Feeney-Ruiz to Oppose Vop Osili for Council Seat – June 10, 2011
Advance Indiana
His Democratic opponent is pursuing a challenge of White’s election as Secretary of State currently with the state’s Recount Commission, alleging that White was ineligible to seek the office because he was not legally registered to vote in the precinct in which he voted immediately prior to running for statewide. If Osili prevails in his challenge, White would be forced to step down and Osili would assume the office as the candidate who received the second highest number of votes in the 2010 statewide election contest. That could put Feeney-Ruiz out of his job and facing a different opponent in November. Regardless, it’s good we’ll at least have a choice in candidates on the November ballot. From Feeney-Ruiz’ press release announcing his candidacy:
Today AJ Feeney-Ruiz, local entrepreneur and recently appointed deputy chief of staff and spokesman for the Office of the Indiana Secretary of State, announced his candidacy in the race for City County Council District 15 – which encompasses most of downtown Indianapolis. In his campaign for the seat vacated by outgoing Councilor Doris Minton-McNeill, Feeney-Ruiz is set to challenge Democrat Vop Osili. He will file necessary paperwork this afternoon.
The thirty-year-old Feeney-Ruiz has lived in or around Indianapolis since his mother moved him to the city at the age of two. He attended grade school a few blocks north of the district he seeks to represent, and settled in his current residence only a short walk from the City County Building with the influx of other young professionals relocating to the city’s heart several years ago.
“It’s time to provide a real voice for all voters new and old living downtown,” Feeney-Ruiz said. “There are thousands of new residents that have made this district their home in the last few years, and thousands more who have lived without the representation they expect, deserve, can depend upon or can be proud of. I’m running to give all of us a real opportunity to be heard and counted.”
A graduate of DePauw University, Indiana University – Indianapolis’ School of Law and the Kelley School of Business MBA program, Feeney-Ruiz hopes to apply his experience in the private, non-profit, and government sectors to his work for the city. He has served two Indiana secretaries of state and sits on Indianapolis’ Equal Opportunity Advisory Board. He also mediates discrimination disputes for the city on a voluntary basis. A second-generation Puerto Rican born in the United States, Feeney-Ruiz is a member of the National Association of Hispanic MBAs and a board member and Vice President of Public Relations for the Indiana Chapter of Partners of the Americas, which helps facilitate civic and cultural exchanges with Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
“AJ represents both the past and future of downtown Indianapolis,” Marion County Republican Chairman Kyle Walker said. “As an active member of the community dating back to his early youth, he is a visible and accessible face within the district. As a young professional and leader, he is well positioned to work with all residents in the heart of the city.”
Feeney-Ruiz’s top priorities in the council will be to cultivate public-private partnerships that build and strengthen neighborhoods outside of the immediate downtown area. He believes stronger neighborhoods are better equipped to fight crime, blight, and unite to advocate common sense reforms and improvements within the community.
Small businesses are the backbone of the city’s economy, and Feeney-Ruiz will work with the city and community organizations to help Indianapolis families turn their entrepreneurial dreams into a reality. He knows firsthand the difficulty of starting and maintaining a business, and will share that knowledge and fight for that ability for his constituents.
“My voters are my neighbors and this district is my home,” Feeney-Ruiz said. “This campaign is about giving us a chance to be heard in city government, to provide a real opportunity to work with our council and Mayor Ballard who together have carried Indy through some rough times.”
Feeney-Ruiz will begin campaigning this weekend by meeting downtown residents at the Indy Pride Festival, Center Township Fun Fest, Talbot Street Art Fair, the Independent Music & Art Festival and by going door to door meeting prospective voters.
“Republicans have five more races to fill, after Friday’s announcement that AJ Feeney-Ruiz will challenge Democrat Vop Osili for an open seat in District 15,” reports theIndianapolis Star. Chris Sikich reports, “Feeney-Ruiz is the deputy chief of staff and spokesman for Secretary of State Charlie White” and is a 2004 graduate of DePauw University.
“It’s time to provide a real voice for all voters new and old living downtown,” says Feeney-Ruiz, who is completing work on an M.B.A. from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and a law degree from IU. “There are thousands of new residents that have made this district their home in the last few years, and thousands more who have lived without the representation they expect, deserve, can depend upon or can be proud of. I’m running to give all of us a real opportunity to be heard and counted.”
According to an announcement, “Feeney-Ruiz’s top priorities in the council will be to cultivate public-private partnerships that build and strengthen neighborhoods outside of the immediate downtown area. He believes stronger neighborhoods are better equipped to fight crime, blight, and unite to advocate common sense reforms and improvements within the community.”
“AJ represents both the past and future of downtown Indianapolis,” Marion County Republican Chairman Kyle Walker states. “As an active member of the community dating back to his early youth, he is a visible and accessible face within the district. As a young professional and leader, he is well positioned to work with all residents in the heart of the city.”