Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard wins big again

CARMEL — Mayor Jim Brainard won a path to an unprecedented sixth term Tuesday and carried a majority of supporters on the City Council who share his vision to develop Carmel into a cultural center.

His opponent, City Council President Rick Sharp, conceded the Republican primary Tuesday night after a hard-fought campaign in which he hoped a fiscally conservative message would resonate with voters.

Brainard won with 63 percent of the vote with all precincts reporting.

The election will give control of the city's checkbook to a majority of council members who support the mayor's program of taxpayer incentives to promote growth.

It was also a major blow to a previous council majority who have tried to check his development ambitions during his past two terms. Long-time council members Luci Snyder and Eric Seidensticker, who frequently locked horns with Brainard, were defeated as well.

Celebrating at his campaign headquarters along Rangeline Road with supporters clad in "Brainard Brigade" T-shirts, the mayor said voters sent a clear message.

"It's a message that they trust us," he said. "We have to use that trust carefully. But we want to move ahead and continue to grow. We want to be something more than just a bedroom suburb. We want to continue to compete for the best jobs anywhere in the globe. I think with the individuals that have been chosen tonight, we can do that."

The mood was more somber at Dooley O'Toole's, a restaurant in an older part of Carmel east of the area Brainard has redeveloped.

Sharp said it was a tough climb against a 20-year incumbent who outspent him 2-to-1. It was made harder, he said, by his message of fiscal restraint at a time when Carmel is growing "and everything is so pretty."

Sharp still has seven months remaining on the City Council. From there, he's not sure what comes next, but he would not rule out another run.

As for Carmel's future, Sharp said he's not interested in being able to say, a decade or so from now, "I told you so." But he fears that's where things are headed.

"I believe the mayor's fiscal policies are unsustainable, even for a community as wealthy as Carmel.

Brainard wants to potentially offer taxpayer incentives for the emerging Midtown district and the few lots remaining to be redeveloped in the Arts & Design District.

He also wants to embark on an aggressive series of roundabout, road, trail and bike path improvements on the city's east side, including finding local, state or federal cash to build a roundabout-style interchange at 96th Street and Keystone Parkway.

Brainard said voters chose his more optimistic message.

Still, he said he would listen to the other side.

"We need to listen very hard," Brainard said. "But at the same time, we need to stay on path with what a majority of voters told us they liked about Carmel."

Brainard backed a slate of candidates for the council, which he has seen as an obstacle to his vision to redevelop the city the past two terms.

"It's going to mean we're going to have a collaborative council," Brainard said. "It doesn't mean we're going to have a rubber stamp. It means we sit down and work out issues, we don't beat up on our city in the media and that we value each other's ideas."

Incumbents and political allies Kevin "Woody" Rider and Ron Carter defeated a challenge by Ron Houck for one of the council's two at large seats.

The mayor also backed incumbent Sue Finkam, who defeated former councilman John Accetturo; Bruce Kimball, who defeated Seidensticker; and Jeff Worrell, who defeated Snyder.

Only incumbent Carol Schleif, who represents an area embroiled in an annexation-related lawsuit against the city, defeated a Brainard-backed opponent. She beat Keith L. Griffin. Laura Campbell was unopposed for Sharp's seat.

Brainard also supported Christine Pauley, who won in the first-ever challenge against Clerk-Treasurer Diana Cordray.

No Democrats have filed to run.

Call Star reporter Chris Sikich at (317) 444-6036. Follow him on Twitter: @ ChrisSikich .