Zionsville Mayor Haak to seek re-election in 2019

Zionsville Mayor Tim Haak isn’t done with politics in his Boone County community just yet.

The first-term Republican mayor announced late Wednesday he’s running to be re-elected in 2019.

Haak is Zionsville’s first elected mayor after winning an election in November 2015.  He took office Jan. 1, 2016.

In November 2014, Zionsville residents approved a plan to merge with Perry Township, which allowed the town to restructure its government and add a mayor. Previously, the town’s part-time council president acted as the city’s top executive.

Former town council member Jeff Papa served as the town’s first mayor, taking office in June 2015 amid a legal battle between the town and Whitestown about whether the merger was legal, but did not run in the 2015 election.

Haak previously was a member of the town council and worked for the Indiana Economic Development Corp.

If elected to a second term, Haak said he plans to focus on infrastructure and park improvements, economic growth and development, and quality-of-life initiatives.

He said his first two years in office have focused on critical infrastructure projects that have improved roads, sidewalks, traffic and pedestrian flow.

His other accomplishments include achieving a tax ratio that’s 80 percent residential and 20 percent commercial, a goal first set by the town council 10 years ago; implementing an updated smoking ban in the town’s public spaces; and assigning a sworn-in Zionsville police officers to each of the town’s public schools.

Haak has lived in Zionsville since he was a boy, and said being mayor is the best job he’s ever had.

“It’s been rewarding to see the progress that has been made—including significant economic development—while at the same time seeing Zionsville residents continue to take pride in our history,” Haak said in written comments.

Primary election day is set for May 7, 2019.