IndyPolitics.Org

Indianapolis City-County Councilor Michael-Paul Hart is defending his opposition to a recently approved wheel tax increase, arguing city leaders failed to seriously pursue spending cuts or accountability measures before asking residents to pay more. In an interview reviewing a busy week at the City-County Building, the Republican councilor from District 20 said constituent feedback and structural concerns with the proposal led him to vote against the measure, which passed the council 14–10.

Indianapolis City-County Council President Maggie A. Lewis says she will introduce an amendment establishing a moratorium on the approval of new data centers when the Council’s Metropolitan and Economic Development Committee takes up the city’s proposed data center zoning framework Monday.

by Abdul-Hakim Shabazz, Esq. Full disclosure, which is rather the point of a disclosure: Greg Ballard and I have known each other for 20 years. He was at my wedding. So when I read that Greg had single-handedly exposed a fatal flaw in Indiana’s ballot-access laws, my first reaction was that Greg has never done anything single-handedly in his life without at least three people telling him first that it was a bad idea.

by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz, Indiana Capital Chronicle July 9, 2026 The total price tag for Gov. Mike Braun’s gas tax holiday is in: the state of Indiana and hundreds of local governments are expected to lose out on a combined $533 million, with the impacts felt through October. That also means motorists saved that much money at the pump.

What’s the difference between a Republican and a Libertarian? If you’re Steve Whitmer, not much. Whitmer isn’t only the chairman of the Libertarian Party of Marion County — he’s also an elected Republican precinct committeeman. And later this month, the county’s Libertarians plan to convene to decide whether to remove him.

by Abdul-Hakim Shabazz, Esq. Everyone arguing about the Indianapolis wheel tax — for it, against it, veto-curious — has been repeating the same claim: state law says the city’s road-funding match must come entirely from “new revenue,” so reshuffling existing dollars is off the table, forever. I finally sat down and read the enrolled version of Senate Enrolled Act 179. And here’s the thing: that claim is true for exactly one year. Bear with me, because I promise this pays off.

The Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor is asking state regulators to reconsider their decision granting AES Indiana a $71 million rate increase, arguing the Commission got it wrong on everything from shareholder profits to who should pay the utility’s lawyers. The OUCC filed its petition for rehearing and reconsideration Tuesday with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, challenging the Commission’s June 17 order in the utility’s second base rate case since 2023.

While Mayor Joe Hogsett weighs whether to sign or veto Proposal 192, the wheel tax measure the City-County Council passed Monday night on a 14-10 vote — three shy of a veto-proof majority — Indianapolis is only the largest of dozens of Indiana communities confronting the same decision this year. The wave traces to two bills from the 2025 legislative session.

The first increase in Marion County’s vehicle taxes since 1992 now rests in the hands of the one man who has opposed it all summer. The City-County Council voted 14-10 Monday night to approve Proposal 192, sending the measure to Mayor Joe Hogsett, who has 10 days to sign or veto it. The margin matters: overriding a veto requires 17 votes, and supporters fell three short. The math is slightly better than it looks for backers.

There’s a new sheriff candidate in town. Marion County Republicans have tapped Southport Police Chief Tom Vaughn, a 30–year law enforcement veteran, to run for Marion County Sheriff in one of the most challenging political environments in the state. Vaughn began his career in 1997 with the Marion County Sheriff’s Department, where he worked inside the jail, handled court security, and helped secure county facilities.