McCarty announces run for Westfield City Council

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A Westfield resident who serves on the city’s Advisory Plan Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals has announced that he is running for Westfield City Council.

Victor McCarty, 29, is a lifelong resident of the city and said he decided to make a run for a seat on the city council in part because of his love for Westfield and  because he thinks he can bring a different perspective if elected. He plans to formally declare in January, he said.

“Westfield is really ingrained in who I am,” McCarty said.

McCarty, who was appointed to the APC and BZA boards in 2020, got his start in politics as an intern with former Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard in 2012 and also worked for the Indiana House Republicans at the Indiana Statehouse. After graduating from Huntington University in 2015, he returned to Westfield and started attending Westfield City Council meetings and others to prepare himself for the future, he said.

He was appointed to the city’s APC and BZA boards in 2020 by Mayor Andy Cook and is a marketing coordinator for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Indiana Realty. He formerly worked at Westfield High School in the special education department.

“I knew it was going to be some point in time that I wanted to take that next step of public service, but didn’t know when,” McCarty said.

McCarty, who has not decided if he’ll seek an at-large or district seat since the council has not redistricted, is running on a platform centered around “WeRISE” with a particular focus on relationships, infrastructure, safety and engagement.

“What’s unique to me is my perspective and seeing where we’ve been and where we can go,” he said. “I’m very hopeful for our future.”

Still, McCarty thinks the city can improve when it comes to relationships, infrastructure, safety and engagement, noting that he has had some frustrations as an APC board member on how long some things are taking.

“To hear there’s a negative representation of Westfield outside of our little bubble, it hurts,” McCarty said. “I want people to know that Westfield is open for business.”

McCarty also said he backs public safety in Westfield and supports the idea of adding another fire station as the city continues to grow. That should be done by creating a fiscal plan and being proactive at the same time while looking at the city’s infrastructure needs as well, he added.

McCarty also said he has not taken a position on whether the city should sell the Grand Park Sports Campus or enter into a public-private partnership, saying he doesn’t have all the information available yet to make a decision. The 400-acre complex, which serves as the training camp for the Indianapolis Colts, has 31 soccer fields, 26 baseball diamonds, two administration buildings, seven concession stands and a 378,000-square-foot multi-use event center.

However, he did say he has traveled to other sports complexes around the country and thinks the city is underutilizing space around Grand Park. McCarty said he wants to help facilitate relationships in order to make Westfield better if elected to the council.

“I firmly believe in talking with people, understanding what their needs are … and my focus is just interacting with people in a positive way,” he said.

For more, visit McCarty’s website at www.victormccarty.com.


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