A proposal to remove Indianapolis City-County Councilors’ home addresses from ethics disclosure forms is one step closer to approval.
Councilors are required to file annual ethics forms that disclose where they live and work, and any time the city made payments over $5,000 to their employer.
The proposal would remove the requirement for councilors to disclose their personal residence, but they would still be required to reveal their business address.
The council’s Ethics Committee voted 4-1 to pass the measure. It now heads to the full City-County Council.
The move comes after City-County Councilor Ron Gibson’s home was shot at following his support of a controversial data center in Martindale-Brightwood this year.
Councilor Frank Mascari was the only councilor on the committee who voted against.
"What happened to Ron Gibson is terrible,” Mascari said, “but I'm not going to hide in this low-level political position that I'm in.”
Councilor Josh Bain said that he doesn’t view the proposal as hiding, but as a result of the current political climate. Bain said he has received death threats, swatting threats, and even pipe bomb threats.
Councilor Michael Paul-Hart pointed out that councilors’ addresses are still available on other forms.
"It's not necessarily going to be the saving grace on protecting us as councilors.”
Farrah Anderson is an investigative health reporter with WFYI and Side Effects Public Media. You can follow her on X at @farrahsoa or by email at fanderson@wfyi.org.
