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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA welcome turn of events came this week as Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett agreed to debate Republican challenger Jefferson Shreve in two televised events.
For a time, it looked as though no debates were on the horizon, especially as word emerged earlier this summer that Hogsett would somehow manage to bypass the typical mayoral-debate format offered at the Indy Chamber’s HobNob event.
Shreve put the blame for the change in format squarely on Hogsett. Instead of debating, each candidate was offered a chance to give a separate, 10-minute speech.
“Until this year, the HobNob was the signature mayoral debate in Indianapolis,” Shreve said. “And this change was made not at my behest—I would love to be standing alongside our mayor—but this is the ground rule that he set for this conversation.”
The event’s sponsor declined to comment on the negotiations. Hogsett’s campaign pledged immediately after HobNob that debates were in the works and that any perceived delay was due to negotiations over debate formats.
The campaign made good on that pledge Tuesday when it announced that Hogsett and Shreve have agreed to two televised debates this fall.
The first, hosted by WISH-TV Channel 8, will be Oct. 23 at 6 p.m. It will be an hour long and shown on both the TV station and its website. Fox affiliate WXIN-TV Channel 59 has not released a date for its debate.
It’s a shame the HobNob was not able to continue its tradition of offering a formal debate this year. After all, that’s where Hogsett debated his first two Republican mayoral challengers, Chuck Brewer in 2015 and Jim Merritt in 2019.
Instead, the HobNob mayoral appearances were mostly reduced to the same talking points we’ve heard throughout the campaign, especially when it comes to public safety.
Shreve branched out a bit, saying he sees great growth opportunities for the city in the split of IUPUI and through the federal CHIPS Act, which could bring a computer chip plant to Indiana.
Hogsett emphasized investment in Indianapolis during his first two terms as mayor, particularly the new Indiana University Health campus, the Bottleworks District expansion and the Elanco Animal Health headquarters.
But what we need to hear from both candidates—and what our editorial board has been calling for since the outset of this election cycle—is a grand new vision for the city that rivals its long-successful sports strategy.
That strategy has served the city well for decades, drawing the Super Bowl, the College Football Playoff National Championship and numerous NCAA Final Fours. But we can’t depend on that alone to sustain downtown and lift it to the next level.
What’s going to fill all the empty storefronts and office space left vacant since the pandemic? What should be the long-term plan for Monument Circle? What should happen with Circle Centre Mall? What’s the plan for drawing more high-paying jobs?
All these questions and more should be answered with a grand strategy that the candidates for mayor lay out soon.•
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Jefferson Shrieve needs to get one question answered. Where was Mayor Hogsett during the Summer of Love riot in downtown Indianapolis?