On the same day Troy Warner announced he’s stepping down from his South Bend Common Council seat to become Mayor James Mueller’s chief of staff, two people said they’re interested in the seat.
The two Democratic candidates are 53-year-old Hodge Patel and 48-year-old Angela Smith, and they happen to be next door neighbors in the 900 block of East Jefferson Boulevard. Both left public sector careers and work for engineering firms that contract often with local governments.
Patel is business and government strategy director at Abonmarche while Smith is a senior planner at Jones Petrie Rafinski.
Patel says he’s qualified partly because he worked in constituent services for 22 years for U.S. senators Joe Donnelly and Evan Bayh.
“I think I have a different approach on how to handle challenges and work through things, and rather than being a bureaucrat, trying to find solutions to problems," Patel said.
Smith is a former planner and zoning administrator at Area Plan and the city. She says the timing is right for her personally with her youngest child leaving soon for college.
“So I’ll have the time to be the boots on the ground, attend the neighborhood meetings, really be active and be the voice for the district," Smith said.
Anyone interested in filling the council seat for District 4, which covers the city's east side, should contact St. Joseph County Democratic Party Chair Don Westerhausen. He has 30 days to schedule a party caucus to pick Warner’s replacement.
