Jon Costas

Infobox Mayor
name = H. Jonathan Costas


width = 135px
height = 184px
office = Mayor of Valparaiso, Indiana
birth_date = 1957
birth_place = Gary, Indiana
residence
term_start =January 1 2004
term_end =
predecessor = David Butterfield
successor = Incumbent
party = Republican
religion =
spouse = Sharon Costas
children =
website = www.joncostas.com
alma_mater = Valparaiso University

H. Jonathon Costas (born 1957), current mayor of Valparaiso, Indiana, member of the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, elder law attorney, small business owner, and father of four. He was elected mayor as a Republican in 2003 after a high-profile campaign that defeated 20-year incumbent Democrat David A. Butterfield. He ran but failed to win the Republican nomination for Indiana attorney general at the 2008 Indiana Republican State convention. [ [http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2008/06/03/news/top_news/docfb18a4237a7798398625745c00830235.txt Lake County helped fuel Zoeller Attorney General nomination] ] .

Costas set a goal of making Valparaiso “one of the most progressive and vibrant cities in the entire midwest.” In his first term as mayor, Costas' accomplishments include obtaining $20M of state and federal grants for infrastructure improvements, passing a restaurant smoking ban, the redevelopment of County Seat Plaza and the city's "Eastgate" area, creation of a public transportation system, and expansion of the city by 25% through annexationhttp://www.ci.valparaiso.in.us/mayor/pressroom/presentations/2008%20State%20of%20the%20City.pdf] .

Costas is lead singer for the band The ConservaDellics and is known for singing [ [http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jon-Costas/13607457130?ref=nf Jon Costas | Facebook ] ] and playing guitar, which he did at a city meeting and atop a giant cow [ [http://www.nwitimes.com/articles/2005/10/30/news/porter_county/c2ceb034d96a69ec862570aa000d296b.txt Howie mooooves! / nwi.com ] ] . He is an Ironman Triathlete.

Early life (pre-1996)

Costas is the son of former State Senator William P. Costas, known locally for an eponymous supermarket chain. The family moved from Gary, Indiana to Valparaiso in 1972 and Costas graduated from Valparaiso High School in 1975. He graduated with a B.A. from St. Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Indiana and a J.D. from Valparaiso University, where he is adjunct faculty.

Costas was introduced to politics through his father's campaigns, including unsuccessful campaigns for the United States Congress in 1986 and 1990 [ [http://nwitimes.com/articles/1990/04/02/export142840.txt There will be more exciting races May 8, but few will have a more unique group / nwi.com ] ] . His first major public role was in 1993 as co-chair of a group opposed to allowing a Circus Circus casino in Porter County. Even though two neighboring counties approved the casino ballot measure and Costas's group was out-spent by more than 10-to-1, the referendum was rejected by Porter County voters. [ [http://nwitimes.com/articles/1993/11/03/export190613.txt Special edition: Riverboat referendum. / nwi.com ] ] .

City Councilman and first run for mayor

In 1995, having established a successful law practice, Costas sought and won an at-large seat on Valparaiso City Council. While on Council, Costas supported a measure banning the sale of certain forms of pornography in Valparaiso [ [http://nwitimes.com/articles/1997/03/09/export273017.txt Council crusades against obscenity. / nwi.com ] ] . Costas also cast a vote against allowing city employees to join a labor union [ [http://nwitimes.com/articles/1996/03/26/export213069.txt Council squashes workers' hopes. / nwi.com ] ] , though he received labor union endorsements in subsequent elections. In 1997, as Chairman of the Parks Foundation, Costas led an effort to raise $250,000 to buy land for a park on Silver Lake [ [http://nwitimes.com/articles/1997/10/25/export274987.txt More land secured for Valpo. / nwi.com ] ] .

Costas first ran for mayor against Butterfield in 1999 and was defeated by 196 votes despite having the endorsement of both major local newspapers [ [http://nwitimes.com/articles/1999/10/24/export384108.txt Costas has edge over Butterfield.
The issue: Valparaiso mayoral race / nwi.com ] ] . Some analysts claim that Costas's running a positive campaign and not 'going negative' contributed to the loss. Columnist Pat Bankston wrote:

Costas' decision to be positive rather than negative has been viewed by some in both political parties as a weakness, a lack of the killer instinct. Some have said that Costas is too nice to be a politician. Some have charged that it was a political mistake not to go after the mayor (Butterfield) on the Pratt deal when Costas had the chance. Maybe. We'll never know if Costas might have won if he had been a more typical political campaigner. [ [http://nwitimes.com/articles/1999/12/05/export388456.txt Costas campaigned for better city.
The issue: Valparaiso mayoral race / nwi.com ] ]

Election as Mayor (2003)

Costas again ran for Mayor in 2003 and won with approximately 56% of the vote [ [http://nwitimes.com/articles/2003/11/05/news/porter_county/001d49c0ed5115d486256dd5001dec62.txt VALPARAISO: Second time a charm for Costas over Butterfield / nwi.com ] ] , ending Butterfield's 20 year tenure. Every Republican on the city ballot won election, the first Republican sweep in at least 33 years. Costas carried the endorsements of the city's firefighters [ [http://nwitimes.com/articles/2003/09/20/news/porter_county/5996b413564deb3586256da7001a0f9a.txt Firefighters back Costas over Butterfield / nwi.com ] ] and police [ [http://nwitimes.com/articles/2003/10/08/news/porter_county/7c34bd98c9b568ce86256db9000ee196.txt Costas gets Valpo FOP endorsement / nwi.com ] ] , Building Trades Council, AFL-CIO, and Operating Engineers, who historically support Democratic candidates [ [http://www.nwi.com/articles/2007/05/04/news/porter_county/doccd355a8392069a42862572d000826158.txt News in brief / nwi.com ] ] . His campaign theme was similar to that of 1999, including calls for long term planning, controlled growth, redevelopment of "blighted areas", and more aggressive economic development to create jobs. These ideas were contained in a "Costas Plan", which was released in October 2003.

Accomplishments as Mayor

Costas's term as mayor began with a significant reorganization of city government, including appointing a new City Planner, appointing new Police and Fire chiefs, and creating the post of City Administrator [ [http://nwitimes.com/articles/2003/12/03/news/porter_county/83d4735584f5861086256df1000a216c.txt Costas unveils reorganization plan, names administrator / nwi.com ] ] . Costas appointed the first African-American to a city board [ [http://www.nwi.com/articles/2004/01/17/news/porter_county/f16ea899f07665be86256e1e000b1745.txt First black named to city board / nwi.com ] ] and oversaw the hiring of the first African-American police officer [ [http://www.nwi.com/articles/2004/07/24/news/porter_county/3602d10123e101c186256edb0002ba35.txt Valpo Police Department welcomes three officers / nwi.com ] ] .

The Costas Plan, produced during the election, became the basis for Costas's goals in his first term, which included improving city planning, increasing government efficiency, building "strong" neighborhoods, and creating "quality" jobs. After a year-long planning process that included numerous public consultations, the city produced a Strategic Plan in 2005 [http://www.ci.valparaiso.in.us/Government/Mayor/StrategicPlanFINAL2005.pdf] .

Costas soon realized that the city’s infrastructure had been neglected for years, and he began an ambitious construction program, saying that the city had to look better to attract jobs, investment, and new families. The city built a new police station to replace the city’s 127-year-old non-ADA-accessible station that used a broom closet as an evidence room. The city began an ambitious road repair program and obtained several grants for long-delayed sewer work. The troublesome “triangle” intersection was reworked into a roundabout, the first in the area. The City condemned a derelict shopping center and engaged a philanthropic local family to redevelop it. The family, owners of Urschel Labs, donated half the cost of building a new YMCA on the site.

Costas, author of the city’s first Ethics Ordinance when he was on City Council, backed an even stronger ethics ordinance and significantly revamped the city’s sleepy Ethics Committee into a proactive group to deliver ethics training to city employees [ [http://nwi.com/articles/2005/03/18/news/porter_county/2e376237b3ef6ceb86256fc80013e4b2.txt City ethics ordinance finally gets OK / nwi.com ] ] . He appointed a Neighborhood Advocate, started a “Fit City” program, began a city bus service called the V-Line, reached agreement from restaurant and bar owners on a smoking ban, saved $200K by consolidating the city’s 911 dispatch with the County’s, and created several environmental initiatives such as reducing the city’s energy use and increasing recycling to 70% of the city’s solid waste (from 49%).

The editorial boards of local newspapers soon began taking note of Costas’s new style, with the Times claiming that other cities should “follow Valparaiso’s lead” in both content and process: “Costas involved the City Council, his administration and members of the public in drafting this plan. Benchmarks were set. And then the appropriate city leaders agreed to the plan.” [ [http://nwi.com/articles/2008/01/01/opinion/times_editorials/doc403af1be4bb2f6c5862573c2007a35f0.txt EDITORIAL: Cities should plan strategy, then focus on putting it to use / nwi.com ] ]

In his 2007 and 2008 State of the City addresses, Costas credited the Plan for helping the city to obtain $20M of grants to pay for Eastgate improvements, Valparaiso Street reconstruction, improvements related to the County Seat redevelopment, and sewer projects. Costas also claims to have repaved nearly 1/3 of the city's roads, as compared to a few miles a year before Costas. He claims the city has saved $700K in insurance premiums, attracted $28M of private investment, and spearheaded the redevelopment of the former County Seat Plaza. [http://www.ci.valparaiso.in.us/mayor/statecity/2007%20State%20of%20the%20City.pdf]

2007 Election

Costas defeated 4th District Republican City Councilman Robert McCasland with 65% of the vote in the May 8 2007 Republican primary. No Democrat challenged Costas, and he was re-elected on November 6, 2007. Costas continued to enjoy the support of the local organized labor, who praised the accessibility and transparency of his administration, even though the city passed no significant union-friendly ordinances. [ [http://nwi.com/articles/2007/05/04/news/porter_county/doccd355a8392069a42862572d000826158.txt News in brief / nwi.com ] ] Costas was endorsed by both major newspapers, with the Times noting that Costas “whipped the city's finances into better shape” and “created a spirit of cooperative enthusiasm in the city”. [ [http://nwi.com/articles/2007/05/03/opinion/times_editorials/doc6934e0a9f741c9e2862572cf007dc910.txt EDITORIAL: Forward-thinking Costas earns our endorsement in Valparaiso / nwi.com ] ]

2008 Election for Attorney General

On June 2, 2008, Costas was defeated by Greg Zoeller for the Republican nomination for Indiana Attorney General at the Indiana Republican State Convention. Costas is currently campaign manager for Zoeller's run against Democrat Linda Pence. [http://nwi.com/articles/2008/07/11/news/porter_county/doc6edf4d453ee19450862574830003ab01.txt]

References

External links

* [http://www.ci.valparaiso.in.us/mayor/index.htm Mayor's official website]
* [http://www.joncostas2008.com Campaign website]