Paula Hughes, the President of County Council, announced Tuesday afternoon she’s running for Mayor of Fort Wayne. She's the first candidate to say she wants the job. About 200 people showed up for Hughes' announcement. Allen County Sheriff Ken Fries, was at the announcement to show his support.
Fries says “It's an important day for the Hughes family and a very very important day for the city of Fort Wayne because today they get to meet their new Mayor.”
Hughes, says “I feel strongly that people are ready for a positive change. People are ready for somebody who steps in and really shouts about how great Fort Wayne is.”
Hughes has two main goals, if elected. She says “Those two things are putting the house in order. I think we are going to do a lot of things to make sure the city administration is run much more effectively and efficiently than it is now. The other is building connections to business and other government entities.”
Hughes chose to make the announcement at her family business outside the Fort Wayne city limits, in New Haven. Hughes explains why “One I wanted to show off my family's business and make the point that I do understand what it takes to run a business. And two I want to make sure people understand that I think that everything that we do that's good for Fort Wayne is good for New Haven and vice versa.”
Hughes is currently unopposed. She believes Mayor Henry will announce he's running soon. Hughes says “Mayor Henry so far has not said whether or not he's going to run, but we believe that he will. He certainly is raising a lot of money which is easy for the incumbent to do.”
A spokesperson for Mayor Henry says he'll decide if he's going to run in the next few months. The Mayor has been raising money. But the Mayor's office couldn't specifically say if that money is being raised for Henry's campaign or to donate to another candidate.
