2018. Republican Minority Leader Brian Mowery and Democratic Majority Leader Maggie Lewis both retained their roles after their respective caucus votes. Yulonda Winfield, the council clerk, will stay in her role.

There are now 19 Democrats and six Republicans on the council.