Ask the Mayor
About
A weekly program where mayors from Bloomington, Columbus, and Terre Haute answer questions about your community. We also delve into new and long-term city topics.
The show airs on WFIU on Wednesday mornings at 6:45 AM and 8:45 AM
- First Wednesday of the month: Columbus Mayor Mary Ferdon (R)
- Second Wednesday of the month: Terre Haute Mayor Brandon Sakbun (D)
- Third Wednesday of the month: Bloomington Mayor Kerry Thomson (D)
Submit a question or comment to news@indianapublicmedia.org and follow us on X: @AskTheMayor
Joe Hren
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WFIU/WTIU News
Sakbun on reelection: "I do plan to make a more formal announcement in November. I do plan on running again in 2027 and look forward to winning the mayor's office again."
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Thomson on police headquarters proposal: "This is not meant to signal an excessive growth in police force here in Bloomington. We actually are underhoused right now."
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"What people forget is we've got nine city council members and then myself and my staff, and so we're going to have different priorities at times." - Ferdon on budget hearings -
"I fully intend to run. I'm really staying out of that conversation until after the midterms, we have other people running for really important seats, and I think it's important that we support those folks." - Thomson on running for reelection -
"Housing is definitely a challenge... but I'd put them as a top three priority. Housing, for sure, as we just discussed, but also public education." — Sakbun on Terre Haute's continued growth -
"Seminary Pointe is not in our ownership, and while I have laid out pathways to get some of those units preserved, which of course is a priority, the CIB it appears is not interested." - Thomson on land swap for convention hotel -
"The bulk of our improvements we believe that the business community can afford, and so their rate will be anywhere from $10 or $30 per month." - Mayor Sakbun on water rate hike -
"We're in the middle of our Columbus Downtown 2030 plan implementation. So, this will be a huge asset when it's completed and will help draw people to this side of the river." - Mayor Ferdon on the riverfront amphitheater -
"I decided I wasn't going to make a decision about whether to veto this or not until I heard thoroughly from the public. We have gotten a lot of outreach about carless Kirkwood." - Mayor Kerry Thomson -
"Why would we only target just seniors and just people who can afford to not have a mortgage? That's not really doing anything for our community's most vulnerable." - Sakbun on Gov. Braun's plan for property tax breaks. -
"Our major food bank, called the Love Chapel, over the past couple of years, has seen a significant increase in the number of people who are requesting help." - Ferdon on residents dealing with increased costs -
"I think Hopewell was a perfect example of it's really difficult to build in Bloomington. I was getting calls from developers during that process, saying, if the city can't get this through, who can?" - Thomson on building audits
