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Dear Editor:
As soon as Mark Hall lost his most recent primary election (for Noblesville Common Council in 2019), he started campaigning for the 2022 Hamilton County Council race.
His latest venture, an admirable project called FeedingTeam, began in 2020 by installing mini food pantries all over Hamilton County. As soon as I saw the yellow and black FeedingTeam design, I asked friends, “How much do you want to bet his yard signs will be yellow and black in 2022?” Surely, I’m being cynical? Read on.
Believe it or not, Hall is running (again) against Steve Schwartz in the Hamilton County District 1 councilor race. Hamilton County residents don’t have to dig deep into the past (it was 2018) to remember the scandal of Hall’s wife Lisa getting caught on camera removing a Schwartz sign from a Noblesville resident’s yard. No criminal charges were filed in the case. Schwartz subsequently sent the photo out as a holiday card to friends and family. Classy.
Guess what? Hall’s new, theft-proof campaign signs are yellow and black, and in the same font as FeedingTeam. You can find a link to his campaign site on the FeedingTeam website.
While the FeedingTeam project undoubtedly serves a great purpose, I absolutely question Hall’s timing and branding in connection to launching the effort. I have spent only a few minutes on a handful of occasions in conversations with Mark Hall, but he is inauthentic at best.
If you aren’t sold on my un-dorsement of Mark Hall yet, let’s remember his grandstanding toward the Hamilton East Public Library Board of Trustees at its July 25, 2021 meeting. He very publicly called out the library for including books that acknowledged and celebrated LGBTQ people.
Where does the library get its funding? From the county, of course. Who controls the purse strings of the library system? The county councilors.
Speaking of purse strings, Hall’s own company, TalentLogistix, has contributed $22,279.04 (to date) to his current county council campaign. These donations are all considered in-kind contributions.
As book-banning and stifling public school curricula legislation has popped up around the state and country (look no further than failed HB 1134, co-authored by District 29 State Representative Chuck Goodrich – who has already contributed to Hall’s campaign), we need to be wary of candidates who seek power at whatever cost, and who aim to limit free and humane speech in our public schools and libraries.
Primary voting will take place on Tuesday, May 3. While this is not an endorsement of Steve Schwartz, it’s certainly an “anyone-but-Hall” endorsement. Noblesville and Hamilton County deserve much better.
Curtis Honeycutt
Noblesville