Editorial: It’s time for the next generation of city leaders to take over

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett told IBJ this week that he will announce after the November election whether he’ll seek a fourth term as mayor. We urge him not to run.

Already, three Democrats have said they plan to run for mayor in 2027: state Sen. Andrea Hunley, City-County Councilor Vop Osili and Department of Public Works administrator David Bride. And a fourth — Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears — is believed to be seriously considering a run.

All four have experience that makes them qualified to seek the job This not a scenario in which no one is stepping up to run.

So while we can appreciate that Hogsett might believe there’s more he could do, we would urge him to let someone else give it a go.

Stepping away at the end of this term means leaving not long after the Signia hotel and Indiana Convention Center expansion open. That’s a project the Hogsett administration helped save from failure after the company given the job initially couldn’t get the financing to make it happen.

Hogsett would be leaving just as an overhaul of the former Circle Centre Mall gets underway, a deal his team helped broker with Hendricks Commercial Properties, the Wisconsin-based development group behind Mass Ave’s Bottleworks District.

And he can take credit for creating an economic development agency that divorces the city from reliance on Indy Chamber for the work.

But maybe it’s time to let someone else take a shot at finishing the work on the City Market block, where a project chosen by the Hogsett administration has struggled. And at Old City Hall, where the Hogsett team is searching for a new deal after it had to essentially revoke a deal it had given to a developer that couldn’t secure the financing.

And maybe a different mayor could set a fresh vision for the city.

Overall, we believe it’s time for a change.

Regardless, we think it’s time for the mayor to say now whether he intends to run again. He disagrees. In fact, he told IBJ it is a disservice to candidates running for county, state and federal offices in 2026 to be talking about the 2027 mayor’s race.

He said announcing in mid-November “provides the people of Indianapolis with an entire full year of opportunity to make decisions and judgments as it relates to who they want to see to lead this city into the future.”

But that’s not really true. The Democratic primary is in May. And all the candidates we discussed above — the senator, city-county councilor, agency administrator and prosecutor — would be in that primary. And unless a strong Republican stands up soon, the race could very well be decided then.

That’s six months after this year’s election and less than eight months from today. That’s not too long to be discussing who should next lead our city.

Mayor Hogsett, we urge you to be satisfied with your 12 years as mayor and let the next generation of leaders take over.•

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