Council OKs Merkley as director of city’s Office of Public Health and Safety

Councilors voted overwhelmingly Monday to approve Mayor Joe Hogsett’s appointment of Andrew Merkley to lead the Indianapolis Office of Public Health and Safety despite concerns about the performance of his current office.

Merkley is the Office of Public Health and Safety’s administrator for the Division of Homelessness Policy and Eviction Prevention. Some city shelter residents and advocates previously spoke against his promotion due to the city’s handling of winter shelter overflow, which one speaker called an “abject failure.” However, city officials told IBJ that organizers used limited resources to the best of their ability and are working to make improvements for next winter.

On Monday, Democratic Councilor Jesse Brown was the sole “no” vote against Merkley’s promotion. He asked his colleagues if they could return the measure to the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee, in part due to a lengthy list of questions from a small homelessness nonprofit given to councilors. Council President Vop Osili opted to move forward with the vote, given that councilors had already motioned to approve and seconded the motion.

The remaining 23 councilors present at the meeting voted in favor of promoting Merkley, who has worked for the office since 2020. Merkley led the city’s pandemic shelter at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, established the Tenant Advocacy Project, and has guided work toward the city’s planned low-barrier shelter, according to a city press release.

Councilors on the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee unanimously recommended Merkley’s promotion on April 16. At that meeting, several councilors expressed their frustration with systemic factors—not Merkley himself—while addressing residents in attendance.

“You should not have been exposed or had to go through that,” Democratic Councilor Dan Boots said at that meeting. “I do not blame Andrew Merkley for that. I blame our system, I blame our state that has clearly underfunded mental health and has yanked the rug from beneath our local communities.” 

Along with homelessness policy, the Office of Public Health and Safety is tasked with executing the administration’s goals on violence reduction, food security, and the re-entry of incarcerated individuals.

Before he joined the office, Merkley worked for the Indiana State Senate and U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly’s office. He has a bachelor’s degree in biology and political science and a master’s degree in public health, according to the presentation he gave to councilors in April.

He succeeds former director Martine Romy Bernard-Tucker, who resigned in December.