Abdul-Hakim Shabazz

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

Abdul-Hakim Shabazz

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

May 2, 2023

Education

Bachelor's

Northern Illinois University, 1992

Personal

Birthplace

Birmingham, AL

Religion

Islam

Profession

Attorney and Professor

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign X

Abdul-Hakim Shabazz (Republican Party) ran for election for Mayor of Indianapolis. He lost in the Republican primary on May 2, 2023.

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

Elections

2023

See also: Mayoral election in Indianapolis, Indiana (2023)

General election

General election for Mayor of Indianapolis

Incumbent Joe Hogsett defeated Jefferson Shreve in the general election for Mayor of Indianapolis on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joe Hogsett (D)	59.4	97,807
		Jefferson Shreve (R)	40.6	66,781

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 164,588
= 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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Mayor of Indianapolis

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Mayor of Indianapolis on May 2, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joe Hogsett	58.4	28,320
		Robin Shackleford	37.9	18,359
		Bob Kern	1.4	694
	Submit photo	Gregory Meriweather (Unofficially withdrew)	1.0	471
		Clif Marsiglio	0.8	366
	Submit photo	Larry Vaughn	0.6	294

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 48,504
= 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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Mayor of Indianapolis

Jefferson Shreve defeated Abdul-Hakim Shabazz, James W. Jackson, and John L. Couch in the Republican primary for Mayor of Indianapolis on May 2, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jefferson Shreve	65.9	19,170
		Abdul-Hakim Shabazz	26.3	7,639
		James W. Jackson	4.3	1,251
		John L. Couch	3.6	1,036

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 29,096
= 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

Abdul-Hakim Shabazz completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Shabazz's responses.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Abdul-Hakim Shabazz is an attorney, award-winning political writer, and commentator. He has been covering and writing about state and local government in Indiana since 2004 and, before that, in Illinois—for nearly 30 years.

He hosts the “Abdul at Large” talk show on WIBC-FM 93.1. He writes opinion pieces for various news publications across the state, including the Indianapolis Business Journal and the Statehouse File. He’s a frequent panellist and contributor to Fox 59's IN Focus and “Inside Indiana Business.”

Shabazz also is the editor and publisher of IndyPolitics.org, which has been recognized by the Washington Post two years in a row as one of the best political blogs in the nation.

He is also the host and Executive Producer of "Indiana Issues" a weekly public affairs program heard across the state.

Abdul is also licensed to practice law in Indiana and Illinois. And he holds teaching positions at the University of Indianapolis and Ivy Tech Community College.

He is married to his lovely wife, Cheron. And they have two dogs, Loki and Milo .

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?

• Public Safety
• Public Works
• Public Trust

Community Question Featured local question

Did the COVID-19 pandemic change your approach to local policy issues? If so, please give us an example. If not, why?

No.

Community Question Featured local question

Do you believe crime rates are changing? Where do you get your crime rate data from? Would you make any changes to existing public safety policy?

See above.

Community Question Featured local question

Do you think the downtown area is healthy? What is your definition of a healthy downtown? What changes, if any, would you like to make?

Downtown is not healthy and we need all parties involved to bring it back.

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?

You should always get input from residents, particularly on big issues. I would bring back the Mayor's Night Out, where city department heads went into the townships and met with residents.

Community Question Featured local question

How should record requests from the public be handled? Do you have any policies around transparency and accountability you want to enact?

With expediency.

Community Question Featured local question

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

Reinstate the Public Safety Director Position

One of my first official acts as Mayor would be to reinstate the position of Public Safety Director. Much like the Secretary of Defense, Indianapolis needs an individual who can focus solely on public safety (police, fire, E-911). We cannot effectively fight crime unless we have the right people in place to do the job.


Tougher Penalties for Crimes Committed in Certain Areas
Since residents in low-income areas are more likely to be victims of crime than in other parts of the city, local leaders should work with state officials to create “economically challenged” zones (which can be based on census data) and increase the penalties for offenses committed in those areas.


Creative post-conviction sentencing
The city should work with the criminal justice system and implement a program where non-violent, first-time offenders are sentenced to school as part of their probation. A judge, under state law (IC 35-38-2-2.3) as part of probation, can order a defendant to “Work faithfully at suitable employment or faithfully pursue a course of study or career and technical education that will equip the person for suitable employment.” This will be cheaper than incarceration, and the long-term result is a productive citizen who is repairing homes and automobiles instead of breaking into them.


Increase investment in proven anti-violence initatives
In our survey, crime and gun-related violence were the number one issue of African-Americans; for whites, it was second. Organizations like the Ten Point Coalition have a proven track record in reducing homicides in the areas they patrol, so the city should make sure they are adequately funded so they expand their efforts.


Offender Re-Entry

With 12,000 men and women with felony records released in Marion County each year, it's important that we make sure they don't repeat offend. One way to accomplish that is with quality and effective re-entry programs. As Mayor, I will make re-entry a cornerstone of my administration. And we will make every effort to make sure ex-offenders have the opportunity to become productive citizens.

Community Question Featured local question

What do you think about the city's current approach to public safety? Would you take any different positions?

Yes, see above.

Community Question Featured local question

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

We could always do better. I'd make sure we adopted smart, taxpayer-friendly environmental policies.

Community Question Featured local question

What plans do you have regarding infrastructure?

Infrastructure

Create the equivalent of an infrastructure-based tax incremental finance system for roads in economically challenged areas

The city should work with the state to capture a portion of the gas tax collected in certain economically challenged areas that would be dedicated to roads, streets, and sidewalk repair.

Community Question Featured local question

What plans do you have regarding the police department? Would you make any changes from current policy?

See above.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Public safety, Education, Workforce development.

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

Former Governor MItch Daniels, Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard.

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

Blazing Saddles!

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

Being straightforward with voters.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I am smart enough to know what I don't know so that I would surround myself with really smart individuals.

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

To be a good steward of taxpayer dollars.

What legacy would you like to leave?

That I left the city in better shape than when I found it.

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

A man walked on the moon. I was two months old/

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

I worked for my uncle who owned a typewriter and sewing machine repair shop.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Thomas Friedmasn's The World Is Flat. It says Americans are no longer competing with each other but globally.

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

Superman

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

Jesus Jones - Right here, right now.

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

My weight.

A mayor is a leader in his or her city. What does that mean to you?

Getting up every day and wondering what I can do to make the lives of more than 800,000 people better.

If the mayor in your city is a member of the city council and there's a city manager appointed to handle the day-to-day administration of the city government, what do you believe should be the mayor's top priority in office?

N/A

If the mayor in your city is not a member of the city council and oversees the day-to-day administration of the city government, what do you believe is the ideal relationship between the mayor and city council?

They should work together while respecting each branch of government's constitutional and statutory duties.

What do you love most about your city?

It's potential.

What do you perceive to be your city's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Getting crime under control, improving the roads and increasing the quality of life.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between your city and the state government?

The state should give the city (all cities) more control over its destiny.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between your city and the federal government?

See above.

Tell us your favorite joke.

Why did the monkey fall out of the tree? Because it was dead.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the mayor's office and law enforcement?

They work together to keep citizens safe.

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

What's on the ballot? U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel Union Station

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

Mayor of Indianapolis

Website

Facebook

X