Paul Copeland

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

Paul Copeland

Libertarian Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2019

Education

Bachelor's

Indiana University, Purdue University Indianapolis

Personal

Birthplace

Lawrenceburg, Ind.

Contact

Campaign Facebook

Paul Copeland (Libertarian Party) ran for election to the Indianapolis City Council to represent District 17. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2019.

Copeland completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Paul Copeland was born in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. He attended Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis.

Elections

2019

See also: City elections in Indianapolis, Indiana (2019)

General election

General election for Indianapolis City Council District 17

Incumbent Zach Adamson defeated Tom Sutton, Antonio Lipscomb, and Paul Copeland in the general election for Indianapolis City Council District 17 on November 5, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Zach Adamson (D)	79.1	4,644
	Submit photo	Tom Sutton (R)	10.8	637
	Submit photo	Antonio Lipscomb (Independent)	8.5	501
		Paul Copeland (L)	1.5	91

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,873
= 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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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Indianapolis City Council District 17

Incumbent Zach Adamson advanced from the Democratic primary for Indianapolis City Council District 17 on May 7, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Zach Adamson	100.0	1,700

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,700
= 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Joseph Denney (D)

Republican primary election

No Republican candidates ran in the primary.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Paula Barnett (R)

Campaign themes

2019

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Paul Copeland completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Copeland's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I grew up in South Eastern Indiana before coming to Indianapolis to study at IUPUI. Growing up, I always wanted to serve the community around me and give back. I am a passionate conservationist, and that perspective of sustainability informs my views on 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?

• People and communities come first.
• No tax dollars for big business at the expense of the rest of us.
• Government doesn't have all of the answers.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Infrastructure and spending are the two greatest problems facing Indianapolis. We constantly are leveraging the future tax incomes to entice big business, while neglecting to properly fund maintenance on our roads, sidewalks, and other infrastructure used by our citizens every day. If I am elected, I will work to end the practice of gifting tax abatements to billion dollar businesses and shifting those burdens on to the average person who lives here.

A prime example of this comes from our City Council and the State Legislature agreeing to spend over $800 million on improvements for Banker's Life Fieldhouse. The agreed upon spending comes at a time when we are being told that it will take over $700 million to improve Indianapolis's roads from "poor" to "fair" condition. This is just one of several issues that have shown that the priorities of the City-County Council are misaligned.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

The council makes the choices of what gets done in Indianapolis, and how much we spend doing it. As a member of that body, my focus would be on getting the best return on the investment that our citizens put forward.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

There are a lot of great sources out there to learn more about libertarianism, the one that I would recommend the most would be "The Road To Serfdom" by Hayek.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Willingness to take responsibility, strong reasoning skills, and the ability to think up unique solutions to our problems.

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

I feel that this office has a strong financial duty to the citizens of Indianapolis. Choices made by the council place burdens on our taxpayers, and it's our responsibility to not waste the resources that the people have given to the city.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I want to leave a city that is more beautiful and prosperous than when I first moved here.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I do remember being about 7 years old and hearing about the Clinton Impeachment. Needless to say, I didn't fully understand the causes at the time.

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

I worked at a small town McDonald's for two years. It taught me a lot of lessons about respect, hard work, and pushing myself to be better every day.

What is your favorite book? Why?

There are too many to list, but The Lord of the Rings series has always been a favorite of mine. The themes of power and corruption, personal responsibility, and friendship mean a great deal to me. It's also one of the series that my father and I have enjoyed together for years.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

If I had to make a choice, I would say Jon Snow. When given a chance to make a grab at power, he walked away.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

"Hell on the Wabash", I've been studying a lot of Indiana's history and came across the song as a fighting tune.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

I've always struggled with social anxiety, and seeking elected office in spite of that has definitely been a growing experience.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

No. Having prior experience may be good for knowing the in's and out's of procedure, but everybody can see the issues facing Indianapolis every day, and we can all work towards fixing those problems.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

Strong interpersonal skills are a must. Financial literacy is of huge benefit to those wanting to make sense of the budgeting that needs to be done to make sure all of the agencies are able to fulfill their duties.

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.

See also

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