SPENCER, INDIANA – The Owen County Democratic Party has announced the plans for their annual Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner to be held Friday, April 17th. The featured speaker for the evening will be former Indianapolis Mayor, Bart Peterson.  There will also be opportunities to meet current Democratic elected officials.

The event will be held at the Spencer First Christian Church’s Christian Life Center, located one block southwest of the Courthouse Square, on South Montgomery Street.  Tickets will be sold in advance of the event and are $15.00 per person.  They are available from any Democratic party official or by calling 829-4254.  The evening will begin with a social time at 5:30pm and the dinner and program starting promptly at 6:30pm.  The dinner will be catered by Lois Bixler.  Door prizes will be given away upon conclusion of the evening.

Bart Peterson served two terms as Mayor of Indianapolis, the nation’s 12th largest city, from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2007.  He also served as President of the National League of Cities in 2007.  He has been with Strategic Capital Partners, LLC since June 2008 as Managing Director of Strategic Partners Urban Fund, a new venture that will invest in underserved urban communities in cities across the country.

As Mayor, Peterson led a transformation of public education in Indianapolis by being the only mayor in America with the authority to create new schools by issuing charters won directly from the state legislature.  He managed 16 charter schools, and won Harvard University’s prestigious Innovations in American Government Award in 2006.   He also led the effort to create Fall Creek Place, the revival of a near-Northside neighborhood challenged by crime and blight by creating more than 400 new home ownership opportunities.  Under his leadership, Indianapolis experienced impressive job growth as Peterson was instrumental in the construction and development of major projects such as Lucas Oil Stadium, Simon Property Group World Headquarters, The New Indianapolis International Airport and Col. H. Weir Cook Terminal Building, and the future Indiana Convention Center expansion and JW Marriott Hotel.

Indianapolis’ public and private commitment to the arts flourished as Peterson increased public funding for the arts.  He also initiated countless cultural opportunities throughout the city.  Along with Indiana University and Purdue University, he also created BioCrossroads, a focused effort to push Indianapolis to the forefront as a life sciences capital.  Peterson was honored by the National Association of Clean Water Agencies and earned the City Government Leader of the Year Award for his efforts in cleaning up the Indianapolis waterways.

During spring of 2008, Peterson was a fellow with the Institute of Politics of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.   Currently, he is a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Public Policy at Ball State University.

Before running for office, Peterson had a distinguished career in the private sector, as well as in public service.  Peterson and his family built The Precedent Companies, a group of real estate development and financial services companies, served as a member of Indiana Governor Evan Bayh’s leadership team, first as his aide for environmental affairs and later as chief of staff, and was an attorney with Ice Miller law firm.

Peterson is a graduate of Purdue University and the University of Michigan Law School.

He is married to Amy Minick Peterson, who runs her own marketing consulting business.  Together they have a 20-year-old daughter, Meg, a sophomore at the University of Michigan.

Chairman Anton Karl Neff noted, “We are honored to have Bart Peterson visit Owen County and speak at our dinner.  This is an excellent opportunity for folks to meet him.  We welcome everyone to our dinner and invite you to be a part of this event.”  Additional information can be found on the party’s website, www.owendemocrats.org.