Stephen Goldsmith

For the cricketer, see Steve Goldsmith (cricketer).

Stephen Goldsmith
46th Mayor of Indianapolis
In office January 1, 1992 – January 1, 2000
Preceded by	William H. Hudnut III
Succeeded by	Bart Peterson
Personal details
Born	(1946-12-12) December 12, 1946 Indianapolis, Indiana
Political party	Republican
Residence	Indianapolis, Indiana
Alma mater	Wabash College

Stephen "Steve" Goldsmith (born December 12, 1946) is the former Mayor of Indianapolis and most recently served as the Deputy Mayor of New York City for Operations, stepping down effective August 4th, 2011. He is also the Daniel Paul Professor of Government at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He is a graduate of Wabash College and the University of Michigan Law School, and is an Eagle Scout and recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award.

Political career

Marion County Prosecutor

In 1978, Goldsmith began his political career by defeating Democratic Judge Andrew Jacobs Sr. in the race for Marion County Prosecutor. Goldsmith continued to serve in this capacity for 12 years (1979-1991), when the opportunity to run for Mayor of Indianapolis presented itself.

Race for Lieutenant Governor

In 1988, John Mutz made an unsuccessful bid for Governor of Indiana, calling upon Goldsmith to be his running mate. Mutz and Goldsmith lost to the Democratic ticket of Evan Bayh and Frank O'Bannon.

Mayor of Indianapolis

In 1991, Goldsmith ran under the Republican banner for Mayor, defeating his Democratic opponent Louis Mahern by a clear majority.

Goldsmith came to office with a pledge to rebuild long-neglected neighborhoods and provide better city services at lower costs. He put city services out for bid to save money and attacked the bricks-and-mortar problems with the highly touted Building Better Neighborhoods program. By the end of his second term Mayor Goldsmith had presided over $1.5 billion in new or rehabilitated parks, streets, sidewalks and sewers, while reducing the tax rate four times.

Goldsmith is perhaps best known for earning a national reputation for innovations in government as he reduced the city’s bureaucracy, taxes, and counter-productive regulations, all while identifying more than $400 million in savings, which he then reinvested in a transformation of downtown Indianapolis and its urban neighborhoods.

Goldsmith was a leading force in the rebirth of downtown Indianapolis. While Circle Centre Mall began under Hudnut, it was Goldsmith who made it a reality in 1995. With the mall came myriad restaurant, bar and retail openings nearby as the number of Downtown visitors exploded. Then came the $183 million Conseco Fieldhouse, a $50 million remodeling of the Indiana Convention Center, the NCAA headquarters, Anthem's 2,500-worker offices, Emmis Broadcasting's offices on Monument Circle and Union Station's renovation.

Crowning development efforts was Eli Lilly and Co.'s 1999 announcement of a planned $1 billion, 7,500-worker expansion– which had been sweetened by more than $100 million in city-offered tax breaks. In a study on the remaking of downtown, Indiana University Professor Mark Rosentraub concluded that Goldsmith and his predecessors, mayors William H. Hudnut III and Richard Lugar, were able to attract more than $3 billion in new investment to the city's core over a 25 year period.

Goldsmith served as Mayor of Indianapolis for two terms from 1992 to 2000.

Bid for Indiana Governor

Goldsmith was the Republican candidate for Governor of Indiana in 1996 against Lieutenant Governor Frank O'Bannon. O'Bannon defeated Goldsmith 52% to 47%. Despite being Mayor of Indianapolis, Goldsmith failed to win Marion County, which includes Indianapolis. O'Bannon overcame an early deficit in the polls by focusing on his long history of public service, his true Indiana roots and mismanagement of the city of Indianapolis while Goldsmith was Mayor. The Goldsmith campaign was unable to successfully rebut "allegations of influence peddling" and accusations that cuts in spending had undermined the city's ability to process sewage. In addition, "polls also showed that his negative campaign ads were unpopular with voters."

Chief domestic policy advisor

Goldsmith was chief domestic policy advisor to President George W. Bush in the 2000 campaign and then served as Special Advisor to President Bush on faith-based and not-for-profit initiatives. He was appointed chair of the Board of Directors for the Corporation for National and Community Service in 2001, a position he still holds.

Deputy Mayor of New York

On April 30, 2010, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced he would appoint Goldsmith to become Deputy Mayor of Operations, a position he held until August 4th, 2011. The New York Times suggested that "his short tenure was complicated by controversies, most notably after the city’s slow response to a crippling snowstorm in December."

Private sector

Goldsmith was a Partner of Knowledge Universe, which invests in internet-oriented education companies, day care and childhood learning companies, and B2B companies, principally in business and human resources consulting and online training.

He also was the Chairman Emeritus of the Manhattan Institute's (a policy research think tank) Center for Civic Innovation.

Publications

In addition to contributing to publications such as the New York Times, Washington Times, and Wall Street Journal, Goldsmith has written several books on government such as:

• The Power of Social Innovation, Jossey Bass, 2010,
• Governing By Network: The New Shape of the Public Sector: Brookings Institution. 2004.
• Putting Faith In Neighborhoods: Making Cities Work Through Grassroots Citizenship: Hudson Institute. 2002.
• The Entrepreneurial City: A How-To Handbook for Urban Innovators. Editor, Manhattan Institute. 1999.
• The Twenty-First Century City Resurrecting Urban America: Regnery 1997

Electoral history

Indianapolis mayoral election, 1991

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Stephen Goldsmith	110,545	56.2
	Democratic	Louis Mahern	79,817	40.6

External links

• Manhattan Institute
• Harvard School of Government Profile