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Samuel Ifeanyi "Vop" Osili Jr. (born 1963) is a Democratic politician from
Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
. He is a member of the
Indianapolis City-County Council The City-County Council of Indianapolis and Marion County is the legislative body of the combined government of the city of Indianapolis and the county of Marion in the state of Indiana. The council was established as part of the consolidation ...
from the 11th district, in the northwestern portion of Center Township. Since February 2018, he has been the council's president. On December 22, 2011, an Indiana judge declared him the secretary of state-elect of Indiana due to first-place finisher Charlie White's ineligibility, though this was later reversed on appeal.


Early life

Osili was born in
Lagos, Nigeria Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...
, to a
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
n father and an American mother. In the midst of the
Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Biafran War, Nigeria-Biafra War, or Biafra War, was fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a Secession, secessionist state which had declared its independen ...
, he and his mother fled to the United States; his father didn't follow them for another five years. They settled in his maternal grandparents' home in Haughville. He grew up as a Republican but became a Democrat in the 1990s.Kelly, Niki
Secretary of state race all about voting
Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, 2010-10-24.


Education and early career

Osili graduated from
Carnegie-Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a Private university, private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became t ...
with a bachelor's degree in
architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...
, and earned a master's degree in architecture and urban design from
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
. He later served as a missionary to
Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
and other developing countries. He is a founding partner of A2SO4, an Indianapolis-based architectural design company that was one of the first
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a Green building certification systems, green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating ...
-certified firms in the nation. He was a member of the Indiana Fire and Building Services Commission from 2001 to 2005, and chairman of the Indianapolis Board of Zoning Appeals from 2005 to 2008. At various times, he served as a member of the boards of the
YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...
of Greater Indianapolis, the
United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit organization, nonprofit fundraising affiliates. Prior to 2015, United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public. Individual Un ...
of Central Indiana and the Children's Museum of Indianapolis.


Secretary of State of Indiana election

In 2010, Osili was the Democratic candidate for
Secretary of State of Indiana The secretary of state of Indiana is one of five constitutional officers originally designated in Indiana's state constitution of 1816. Since 1851, it has been an elected position. The secretary of state oversees four divisions, and is the third ...
, pledging to reinvigorate the business services section of the office. He was initially a heavy underdog against Republican candidate Charlie White. However, White came under fire for claiming his former home in
Fishers Fisher is an archaic term for a fisherman, revived as gender-neutral. Fisher, Fishers or The Fisher may also refer to: Places Australia * Division of Fisher, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in Queensland *Elec ...
as his official residence and continuing to serve on the Fishers town council even after moving out of town, and for voting in his old precinct in the Republican primary. Polls initially showed Osili gaining ground on White in the Indianapolis area as a result of the controversy. However, on election day, Osili took only 37 percent of the vote amid the massive Republican wave that swept through Indiana. The Democrats subsequently filed suit to overturn White's victory, claiming that since Secretary of State candidates must be registered voters, they must be registered legally and therefore White was ineligible to run. However, the state Recount Commission dismissed the Democrats' claim. The Democrats appealed, and on April 7 Marion County judge Louis Rosenberg ordered the Recount Commission to make a ruling on the legality of White's registration. The commission voted unanimously to clear White, accepting his claim that he intended to use his old home as his permanent address. The Democrats asked Rosenburg to review the decision, which he did (in White's absence) on November 23. He was expected to make a ruling in 30 days.


2011 election certification

On December 22, 2011, Rosenberg ruled that White had in fact violated election law, and that he had been ineligible to run. Rosenberg ordered the Recount Commission to remove White from office and declare Osili as the winner by default.Ruling by Louis Rosenberg
/ref> White immediately announced he would appeal, and asked Rosenberg to stay his ruling until a higher court could hear the case. The next day, Rosenburg issued a temporary stay on his own ruling until January 3, 2012. On January 4, Rosenburg ruled that White could stay in office while his appeal worked its way through the courts. If Osili ultimately became Secretary of State, he would have been the first Democrat to hold that post since 1994. According to Jim Shella, political reporter at
WISH-TV WISH-TV (channel 8) is a television station in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, affiliated with The CW. It is locally owned by Circle City Broadcasting alongside Marion-licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate WNDY-TV (channel 23) and low-power, ...
in Indianapolis, if Osili ultimately became Secretary of State, the Republicans would have legally received no votes in the Secretary of State's race. This would drop them below the 10 percent threshold required to retain major-party status in the state (major party status is determined by Secretary of State results). On February 4, 2012, White was convicted of six felonies related to his actions in the 2010 election, thus automatically removing him from office; Indiana, like most states, does not allow convicted felons to hold office. White tried to get the charges reduced to misdemeanors at sentencing, but Hamilton County Superior Court Judge Steven Nation refused to do so, thus ending any chance of White regaining office even if Rosenberg's ruling giving the office to Osilli had been reversed on appeal.
Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
Mitch Daniels Mitchell Elias Daniels Jr. (born April 7, 1949) is an American Academic administration, academic administrator, businessman, author, and retired politician who served as the 49th governor of Indiana from 2005 to 2013. A Republican Party (United ...
appointed White's deputy, Jerry Bonnet, as interim Secretary of State. However, the Indiana Supreme Court threw out Rosenburg's ruling, holding that the Democrats had filed their challenge too late. The court's decision allowed Daniels to appoint a permanent successor.


Indianapolis City-County Council

In 2011, Osili won the race in City-County Council District 15 against Republican A. J. Feeney-Ruiz and Libertarian Zachary Capehart.. He received 80% of the vote. In 2015, the council districts were redrawn, eliminating four at-large seats, and shifting Osili to District 11. Osili won the 2015 election for District 11 against Republican Remington O'Guin with 86% of the vote. In February 2018, City-County Council President Stephen Clay stepped down and endorsed Osili to succeed him. Osili was elected president unanimously. Osili currently serves as the chair of the Committee on Committees, and Rules and Public Policy. Osili serves on the standing committee for Community Affairs.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osili, Vop American politicians of Nigerian descent Living people Indiana Democrats Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation alumni Indianapolis City-County Council members African-American city council members in Indiana 1963 births Nigerian emigrants to the United States 21st-century Nigerian architects 21st-century American architects