Bart Peterson to Indy Citizens September 1999

Peterson's words...truth or lies...you decide.

A Letter from Bart Peterson to the City of Indianapolis
September 1, 1999

Dear Fellow Citizen:
When I announced my candidacy, I stated that I wanted to help make Indianapolis a world-class city - that is, the best place in the country to live and work and raise our families. At the same time, I knew a lot of hard work would be required to make a great place such as Indianapolis even better. Well-developed, workable policies on everything from crime to education to our neighborhoods would be necessary foundations for such an ambitious goal. My experience as a businessman has taught me that these policies couldn't be created piecemeal, but would have to fit together to form a coherent strategy for Indianapolis's development.

Because I believe you deserve to know what I will do if I am elected Mayor, I am submitting this plan and the proposals it contains to you. My proposals will reduce crime, improve education, and build better neighborhoods. Yet it is misleading to suggest that these are simply "my" proposals. Rather than drafting this plan at the outset of my campaign, I wanted to hear first from Indianapolis's greatest resource: its citizens. So I have listened to individuals from every corner of our City and every walk of life as they have shared with me their vision for a greater Indianapolis. This plan is the product of those many conversations; Indianapolis citizens are the true authors of this plan. I will continue to listen to you as, together, we work to achieve the goals in this plan.

The proposals in my plan are designed to confront problems head on. Rather than waiting for the drug epidemic to spend itself out, we will combat drugs and violent crime with increased resources and zero tolerance for drug dealers and violent criminals. Rather than complaining about shortcomings in public schools, we will focus our attention on the current programs that effectively educate students and work hard to develop new programs to ensure that our public schools are world class. Rather than maintaining status quo services to neighborhoods, we will provide resources to enhance neighborhoods as livable communities by improving services, enforcing zoning and health and safety codes, improving public transportation, supporting the arts, and creating economic development opportunities that benefit all citizens.

Implementing the proposals in this plan will require action and leadership; implementing the proposals in this plan, however, will not require a tax increase. With my experience as a businessman, I can accomplish what I have proposed in this plan and I can do it within a budget. From the outset, I have called for an election contest based on proposals, not politics. By putting together this plan, I have set forth the objectives that I will focus on as Mayor to make the great City of Indianapolis even better.

Sincerely,
Bart Peterson

PETERSON PLAN I SUMMARY