Matthew Impink

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Matthew Impink

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

May 2, 2023

Education

Bachelor's

University of Pennsylvania, 2007

Graduate

IUPUI, 2015

Contact

Campaign website

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Matthew Impink (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Indianapolis City Council to represent District 18. Impink lost in the Democratic primary on May 2, 2023.

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

Biography

Matthew Impink earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 2007 and a graduate degree from IUPUI in 2015.

Elections

2023

See also: City elections in Indianapolis, Indiana (2023)

General election

General election for Indianapolis City Council District 18

Incumbent Kristin Jones defeated Mark Renholzberger in the general election for Indianapolis City Council District 18 on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kristin Jones (D)	74.9	3,282
		Mark Renholzberger (L)	25.1	1,099

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,381
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Indianapolis City Council District 18

Incumbent Kristin Jones defeated Matthew Impink in the Democratic primary for Indianapolis City Council District 18 on May 2, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kristin Jones	52.3	910
		Matthew Impink	47.7	831

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,741
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Matthew Impink completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Impink'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 moved back home to Indianapolis when I was 24 years old, hopeful about spending more time with my family and continuing my career. Soon after, I met my wife, Allissa. One day we went on a bike ride through Fletcher Place, and shared with her that I wanted to live there someday. Allissa, too, fell in love with our future neighborhood. We were married in the gazebo at Lacy Park and bought our house just one street away. Today, we love taking our three daughters to the playground at the same park. I believe communities are fundamentally about the people who live in them. With pride, I established Indy Achieves, providing scholarships, grants, and wrap-around supports for thousands of Marion County residents for education and training after high school. Before Indy Achieves, I organized local community efforts for Transit Drives Indy, Inclusive Economic Growth, and LGBTQ+ Civil Rights. As an active neighbor, I have been a long-time volunteer, leading efforts around housing and economic development. As an ardent public policy nerd, I am currently an Adjunct Professor at IUPUI. I am eager to serve my community in a new way as your City-County Councilor.

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?

• Making a generational investment in INFRASTRUCTURE so residents can move around our City safely. We have a unique opportunity with significant federal funding coming to our city soon.
• Creating a HOUSING FOR ALL strategy so that residents of all different ages, identities, and income levels are welcome and thriving in our neighborhoods.
• Increasing ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY for all residents. Focus on education/training and connecting our city's talent to good-paying open jobs.

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?

Each Spring, I will put out a survey to neighborhood leaders about the most important budgetary needs for their neighborhood. I'll transparently list prioritized items based on survey results and agency feedback. I'll then report back to neighborhoods on what projects were funded and where remaining projects stand.

Community Question Featured local question

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

Crime, especially violent crime, is a fundamental challenge to the long-term success of Indy. Education, jobs, housing, and crime need to tackled holistically as they are all connected. We need to continue improving the HS graduation rates and offering more job opportunities like EmployIndy's Modern Apprenticeships. We have to stabilize the housing stock by making new investments in affordable housing and holding landlords accountable for maintaining quality units. We also need to have a more differentiated approach to public safety like proactively deploying mental health professionals and continue developing crisis response units. We need to use the right tool in our toolbox when calls come into 911 and to follow up with communities afterwards. We also need to design our community more strategically so that more eyes are on the streets, especially for preventing petty crimes.

Community Question Featured local question

What plans do you have regarding infrastructure?

I want the city to use coming federal funding from the Biden Infrastructure Law to make a generational investment in infrastructure so we can all move around our City safely. We need to have a city where we can walk, bike, or drive around without the fear of getting hit by a car. We need to invest in a variety of signage and traffic calming measures to move towards a day where we have zero fatalities on our streets.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Affordable Housing

K-12 education
Postsecondary education
Pedestrian/ Bicycle Safety
Inclusive Economic Growth

Civil Rights

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

My wife Allissa. I am constantly in awe of her joyous outlook in life. A joy that doesn't come from a life that was easy, but a joy presented to everyone in life her despite many challenges and doubts. She is someone who is generous with others no matter if they are willing or able to give it in return. I try everyday to be more like that.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

- Listen to constituents and problem solve collaboratively.

- Take a stand and clearly articulate where you stand on issues.
- Communicate back to constituents information that will impact their lives.
- Spend public funding responsibly to improve quality of life.

- Pass local ordinances in the best interest of District 18 and the entire City.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

In college I needed a work-study job and began running an open gym at a neighboring high school. Soon after a few friends and I started a formal basketball league for 80 middle schoolers and recruiting coaches from nearby colleges and the community. After I graduated, I got a job at a neighboring high school where I taught 11th grade US History. In all I worked in the school system for 6 years.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors' RPAC

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.

See also

2023 Elections

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Candidate

Indianapolis City Council District 18

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