New Fort Wayne mayor, its 1st Black leader, in caucus to replace late mayor

Fort Wayne, Indiana – During a caucus to succeed the late mayor, who passed away in March, a councilwoman from Fort Wayne was selected as the new mayor of Indiana’s second-most populous city and its first Black leader on Saturday.

Additionally, Democratic councilwoman Sharon Tucker will be the second female mayor of the community in northern Indiana. In a Democratic caucus, she was chosen in the second round of voting after receiving 50% of the total votes plus one, according to The Journal Gazette.

The Allen County Democratic Party chairman, Derek Camp, said that Tucker would take the oath of office as mayor early the following week. So that the party could come together in support of Fort Wayne’s new mayor, he promised not to disclose the number of votes that Tucker received in the caucus.

The local Democratic party said in a statement that it was excited to have “Mayor Tucker at the helm leading Fort Wayne into the future.”

“Today, Mayor Tucker proved that she has the energy and support of our party, and we can’t wait to support her as she works to continue moving our community forward together,” the statement adds.

In Saturday’s party caucus, which was attended by 92 members of precinct committees, seven candidates participated, among them state representative Phil GiaQuinta, the leader of the Indiana Democratic House.

Mayor Tom Henry passed away on March 28 following a medical emergency due to his stomach cancer, leaving the position empty. He was seventy-two.

dramatic scene in which a man is saved from a flaming automobile
In November, Democrat Henry was re-elected to a sixth term as mayor of the roughly 270,000-person metropolis. At a press conference on February 26, he revealed that he had been diagnosed with late-stage stomach cancer. He began chemotherapy at the beginning of March.

According to Camp, Tucker will hold the position of mayor for the balance of Henry’s tenure, which expires on December 31, 2027.

He said that Tucker will become Fort Wayne’s second female mayor in addition to the first Black person to hold the office. The first was Cosette Simon, who held the position of mayor for 11 days in 1985 following the resignation of fellow Democrat Winfield Moses as part of a plea deal concerning charges of violating campaign funding laws.