By Heather Lusk
Mary Alice Baldwin, better known as Sam, has officially been sworn in as Zionsville’s newest town council member as Jeff Papa was installed as Zionsville’s first mayor.
“I’ve been sworn in several times into office, but this was a little different because it was so quick, but it was exciting,” said Baldwin.
“I was on the road with my grandkids when they finally got a hold of me,” she said. “It was a whirlwind.”
A 47-year-resident of Perry Township, Baldwin had always enjoyed being in the country and still easily accessible to nearby towns prior to the influx of recent development near her home. The preservation of the area is her goal coming into office.
“That’s our main thing, is to try to stay stable as a rural area,” she said.
Baldwin has 24 years of being an elected official in Boone County and won the office of Perry Township trustee last fall. She had just been inducted earlier this year. “It’s kind of short lived now,” she said.
The recent “cease and desist” order from Whitestown to Zionsville has had no impact on Baldwin’s role to the best of her knowledge.
“As far as I know, legally at this point in time, Perry Township officials are defunct. That’s my understanding.”
Politics run in the family. Her son is a Worth Township trustee and her daughter-in-law is the county recorder. But her grandsons are her greatest joy. “They are my life,” she said, “above everything else.”
“It’s going to be interesting,” Baldwin said. “It’s a little intimidating at this point because I don’t know all of what it entails.”
“I’ve sat in on some meetings on the county side and I was active in some of the town of Zionsville when we met on the reorganization,” she said, “but that was totally different.”
“My (prior elected) positions were never a decision making for other offices or anything,” Baldwin said. “Just my programs and the office.”
“It’s going to be a big learning curve for me,” she said. “I intend to rule with my head and my heart.”
