Mayor James Mueller discusses priorities following reelection

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Following a resounding re-election victory, and a sweep for Democrats on the Common Council, South Bend Mayor James Mueller says his administration has a major opportunity ahead. 

"Whether that's building upon the record investment and growth in our city, or whether that's continuing to make improvements to public safety and building on what we've been able to do over the past four years," Mueller told ABC57 in an interview. 

As of August 2023, the South Bend Police Department is fully staffed. A fact Mueller credits for the declining number of gun violence incidents and victims in 2023 compared to the year before. Mueller says he's looking to add more officers next year, while pushing for "common sense" gun regulation. 

"There's a limit to what [police] can achieve," Mueller said. "Of course, we need to get at the root causes of this violence. There's a lot on the table there as well."

One of those root causes, Mueller sees as access to education. 

"We need to make sure our kids have access to opportunities; we need to make sure that our education system is as strong as possible."

Education isn't in the hands of city government, but Mayor Mueller hopes to work with state legislature to improve K-12 schools and early childhood education to invest in children at a young age. 

"If you have a strong foundation from early childhood education, that helps all schools, whether you're talking about charter schools, traditional public schools, or even the private schools that are taking voucher kids now." 

Mueller defeated Republican challenger Desmont Upchurch with 73% of the votes, compared to 27% for Upchurch.