A look at the Democratic candidates for South Bend mayor

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - South Bend Mayor James Mueller is running for a second term, while veteran Councilman Henry Davis, Jr. is running for mayor for a second time (Davis lost to Pete Buttigieg in 2015).

It’s a much different situation mathematically than the last municipal election in 2019 when Pete Buttigieg was preparing to run for president, and James Mueller was one of six candidates competing for the Democratic nod. Mueller took the nomination with 37% of the vote.

On Tuesday, voters will decide who will remain on the ballot come November.

When asked what voters are looking for in their next mayor, James Mueller replied: “They want to see the path that we’re on continue. We’re excited as a city from where we came from, to where we are now. There’s all these opportunities. There’s all this hope going forward and that’s what they want their mayor to build off of.”

Councilman Davis sees things differently.

“They want someone that has the ability to make a decision,” Davis told 16 News Now. “Someone who is interested in developing people and developing the city. Someone that is interested in showing up for the job, someone who is excited about doing the job.”

Since 1971, the candidate who won the Democratic primary has gone on to become the next mayor.

This year, both candidates say voters have a real choice.

“There’s an absolute contrast between myself and my competitor,” said Davis. “They see things with rose-colored glasses on, everything is going great. The majority of South Bend is suffering. You’re talking about closing schools down, no real choice of affordable housing, you’re talking about very high crime, right? You’re dealing with higher taxes as well, so we can’t continue to offer ourselves to be a 21st-century city when we’re failing at some of the most foundational issues that help uplift and build a city.”

Mayor Mueller countered, “Tomorrow’s election offers a clear choice, you know. If you like the path we’re on, even if you know we have a lot of work left to do, then, you know, there’s a very clear choice to bring back the team that’s been proven to deliver for our residents, and the contrast is the choice, if you want to go in a completely different direction, you go for the other team.”