Noblesville’s newly elected Mayor Chris Jensen was riding high when he delivered his first State of the City Address and announced two large development projects on Feb. 27.

“We were very excited to introduce those and a series of infrastructure projects,” said Jensen, who took office Jan. 1."We were off to a great start."

But within weeks, priorities changed – quickly and drastically. Cities across the country began imposing guidelines and restrictions to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus. Businesses were shut, travel restricted and residents ordered to stay home.

It became all-consuming.

“My address was about 10 days before it all really started," Jensen said, "and all of a sudden, it felt like 10 years ago."

The mayor was deluged with calls from worried business, antsy workers and confused residents.

It required Jensen to shift to “comforter-in-chief.”

“There’s anxiety and uneasiness out there,” he said. “I have been trying to calm the nerves of constituents. They need leaders with a calm and steady hand. “

As a newbie, Jensen had only a brief taste of the normal duties of office, but the more tenured mayors of Fishers, Carmel and Westfield felt the change from the everyday just as acutely.

Jensen, Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, Westfield Mayor Andy Cook and Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard represent more than 285,000 people, about 88% of Hamilton County’s population. Because they are in closer daily contact with their constituents than most elected representatives, such as congressmen and state legislators, they said they are better positioned to take the temperature of the civic mood.

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Fadness said he, like Jensen, has quickly morphed from the city’s chief executive officer to captain of the municipal ship.

“It’s not just that they have confidence in me as an individual, but my role is to portray the reasons they should have confidence in our government, police and fire, and other services,” Fadness said. “As horrible as this virus might be, I would not want to be someone else, to be somewhere else right now.”

'A perfect concoction for stress'

Fadness said the week he made his local state of emergency declaration on March 17 was hectic, with officials scrambling to develop policy, establish lines of communications with the community and decentralize his staff. The next week, he said 80% of the day was spent on COVID-19, with long remote conversations and even longer work hours.

“I’m mostly on the phone from 7 a.m. until I go home at 5:30 p.m., and later in the night I’m on the phone a couple hours again,” said Fadness, who is serving his second full term.

Business owner are especially edgy, he said, and the city has scheduled weekly conference calls to hear them out and update them on government service and assistance available.

“They fear the future,” he said, "and sometimes I have no answers but I can listen."

Residents are worried, Fadness said.

“People are scared and afraid. This is the health stressor, combined the economic strain,” Fadness said. “It’s the perfect concoction for stress and cabin fever can start to set in.”

Fishers has one of the lowest crime rates in the state and has had three homicides from 2015-2019. In the span of one week this year, on March 18 and March 24, police responded to two murder-suicides.

With a quarter of a century-worth of experience and seven terms in office, Brainard has a different perspective, at least of the economic damage caused by the virus.

He was mayor during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and dealt with the national fear and despair and subsequent economic downturn.

Brainard was also in office during the Great Recession that hit in 2008, when local governments made huge cuts. Carmel slashed road paving and new employees so the financial hardship isn’t entirely new to him, Brainard said.

“Experience helps. We know what needs to be done," Brainard said. "We’ve done a lot of these things before. We’ve seen several ups and downs in the economy."

Brainard sees his job less as a vocal morale booster than the take-charge mayor who will keep city government humming as employees try to stay safe and work remotely.

What is new, however, are the decisions the mayor has had to make to balance civil liberties with the health and well-being of Carmel, he said.

He declared a local disaster emergency on March 18 — days before Holcomb issued his stay-at-home order — and called for an end to unnecessary travel. He closed public playgrounds and advised work-out facilities to close. He has shut down part of the Monon Trail and golf courses, though he is not required to under the state stay-at-home guidelines.

“This was not something that was done lightly, and without tremendous thought,” Brainard said. “But it was something that was necessary.”

In Westfield, Cook, in his fourth term, has tried to keep his constituents focused on community while boosting morale.

He’s taken to social media to call attention to Westfield’s Wellbeing Coalition — where people can get resources they need during financial hardships — to keep information flowing on what’s closed and attempt to keep spirits up.

On every video the city posts, the words “together” flash across the screen afterward. The city has also started weekly challenges, such as a fitness challenge, in which residents exercise at home and compete for prizes, and a creative challenge, where residents could bake a dessert or do some other arts-based activity.

The mayor's office didn't respond to IndyStar's request for an interview for this story.

Public servants, private lives

The mayors have communicated with each other regularly and shared information and advice.

“In a meeting with the mayors, I told them that residents need to see the whites in your eyes, you need to express calm, and faith and confidence,” Fadness said.

Brainard said he can relate to the newest mayor's situation.

“I have a lot of empathy for the new mayor in Noblesville,” Brainardsaid. “I’m glad I didn’t get hit with this the first three months.”

Jensen ran unopposed in the November general election and is relieved he took that time to put experienced officials in top positions, including his police chief Chad Knecht, a long-time Indianapolis commander.

“He’s seen big scale events,” Jensen said, "and has been instrumental and vital."

In addition to the responsibilities in their day jobs, the mayors have families they worry about, too, an added level of pressure.

Jensen and his wife have two young daughters and a son and worries about their health constantly.

“I take a lot of deep breaths and work-out,” Jensen said.

Fadness has two young sons and his wife is a environmental scientist and both are still working, so they’ve had to find day care while many businesses are shutting down.

“I can empathize with every parent out there,” he said.

He said the stay-at-home order has severely restricted his 5-year-old’s range of outdoor activity. Fadness has not fully explained COVID-19 to him but rather says “people are getting sick and dad is going to take care of them.”

Brainard worries about the the health of his children who work in the medical industry, one of which is an emergency room physician in California. But he also has a 97-year-old uncle, a World War II veteran, who told the mayor that the U.S. has faced troubling times before and has always prevailed.

“I look at that optimism and determination,” Brainard said, "and it’s reassuring because I know that people in this country have been through adversary before."

Call IndyStar reporter Kaitlin Lange at 317-432-9270. Follow her on Twitter: @kaitlin_lange.

Call IndyStar reporter John Tuohy at 317-444-6418. Email at john.tuohy@indystar.com and follow on Twitter and Facebook.