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Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight endorses Abbie Smith 

"In January of this year, I announced that I would not seek a fourth term as Mayor of Kokomo. I felt, and still do feel, that our city needs a leader that will bring fresh ideas, without all of the personal and political baggage of long-time politicians.

Since that time, I have stayed out of the political process of attending events, making speeches, and critiquing platforms. The only exception being when blatantly false data was used to mislead voters.

Also, as most people know, I rarely mince words. So I won’t. I love Kokomo and care deeply about Kokomo’s future. That is why I am proud to officially endorse Abbie Smith for Mayor of Kokomo. 

Abbie Smith is the leader that Kokomo needs.

I have worked with both candidates for years in their community roles. I can tell you exactly what Abbie stands for, even when we don't agree. I have seen her work with a diverse set of stakeholders and bring them together to move to action. We have all directly benefited from her leadership at critical times. When Kokomo was hit twice by tornadoes, Abbie took action. She organized thousands of volunteers for cleanup and rebuilding efforts. She ensured that our residents returned to safe homes and safe neighborhoods after the storms. Abbie and her team worked with hundreds of families to guide them through the process of rebuilding their lives after those natural disasters. 

Abbie understands the big, long term challenges that Kokomo is facing. That is why she lead key stakeholders to focus on early childhood education. She understands that we only have a limited amount of time to make a huge impact in our community. She doesn’t passively sit on the sidelines. She leads. 

On the other hand, Tyler Moore has done little more than quietly support a few City initiatives over the years, while not leading or taking action on anything. His time in office has overlapped with my time in office, yet I can not tell you anything Tyler stands for. Look around and ask yourself an honest question: What has Tyler Moore accomplished in 11 years as an Executive in County Government? He's attended a lot of meetings, but I haven't seen action. This doesn’t mean he is a terrible person, I just can not think of a single outcome that he produced. I have watched Tyler’s campaign team say disgusting, awful, misogynistic things about Abbie and her family. She never flinched or withered.

Tyler is now telling voters that he has ideas for Kokomo. He could have been doing these things for the past 11 years. But he hasn’t. He didn’t lead.  It is clear that he does not feel the responsibility of leadership.

Because, leadership is a responsibility, and Mayors need to embrace that responsibility more than most other elected officials. I have had the honor of watching Mayor Steve Daily, Mayor Bob Sargent, Mayor Jim Trobaugh, and Mayor Matt McKillip lead our community. I have grown close to them, and consider them to be friends and mentors. I also served on the City Council during Mayor Trobaugh and Mayor McKillip’s time in office. This experience, and these relationships, have underscored the importance of the thoughtful leadership, and purposeful action necessary to be Mayor. 

Having served as President of Indiana’s Association of Cities and Towns, I have witnessed how determinative Mayoral leadership is to the health and prosperity of a city. I have watched firsthand how Republican and Democrat Mayors drive their cities to succeed. I have personally watched Republican and Democrat Mayors serve as little more than caretakers, as their cities languish and fall behind. This endorsement isn’t a partisan response. It is a recognition of a truly, uniquely qualified and passionate leader to guide our city.

 As I prepare to move on, there is only one candidate I can trust to work hard every day and do the right thing for the people of Kokomo: Abbie Smith."

Abbie Smith for Mayor
http://www.abbieformayor.com/