Jesse Brown (Indiana)

Jesse Brown (Democratic Party) is a member of the Indianapolis City Council, representing District 13. He assumed office on January 1, 2024. His current term ends on January 1, 2028.

Brown (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Indianapolis City Council to represent District 13. He won in the general election on November 7, 2023.

Brown completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Jesse Brown was born in Somerville, New Jersey. Brown earned a bachelor's degree from IUPUI in 2010. His career experience includes working as a technology consultant. Brown has been affiliated with the Central Indiana DSA.^[1]

Elections

2023

General election

General election for Indianapolis City Council District 13

Jesse Brown defeated Elizabeth Glass in the general election for Indianapolis City Council District 13 on November 7, 2023.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Jesse Brown (D)	77.8	5,479
	Elizabeth Glass (L)	22.2	1,564

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,043
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Indianapolis City Council District 13

Jesse Brown defeated incumbent Zach Adamson in the Democratic primary for Indianapolis City Council District 13 on May 2, 2023.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Jesse Brown	55.9	1,791
	Zach Adamson	44.1	1,413

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,204
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Brown in this election.

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

Jesse Brown completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Brown's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I’m running for office because Indianapolis is at a

crossroads. Our elected officials cater to political insiders and big donors rather than the ordinary people who live and work in our city. As a result, economic and social inequality continues to worsen with visible results. In my zip code, 46218, people are dying an average of 17 years sooner than people who live in Fishers, a mere 17 miles away. While the rich are getting richer, working people struggle more and more. What we’ve been doing is not working. A multi-racial coalition of ordinary people working together can build a city where all of us can live and thrive. We can have safe, clean neighborhoods; a transit system that allows us all get around without needing a car; and a city government that stops giving tax dollars away to companies contracting out poverty jobs. We can have a society where we treat addiction and mental illness as the public health issues they are, rather than leaving them for our police and streets to

deal with.

As your next city councillor, I will prioritize public transportation, workers’ rights, and a transparent and accountable city

government.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

We need massive investment in our infrastructure and public transportation systems.
We must insist on high-paying union jobs for any company seeking taxpayer money.
We deserve a government that is responsive, accountable, and transparent.

Community Question Featured local question

How important is it to involve residents in the government’s decision-making process? What plans do you have regarding resident involvement in this process?

It's incredibly vital to center residents in the government's decision-making process. After a large public outcry about Proposition 256 last year, current Council leadership have kept the proposition on the agenda, ready to bring to a vote at any point. In the meantime, the current Council leadership has claimed powerlessness over the boards they help appoint, leaving residents with no way to impact important public policy. I would seek to put pressure on political appointees and hold them accountable. I would also seek comment and participation from residents at council meetings by proposing a change to the format of meetings that would allow more residents to understand, participate in, and impact discussions on public policy and budgets.

Community Question Featured local question

How would you address crime and public safety? Do you have a different stance than current city council policy?

The current council administration throws more and more money at IMPD and expects the police to handle the problems caused by addiction, alcoholism, poverty, and mental illness. I would push for more non-police emergency response teams for such issues, more funding for drug and alcohol rehab and education, more funding for automatic traffic control cameras, and more specificity in terms of which activities require an armed and uniformed officer to respond.

Community Question Featured local question

What do you think about the city's environmental health? Would you make any changes to current policy?

The city is drastically unfair when it comes to environmental health. The built environment, garbage collection, infrastructure improvements, lead pipes, lead in the soil, airborne toxins from heavy industry, and more all play out along class and thus race lines. The current administration of the city announced their plan to generate 75% of power in the city from renewable sources back in 2016, when we only generated 8% of city power renewably. Five years later in 2021, only 5% of the city's power came from renewable sources. In other words, the city actually regressed rather than make large gains towards sustainability as planned. I think the 75% goal was a good one and would publicly recommit our city to reaching this goal.

Community Question Featured local question

What plans do you have regarding infrastructure?

Indianapolis needs a massive increase in spending for infrastructure. The current administration prides itself on a budget that gains Republican support and leads to a balanced budget; but the budget is balanced on the lives of pedestrians and cyclists killed due to poor street conditions and on the bank accounts of residents driving on side streets and damaging their vehicles. Main thoroughfares are kept in good condition so the wealthy can get to and from downtown, but residents who live within Marion County know their side streets are in horrific disrepair. Pretending a problem does not exist, or is this bad in other cities, does not help solve the problem. Beyond repairing potholes and repaving streets, I would push for a Safe Streets / Vision Zero policy to reconsider speed limits, accessibility for cyclists and pedestrians, and public transit as part of our city's infrastructure.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am interested in helping the ordinary people of Indianapolis find their voices and their collective power. I have been a homeowner in the district for 15 years, have paid my taxes diligently, and have seen life expectancy drop in my neighborhood. I have seen the roads, schools, and services deteriorate, while the state and city's economy continue improving for the wealthy. I believe we have no choice but to urgently address inequality in Indianapolis and truly make it a city for everyone.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I am a huge fan and would-be emulator of Eugene Victor Debs, a true Hoosier hero. Debs was not afraid to boldly call out the problems in society, could always be relied upon to stand with those who had least, and stood behind his convictions even when they took him to jail for opposing the first World War. With more people like Debs, we would have a kinder, more just, and more ethical society.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Robert Hughes, Unite HERE shop steward and Central Indiana DSA co-chair

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Note: Community Questions were submitted by the public and chosen for inclusion by a volunteer advisory board. The chosen questions were modified by staff to adhere to Ballotpedia’s neutrality standards. To learn more about Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection Expansion Project, click here.

External links

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Candidate

Indianapolis City Council District 13

Officeholder

Indianapolis City Council District 13

Website

Personal

Facebook

Footnotes

↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on March 1, 2023

Political offices
Preceded by Keith Graves (D)	Indianapolis City Council District 13 2024-Present	Succeeded by -

[bio-1] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on March 1, 2023

[1]

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Jesse Brown (Indiana)

Contents

Biography

Elections

2023

General election

General election for Indianapolis City Council District 13

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Indianapolis City Council District 13

Endorsements

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

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2026 Elections

2024 Election analysis

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