2 Indianapolis Democrats vying for new District 14 council seat on east side

At least two Democrats are vying for the council seat representing the new District 14 on the east side of Indianapolis.

Political newcomer Andy Nielsen, a senior policy analyst at the Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute, announced his candidacy this week. He faces councilor David Ray, who said he will seek a third term.

The new District 14 features Irvington and stretches all the way to the far east side along Mitthoeffer Road, a primarily Democratic area.

It's one of three districts in which two sitting Democratic city councilors were drawn into the same area: city-county councilor Jason Larrison was drawn into the new District 14 with Ray, but said he will not seek reelection.

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Nielsen, who has lived in Irvington four years with his wife, serves as treasurer of the Irvington Development Organization. The nonprofit assists with economic development and housing in the area.

"I had some neighbors who were encouraging me to look at running," Nielsen said. "And after some further consideration, I believe I would be a good candidate and would be a good city councilor."

Nielsen said he wants to focus on making the area's streets and sidewalks safer — concerns over Irvington's pedestrian safety increased after a 7-year-old girl was killed crossing the street last year.

"We do so by improving, filling potholes as soon as they appear," he said. "But that's also about adapting traffic patterns to meet the actual flows that are moving through our neighborhood."

Nielsen also wants to focus on affordable housing and the opportunities arising from the incoming rapid bus transit Blue Line planned along Washington Street.

"We need to take the lessons learned from when the Red Line was going in and say, 'There was an impact on small businesses, so what are we going to do to help them out?'" he said.

Sitting councilor Ray, meanwhile, said he plans to run for his third term.

Ray, first elected to the council in 2015, has been a relatively quiet member of the council — he said he spends a lot of his time working out constituent concerns and other questions prior to the council's lengthy meetings.

"I'm not using the city council position to catapult me into larger and bigger things, I think this is my calling," he said. "This is as far as I'm going to go."

Ray was born and raised in Irvington and graduated from Scecina Memorial High School — where his eldest son recently graduated last week.

He adds a solid union presence to the council, having worked in an administrative role with the local International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union since 2007.

During his time on the council, Ray noted, the city has funded the area's Pennsy Trail and the council passed a responsible bidder ordinance to prevent bad-acting contractors from winning public bids.

Looking ahead, Ray said he wants to focus on public safety, infrastructure and the area's promising economic development that could come in parallel with the Blue Line.

"There's going to be a lot of opportunities for development, and having conversations with downtown, having conversations with developers," he said.

City-county council elections are in 2023.

Call IndyStar reporter Amelia Pak-Harvey at 317-444-6175 or email her at apakharvey@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmeliaPakHarvey.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis Democrats vying for new District 14 council in Irvington