Sandberg to run for Bloomington mayor, setting up potential primary challenge for Hamilton

Bloomington City Council President Susan Sandberg said she plans to run for mayor — even if that means challenging the incumbent, John Hamilton.

Sandberg said she has not made a final decision on a run, but said Monday she is “fairly sure” she will, primarily because of public sentiment.

“Many people have been approaching me for quite a while now,” she said.

The 70-year-old former social worker and Indiana University employee said Bloomington residents have increasingly asked her to run, which prompted her to question whether she should run for another council term or accept a new challenge.

“I think the time is now to do that,” she said.

'Open revolt:' Bloomington City Council threatens to reject mayor's budget plan

“When you start to feel that there’s a sense from the community that they’re eager to see some change, you pay attention to that,” Sandberg said.

Hamilton has not yet said whether he plans to seek another term. A spokesman said the mayor is focusing on city business and will not make any election-related announcements until after the fall election.

Sandberg has served on the council since 2007. She is one of three at-large members who are elected by all voters in the city. All other council members represent only parts of the city.

In the last year, Sandberg and Hamilton have clashed on consequential issues, from annexation to housing and public safety.

During last year’s budget negotiations, Sandberg and others pushed the mayor to increase police salaries, as the Bloomington Police Department had been losing officers to the private sector and other departments at an unusually high clip, at least in part because of compensation. Some council members criticized Hamilton’s response to the problem as inadequate and threatened to reject his budget proposal.

Recruit, train, retain: Bloomington struggles with police officer staffing, pay raises

The Hamilton administration responded by providing $5,000 in police officer retention bonuses spread over five quarters. Hamilton also opened contract negotiations with the police union a year early and has since reached an agreement that would increase the salary of a police officer with one year of experience by 13% beginning Jan. 1, 2023.

Sandberg and other council members also curbed the Hamilton administration’s proposal for more duplexes in city neighborhoods traditionally zoned for single-family homes. The proposal prompted weeks of contentious debate that sometimes deteriorated into accusations of classism, racism and ageism.

More: City council gives final OK to zoning changes, more duplexes

At the conclusion of another series of contentious meetings, Sandberg was among three council members who rejected the mayor’s annexation proposal, though it was approved, with minor changes, by a six-member council majority.

Sandberg said the administration should have taken more time to build consensus on annexation and to work harder to make the city the kind of place people want to be annexed into.

The Hamilton administration's proposal was rejected by a majority of the roughly 14,300 residents the mayor hoped to fold into the city. However, the outcome of the annexation proposal is unclear. Two lawsuits — one filed by the city and one filed against the city — are pending.

City of Bloomington: Annexation opponents failed to collect enough signatures

Sandberg said she did not yet know whether she would continue to fight the court cases if she were elected mayor.

“It all depends on the legal landscape,” she said, though she added, “There is some merit to some of those lawsuits.”

Sandberg said she is not focusing her campaign on opponents but on convincing people they should vote for her. She said she prefers a collaborative approach among constituents, fellow city council members and county colleagues. She also said she believes in civil discourse, acting with fiscal responsibility, focusing on essential city services and seeking community input, listening and absorbing before proposing policies.

“I’m not going to change,” she said.

Sandberg was born in Brazil, Indiana, to parents who were both teachers. She grew up primarily in Bloomfield, attended Indiana University in the 1970s to pursue a bachelor's degree in speech and theater, spent some time in Chicago and returned to Bloomington with family in the 1990s to finish her bachelor's with a new major, psychology.

She did social work for years and worked for Head Start and Child Protective Services in Greene and Monroe counties, as well as for a foster care agency. She returned to her alma mater to work in arts administration and career counseling before retiring about 18 months ago. Sandberg is single and has an adult daughter who lives in Oklahoma.

If both Sandberg and Hamilton file to seek the office of mayor, they would face each other — and potentially other candidates — in the Democratic Party primary in May 2023. The general election will be in the fall of that year. The mayor’s new term will begin in January 2024.

Sandberg has formed an exploratory committee and said she is working on a campaign website. In the meantime, supporters can contact her at facebook.com/susan.sandberg.

CORRECTION: This story was updated to correct Sandberg's age.

Boris Ladwig is the city government reporter for The Herald-Times. Contact him at bladwig@heraldt.com.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Bloomington mayor likely to get primary challenge from council leader