Eddie Melton
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Eddie Melton (born 1981) is an American politician from the state of
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
, who was born in the city of
Gary Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name Places ;Iran * Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;United States *Gary (Tampa), Florida *Gary, Ind ...
and is serving as the 22nd mayor of Gary, Indiana. A member of the Democratic Party, Melton served in the
Indiana Senate The Indiana State Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year ...
as the Senator for Indiana Senate District 3. He also serves as Deputy Chair of the Indiana Democratic Party where he has focused on equity and inclusion.


Biography

Melton was born and raised in
Gary, Indiana Gary ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 69,093 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it Indiana's List of municipalities in Indiana, eleventh-most populous city. The city has been historical ...
, attended Jefferson Elementary, and graduated from Horace Mann High School. He started his secondary education at
Kentucky State University Kentucky State University (KSU, and KYSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Frankfort, Kentucky. Founded in 1886 as the State Normal School for Colored Persons, and becoming a land-grant college in 1890, KSU is the second ...
, where earned an athletic scholarship to play as a quarterback. During his time at
Kentucky State University Kentucky State University (KSU, and KYSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Frankfort, Kentucky. Founded in 1886 as the State Normal School for Colored Persons, and becoming a land-grant college in 1890, KSU is the second ...
, he was a member of
Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911, at Indiana University Bloomington, it has n ...
fraternity and earned a degree in business management. He later completed it at Calumet College of St. Joseph, graduating with a degree in organizational management. Melton served as Manager of Corporate Citizen and Community Relations for NIPSCO. Melton was a contributor to the National My Brother's Keeper Initiative, which was created by
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
. He served on the Indiana State Board of Education. Melton was elected to the state senate in 2016. In June 2019, he announced his candidacy for
Governor of Indiana The governor of Indiana is the head of government of the U.S. state of Indiana. The governor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state gover ...
in the 2020 election, but he ended his candidacy in January 2020. In November 2020, Melton was elected as the Assistant Minority Floor Leader of the
Indiana Senate The Indiana State Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year ...
. Melton currently resides in Gary, Indiana, with his wife, Crystal, and their four children.


Previous Jobs


Early career

Eddie Melton began his career in community engagement and
social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...
, focusing on empowering underprivileged communities. He worked for NIPSCO, as a community relations and corporate citizen manager, where he led initiatives to foster stronger ties between the corporation and local communities. His role involved developing partnerships and programs to address
educational inequality Educational Inequality is the unequal distribution of academic resources, including but not limited to school funding, qualified and experienced teachers, booksphysical facilitiesand technologies, to socially excluded communities. These communiti ...
,
workforce development Workforce development, an American approach to economic development, attempts to enhance a region's economic stability and prosperity by focusing on people rather than businesses. It essentially develops a human-resources strategy. Work-force dev ...
and access to resources to vulnerable populations.


State Senate Career

In November 2016, Melton was elected to the
Indiana State Senate The Indiana State Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-yea ...
, representing District 3, which includes parts of
Gary, Indiana Gary ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 69,093 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it Indiana's List of municipalities in Indiana, eleventh-most populous city. The city has been historical ...
and other areas of northwest
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
. Melton worked with state and local leaders to address issues such as school closures,
economic stagnation Economic stagnation is a prolonged period of slow economic growth (traditionally measured in terms of the GDP growth), usually accompanied by high unemployment. Under some definitions, ''slow'' means significantly slower than potential growth as ...
, and public safety challenges in his district. Known for his
bipartisan Bipartisanship, sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship, is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system (especially those of the United States and some other western countries), in which opposing Political party, politica ...
approach, he focused on securing resources for communities affected by
industrial decline Deindustrialization is a process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country or region, especially of heavy industry or manufacturing industry. There are different interpre ...
. As a
state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...
, Melton worked on funding economic and environmental issues in northwest
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
, including transportation projects and
urban redevelopment Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...
.


Mayoral Campaign


2023 Democratic Primary

On November 16, 2022, Melton declared his candidacy for mayor of
Gary, Indiana Gary ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 69,093 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it Indiana's List of municipalities in Indiana, eleventh-most populous city. The city has been historical ...
, in the 2023 Democratic Party primary election. Melton was the first to challenge incumbent mayor Jerome Prince. Melton became the main competitor to Prince's reelection bid, criticizing Prince's lack of progress in his term. Melton and Prince ended up being the only two candidates on the Democratic Primary ballot due to disqualifications. On May 2, 2023, Eddie Melton defeated Jerome Prince with over 58% of the vote in the Gary Democratic Primary to win the bid of the Democratic nominee for mayor.


Eddie Melton's Campaign

Melton ran a campaign with the catchphrase “Gary deserves better NOW”. Melton received endorsements from members from
The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5, later known as the Jacksons, are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was formed in Gary, Indiana in 1964, and originally consisted of brothers Jackie, Ti ...
group, state legislator Earline Rodgers, and singer
Deniece Williams June Deniece Williams (née Chandler; born June 3, 1950) is an American singer. She has been described as "one of the great Soul music, soul voices" by the BBC. She is best known for the songs "Free (Deniece Williams song), Free", "Silly (song ...
, among many union groups.


2023 General Election

On November 7, 2023, the Gary Indiana general elections were held between Eddie Melton and Republican challenger Andrew Delano. Melton received over 95% of the vote, winning the election. Melton resigned from the State Senate on December 5, 2023, following his election as mayor. On December 30, 2023, Melton was sworn in as the 22nd mayor of Gary Indiana, officially taking office on January 1, 2024.


Mayor of Gary


Inauguration

Melton was sworn in to office on December 30, 2023 by Lake County Prosecutor, Bernard Carter at
West Side Leadership Academy West Side Leadership Academy is a four-year (9-12) public school of the Gary Community School Corporation in Gary, Indiana, United States. Notable alumni * Dana Evans, WNBA player * LaTroy Hawkins, MLB player * Jon'Vea Johnson, NFL player * ...
. In his inaugural address, Mayor Melton emphasized the need for change and a forward-looking vision for a "greater Gary."


First 100 Days

Upon taking office on January 1, 2024, Melton announced his 100-day plan titled "Leading Gary to Greatness." The plan focused on nine areas: greater government, public infrastructure environmental and parks, public safety, economic development and redevelopment, education, housing, arts, culture, and tourism, and community engagement.


Economic Development

On March 7, 2024, his administration negotiated with the large local company, Indiana Sugars. The company was looking to expand and perhaps move out of Gary, but with Melton's efforts, Indiana Sugars remained local and purchased 70 more acres in Gary. In March 2024, Melton's administration received a $3 million dollar donation from Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana to aid in the demolition of run down and abandoned properties in downtown Gary. Melton also helped Gary Works secure a $300 million investment from Nippon Steel.


Public Infrastructure

In July 2024, Melton announced that the city would be partnering with Notre Dame School of Architecture's Housing and Community Regeneration Initiative to work on rebuilding Gary in order to revitalize the economy and create a better downtown area for residents. In June 2024, to address concerns of aging infrastructure, Melton introduced the Relight the City program to repair all streetlights in Gary by 2025. The city council allocated $3.5 million dollars to fund the plan. Improved street lighting has been seen to reduce crime rates and road injuries in cities. In late May 2024 the Melton administration formed a partnership with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) and law enforcement to form an illegal dumping task force. The city also received a half $1 million grant from IDEM to help combat and clean up illegal dumping sites. Melton spoke at a press conference announcing the task force and encouraged residents to use the 311-nonemergency line to report illegal dumping in the city.


Electoral history


References


External links


Eddie Melton for Mayor of Gary

Eddie Melton at Ballotpedia

Project Vote Smart – Eddie Melton (IN)
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profile
Office website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melton, Eddie African-American state legislators in Indiana Mayors of Gary, Indiana African-American mayors in Indiana Politicians from Gary, Indiana Living people Candidates in the 2020 United States elections 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people 21st-century mayors of places in Indiana 1981 births 21st-century members of the Indiana General Assembly