By Desiree Williams
Carmel Democrat William Howard will challenge Republican Ken Alexander for the open Hamilton County Council District 4 seat. Incumbent Paul Ayers announced in late 2017 that he would not run for re-election.
Howard, 43, is a native New Yorker who graduated from Freeport Memorial High School in 1992. He pursued business administration at Bethune-Cookman University and obtained an MBA from Webster University in 2001.
He has focused his professional career on performance improvement, human capital management and process improvement. While living in Maryland, Howard worked for the Dept. of Education for almost a decade until a career opportunity for his wife brought their family to Indiana. They settled in Carmel in 2014.
Howard worked for the BMV, VA, and Dept. of Defense for a few years before transitioning to be a stay-at-home dad.
“While being at home, I decided that I really wanted to get back into volunteering because, in Maryland, that was one thing that I was very passionate about,” he said. “Giving back and serving people. How can I make the most of this life?”
Howard said his desire to serve others and the lack of democratic candidates in the area fueled his motivation to run for County Council. He said there’s always room for organizational improvement, which is what he has been trained to do.
“As I started to research, I found that there’s a need for transparency and accountability in local politics,” he said. “We need different candidates with different backgrounds and different ideas and unique experiences to really pull that through.”
Campaign platforms
Transparency and Accountability: Reach out to the community and provide more information about the county council to create engagement
Money Management: Spend constituents’ tax dollars wisely
Diversity: Bring in a variety of ideas, races, backgrounds, opinions, etc.
