Candidates for 2023 City of Madison Election
DAN DATTILO
FOR MAYOR
Dan is Director of Guidance at Southwestern High School and has served as City Councilman-At Large since 2016. Dan brings the skills of collaboration, policy development, active listening, and problem-solving to both his career in education and to his public service. While serving as Madison’s Mayor Dan plans to focus on transparency in government, asking for and utilizing citizen input and buy-in, tackling our homelessness and addiction problems through more robust mental health services including increased training for our MPD officers, improving the collaboration between Hanover and Madison, and ensuring that all projects go through a public bidding process. For more information on Dan’s campaign go to DattiloForMayor.com .
SUE PATTERSON
FOR CLERK-TREASURER
Sue’s background is ideal for the Clerk-Treasurer role…she's done it before. She has 28 years of accounting and budget management experience at the local, state, and federal level including : Town of Hanover Clerk-Treasurer; Auditor for the Indiana State Board of Accounts; Assistant Budget Officer for the City of Indianapolis; Chief Financial Officer for Indy Parks ($25 million budget); Information Technology Group ($50 million budget); Chief Financial Officer of Marion County Superior Courts ($65 million budget). Sue believes that financial transparency is the way to foster trust in our government, and is committed to being open and honest about the City’s financial state.
PETE BACKUS
FOR COUNCIL AT LARGE
Although retired from Duke Energy and Wal-Mart, Pete continues to work in the community at Morgan and Nay and Dattilo Fruit Company. Pete has also been a volunteer firefighter for 51 years, including Company President of Western Fire Company #3 since 1987. Pete formerly served 8 years as Councilman for District 3 and along with his fellow Council Members accomplished many things including the new bridge over the Ohio River. Much has been done, and although many projects are underway, much remains. Madison is growing rapidly and expanding in many areas and although the downtown district cannot be made larger, there is much room for growth. Lack of affordable housing is a major focus of Pete’s, along with stormwater issues, the Main Street corridor, the historic district, and tourism.
JENNIFER SCOTT
FOR COUNCIL AT LARGE
Madison needs efficient and compassionate public servants. Public service is meant to address the needs of the community in order to benefit all members of the community regardless of political affiliation, income, race, gender, or sexual orientation. As a public servant, Jennifer will strive to represent all residents of the City of Madison regardless of who they are and where in the city they live. She is qualified to be your next City Council At Large representative because she has been a public servant for over 20 years. She began her career at King’s Daughters’ Hospital as a nursing assistant and went on to serve as the 911 Deputy Director, helping to balance 2 budgets. During the past 7 years as the administrative assistant at the Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency she utilized her strong organizational skills and accurate record keeping to help bring in millions of FEMA monies that have been awarded to both the City and the County after disaster declarations.
DEREK HUGHES
FOR COUNCIL DISTRICT 1
As a foster and adoptive parent who works as a tour guide at the Lanier Mansion, Derek knows how to work hard and spend money thoughtfully to benefit her family, and she plans to bring that expertise to the City Council as your District 1 representative. Derek plans to bring more businesses to Downtown Madison, to house the houseless, and add public transportation to Madison’s list of amenities. Derek is also concerned with the flooding issues that have affected her District in recent years and is committed to ensuring that future hilltop development will not wash out long-term downtown residents.
As an educator and artist, Christian serves as the Technical Director for Hanover College’s theatre department with previous work history in the non-profit sector across the country. In his position, he trains the next generation of arts-minded citizens and provides for Jefferson County’s cultural and performing arts sector with a source of professional live entertainment. Christian understands that a successful and strong community is built on mutual understanding, transparency, compassion, and collaboration. While in office his goal is to expand the programs the city and our community can offer with a focus on empowering our community members, regardless of economic status or age, by investing in projects that secure a safe, secure, and productive future for all Madisonians. Christian plans to focus heavily on affordable public housing options, expanding public transportation, working with neighboring communities to support food security and local agriculture, and supporting the city’s informal and entry-level economies during his time as City Councilman, District 2.
CHRISTIAN BOWYER
FOR COUNCIL DISTRICT 2
MARY ANN EAGLIN
FOR COUNCIL DISTRICT 3
As a strong, independent woman, Mary Ann believes all Madison residents should be considered when making important financial and ethical decisions affecting our community progress. After employment in mental health community social work, private counseling and hospice social work, her primary focus was psychiatric social work in the correctional system prior to retirement. Madison and Hanover Senior Center are my focus of activity with pitch-in meals, card games, leading exercise class twice a week for other seniors, day trips and craft sessions at Madison Senior Center.
A lifelong educator and advocate for his community, Ed’s life and career has been committed to enhancing and growing communities by listening and talking with fellow citizens to understand their thoughts and concerns, then identify problems and find solutions. His positions as Associate Dean of Students/Director of Residence Life at Hanover College, Dean of Students at Madison Consolidated High School, and his current position as a Family Case Manager for the Indiana Department of Child Services exemplify his ability to work with a wide range of people with different viewpoints to obtain the best possible outcome.