Meet James Jackson, Indy mayoral candidate

As Indianapolis voters cast ballots in the mayoral primaries between now and May 2, Axios asked leading candidates about their views on crime, economic development and how they'd run the city.

James Jackson, a Republican, is the pastor of Fervent Prayer Church, a Far Eastside church he founded in 1995 and has grown to about 500 members.

• He has served on the Indianapolis police merit board and the board of the Community Alliance of the Far Eastside (CAFE).

🏠 Which Indianapolis neighborhood(s) have you called home?

• Warren Township and the CAFE area.

🍽️ What is your favorite restaurant in the city?

• Seasons 52.

✅ Name one city service that you guarantee would function better at the end of your four-year term.

• Public safety services.

🚨 Is Indianapolis making enough progress toward reducing homicides or is there something new yet to be tried?

• Indianapolis is failing in this area. The administration needs to work very closely with others in public safety to end the early release of repeat violent offenders.

🚔 Has police reform gone too far or not far enough?

• I think police reform has made progress and at this time should pause until we can restore the proper number of officers needed and the morale of current officers.

🚧 Does Indianapolis need more money from the state to fix the streets and, if so, what can you do to get it?

• Yes, and I will work with state legislators to insure that Indianapolis is receiving the full amount appropriated for Indianapolis.

💰 Would you support maxing out the wheel tax to secure more road funding from the state?

• I do not think we need a tax increase to fix the pothole crisis in Indianapolis. I think we need to fix the potholes properly in the first place.

🚘 What will you do about rising car crashes and deaths involving automobiles?

• I will work with IMPD, state police and the sheriff to make sure that we are enforcing current traffic laws. I will also begin pursuing a "smart streets" approach that would make our streets safer for all residents.

🌇 With remote work taking off and companies downsizing real estate, how does Indianapolis bring more people and activity to downtown?

• Work towards making downtown what it used to be in Indianapolis, the safest policing district in Indianapolis.

🚗 Should Monument Circle go car-free?

• I think it would be good to study how much traffic there is currently on Monument Circle during the week and on the weekend and look at how closing it would impact the business there.

💸 How should Indianapolis' use of corporate subsidies and developer incentives change to reflect shifting economic conditions?

• We need to make sure that these benefits are helping to make Indianapolis better and not just making people rich.

🏟️ Should the city offer incentives to build a 20,000-seat soccer stadium for Indy Eleven?

• Yes, Indianapolis is a sports capital and the investment would come back to the city over time as soccer continues to grow in popularity and economic impact.