South Bend councilor Henry Davis Jr. plans to challenge incumbent mayor this May

Jordan Smith, South Bend Tribune
·3 min read
Henry Davis Jr. is in his third term representing the 2nd District on the South Bend Common Council. This will be his second mayoral campaign.
Henry Davis Jr. is in his third term representing the 2nd District on the South Bend Common Council. This will be his second mayoral campaign.

SOUTH BEND — A Democratic city councilor who lost a mayoral race in 2015 says he intends to challenge incumbent South Bend Mayor James Mueller in May's primary election.

Henry Davis Jr., who represents much of the West side and the near South side on the South Bend Common Council, said he plans to file Monday to run for mayor. Nearing the end of his third term as a councilor, Davis, 43, was first elected to represent the 2nd District in 2007.

He spent four years off the Council after he ran for mayor in 2015. That year he lost the primary by a large margin to incumbent Pete Buttigieg, who eventually cruised to a second term with 80% of the vote.

Davis said he's motivated to run again by residents who come to him with everyday concerns about high crime, a lack of affordable housing and an underperforming public school system, among other issues. His vision as mayor would be to focus on resolving those baseline issues in order to attract more people and businesses to South Bend.

“There’s no reason for us to be downtown," Davis said of himself and his fellow public officials, "in an elected capacity if we’re not going to respond to people’s fear for (their) safety, if we’re not providing an opportunity for children to live and grow here, if we’re not providing housing for the children to live and grow in.”

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Davis is the third person to enter the mayor's race. Mueller announced his reelection bid in mid-November, while Republican Desmont Upchurch said this week that he plans to run. A Republican hasn't won the office of South Bend mayor since 1967.

In 2015, Davis criticized Buttigieg for initiatives like "1,000 Houses in 1,000 Days," a neighborhood revitalization program that targeted blighted and abandoned homes found mostly on the city's west side. The program impacted 1,122 houses, with about three of every five homes being demolished while the rest were repaired.

Since then, Davis earned his Master of Business Administration from Bethel University. He said it's helped him to understand how public investment can encourage growth in a city's private sector.

As mayor, Davis said he would reevaluate how city entities like the South Bend Redevelopment Commission spend taxpayer money to support private investment. He believes areas east of the river, closer to the University of Notre Dame, have benefited at the expense of the majority of the city.

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Davis also frequently argues with his fellow Council members about the legislative process and what he feels is a lackluster legislative output.

"If we’re only pushing out one change to improve quality of life one time per year, nine members," Davis said of the Common Council, "then I can’t say that the public is getting their money’s worth.”

He grew up in South Bend. He graduated from LaSalle High School in 1997 and attended Earlham College, where he earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts. He lives near LaSalle Park with his wife and their son.

Contact South Bend Tribune city reporter Jordan Smith at 574-235-6480 or JTsmith@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend mayors race gains new candidate councilor Henry Davis Jr.