Jonathan Weinzapfel
{{Short description|American politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Jonathan Weinzapfel
|image = Jonathan Weinzapfel (4395950576).jpg
|office = Chancellor of Ivy Tech Community College Southwest
|term_start = May 12, 2014
|term_end = November 30, 2019
|predecessor = Daniel Schenk
|successor = Kelly Cozart (interim)
|office1 = 33rd Mayor of Evansville
|term_start1 = January 1, 2004
|term_end1 = December 31, 2011
|predecessor1 = Russell G. Lloyd Jr.
|successor1 = Lloyd Winnecke
|state_house2 = Indiana
|district2 = 76th
|term_start2 = January 2, 1999
|term_end2 = January 1, 2004
|predecessor2 = Larry Lutz
|successor2 = Trent Van Haaften
|birth_name = Jonathan David Weinzapfel
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1965|11|16}}
|birth_place = Evansville, Indiana, U.S.
|death_date =
|death_place =
|party = Democratic
|spouse = Patricia Klineman
|education = Indiana University, Bloomington (BS)
Georgetown University (MA)
Indiana University, Indianapolis (JD)
|website = {{url|weinzapfelforag.com|Campaign website}}
}}
Jonathan David Weinzapfel (born November 16, 1965) is an American politician, attorney, businessman, and Democratic nominee for Indiana Attorney General in the 2020 election. Weinzapfel formerly served as the 33rd mayor of Evansville, Indiana. He was elected in November 2003 and again in 2007. He did not run for a third term in office, and was succeeded by Lloyd Winnecke. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He most previously served as the Chancellor of Ivy Tech Community College's Southwest campus, a position he held from 2014 to 2019.
Early life and education
Born to Ralph and Sylvia Weinzapfel in Evansville, Weinzapfel's father was a member of the Posey County Council and his mother was the executive director of the local YWCA branch. He attended Reitz Memorial High School and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Indiana University. He earned his Master's degree from Georgetown University and Juris Doctor from the Robert H. McKinney School of Law at Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis.{{Cite web|url=http://legdb.iga.in.gov/#!/legislator/6526/Jonathan-Weinzapfel|title=Indiana Legislator Database}}
Career
In 1996, Weinzapfel ran for the United States House of Representatives in the 8th District of Indiana. He was defeated in a close race by one-term incumbent John Hostettler after narrowly defeating (by a margin of 1%) State Representative Rick McConnell of Princeton, Indiana. In the primary, Weinzapfel carried the more liberal parts of Monroe and Vanderburgh Counties, while McConnell won more conservative parts of the 8th District.
Weinzapfel went on to serve five years in the Indiana House of Representatives for District 76.{{Cite web|url=https://www.capitolandwashington.com/offices/office/176/|title = Offices|date = 3 March 2015}} In this capacity he served as the Chairman of the Courts and Criminal Code Committee, the Environmental Affairs Committee and the Environmental Quality Service Council.
In 2000, he served as attorney for Bowers Harrison LLP. Weinzapfel also served on the Financial Institutions, the Judiciary, and the Public Health committees. His accomplishments include helping to found the Southwestern Indiana Regional Development Commission. He served as the first president of the group. The commission is representative of Gibson, Posey, Vanderburgh, and Warrick counties in order to promote economic development and improve the quality of life in southern Indiana.
=Mayor of Evansville=
His first term as Evansville mayor began on January 1, 2004. In office, Weinzapfel focused on creating jobs and revitalizing downtown, primarily through the successful construction of the Ford Center, a multi-use indoor arena in with a maximum seating capacity of 11,000. He also started the Evansville Education Roundtable to provide a community-wide dialogue on improving education and has built a collaborative style of decision-making through his "Traveling City Hall" program.
In the 2008 presidential campaign, he endorsed Barack Obama.{{cite news| title=Mayor announces his support for Obamas bid |publisher=Evansville Courier & Press|url=http://www.courierpress.com/news/2008/apr/23/mayor-announces-his-support-for-obamas-bid/|date=April 23, 2008|accessdate=2008-05-25}}
During his last year as mayor, he oversaw an implementation of an overhaul of the city's accounting information system. An audit of his last year as mayor revealed significant problems with that implementation and the auditors issued a Disclaimer of Opinion.{{cite web|url=http://www.courierpress.com/news/2012/sep/28/poor-bookkeeping-alleged-state-audit-evansville-go/?print=1|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220133628/www.courierpress.com/news/2012/sep/28/poor-bookkeeping-alleged-state-audit-evansville-go/?print=1|archive-date=2013-12-20|title=Poor bookkeeping alleged in state audit of Evansville government finances}}
Due to his popularity in a politically competitive part of the state, there was some speculation of Weinzapfel running for governor in 2008 against incumbent Mitch Daniels and in 2012 when it was an open seat. He did not, however, enter either race.{{cite news| title=D.C. paper puts Weinzapfel on list for governor's race|publisher=Evansville Courier & Press|url=http://www.courierpress.com/news/2006/dec/07/dc-paper-puts-weinzapfel-on-list-for-governors/|date=December 7, 2006|accessdate=2007-03-07}} Weinzapfel joined Faegre Baker Daniels LLP as attorney in 2012 and resigned in 2014. There was also speculation that he may run for governor again in 2016; however, he did not.{{cite news |url=http://howeypolitics.com/Content/Columns/David-Kitchell/Article/Dave-Kitchell--Gauging-a-potential-2016-Democrat-ticket/10/22/10561 |title=Dave Kitchell: Gauging a potential 2016 Democrat ticket |publisher=Howey Politics Indiana |date=November 4, 2013 |accessdate=October 26, 2014 |archive-date=October 26, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141026171103/http://howeypolitics.com/Content/Columns/David-Kitchell/Article/Dave-Kitchell--Gauging-a-potential-2016-Democrat-ticket/10/22/10561 |url-status=dead }}
In 2014, Weinzapfel was selected as chancellor of Ivy Tech Community College Southwest as part of the college's organizational restructure. He served in that position through November 2019, when he left to join the Evansville law firm, Jones Wallace LLC.{{cite news|url=https://www.courierpress.com/story/news/2019/11/06/jonathan-weinzapfel-leave-ivy-tech-resume-law-practice/2507578001/ |title=Weinzapfel to leave position as chancellor of Ivy Tech and join Evansville law firm |publisher=Evansville Courier & Press |date=November 6, 2019 |accessdate=November 6, 2019}}
=2020 Indiana Attorney General election=
{{main|2020 Indiana Attorney General election}}
On December 10, 2019, Weinzapfel announced his intention to run for Indiana Attorney General in the 2020 election against incumbent Republican Curtis Hill.{{cite news|url=https://www.courierpress.com/story/news/2019/12/10/former-evansville-mayor-weinzapfel-run-ag/2631026001/ |title=Former Evansville mayor Weinzapfel will run for Attorney General |publisher=Evansville Courier & Press |date=December 10, 2019 |accessdate=January 15, 2020}} On June 13, 2020, during the virtual state convention, delegates formally nominated Weinzapfel to be the Democratic nominee for attorney general, defeating his only primary opponent, state senator Karen Tallian. The final vote tally was 1,057 votes to Weinzapfel and 1,009 votes to Tallian.{{cite news|url=https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2020/06/17/democrats-select-weinzapfel-face-gop-nominee-attorney-general/3206500001/ |title=Democrats select Weinzapfel to face GOP nominee for Attorney General in November |publisher=IndyStar |date=June 17, 2020 |accessdate=June 18, 2020}} Weinzapfel went on to lose the general election to former Congressman Todd Rokita (who had unseated Hill at the Republican convention) by a wide margin, though he received a greater percentage of the vote than either Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden or Democratic gubernatorial candidate Woody Myers.
Personal life
Weinzapfel resides in Evansville, Indiana. He is married to Patricia Weinzapfel and they have three children. Patricia is a former reporter for WFIE Channel 14 Evansville and currently serves as the Executive Director of Family Engagement/Community Schools for the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation.{{cite web|title=City of Evansville Mayor's Bio|url=http://www.evansvillegov.org/home/index.asp?page=273|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120731141744/http://www.evansvillegov.org/home/index.asp?page=273|archive-date=2012-07-31|accessdate=2007-03-07|publisher=City of Evansville}}
Electoral history
=1996=
{{Election box begin no change| title=Indiana's 8th congressional district election, 1996{{cite web |url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1996/96Stat.htm#14 |title=STATISTICS OF THE PRESIDENTIAL AND CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION OF NOVEMBER 5, 1996 |last=Carle |first=Robin |date=July 23, 1997 |website=Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives |accessdate=June 22, 2020}}}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| candidate = John Hostettler (incumbent)
| votes = 109,860
| percentage = 50.0
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| candidate = Jonathan Weinzapfel
| votes = 106,201
| percentage = 48.3
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| party = Libertarian Party (United States)
| candidate = Paul Hager
| votes = 3,803
| percentage = 1.7
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 219,864
| percentage = 100.0
}}
{{Election box hold with party link without swing
| winner = Republican Party (United States)
| loser = Democratic Party (United States)
}}
{{Election box end}}
=2003=
{{Election box begin no change| title=2003 Evansville mayoral election}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| candidate = Jonathan Weinzapfel
| votes = 19,089
| percentage = 63.6
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| candidate = Russell G. Lloyd Jr. (incumbent)
| votes = 10,063
| percentage = 33.5
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| party = Independent (United States)
| candidate = Jack Groshans Jr.
| votes = 874
| percentage = 2.9
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 30,026
| percentage = 100.0
}}
{{Election box gain with party link without swing
| winner = Democratic Party (United States)
| loser = Republican Party (United States)
}}
{{Election box end}}
=2007=
{{Election box begin no change| title=2007 Evansville mayoral election}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| candidate = Jonathan Weinzapfel (incumbent)
| votes = 13,097
| percentage = 85.2
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| candidate = David J. Nixon
| votes = 2,268
| percentage = 14.8
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 15,365
| percentage = 100.0
}}
{{Election box hold with party link without swing
| winner = Democratic Party (United States)
}}
{{Election box end}}
=2020=
{{Election box begin no change| title=Democratic convention results}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| candidate = Jonathan Weinzapfel
| votes = 1,057
| percentage = 51.2
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| candidate = Karen Tallian
| votes = 1,009
| percentage = 48.8
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 2,066
| percentage = 100.0
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin no change| title=Indiana Attorney General election, 2020}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| candidate = Todd Rokita
| votes = 1,721,998
| percentage = 58.3
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| candidate = Jonathan Weinzapfel
| votes = 1,229,626
| percentage = 41.7
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 2,951,624
| percentage = 100.0
}}
{{Election box end}}
References
{{reflist}}
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{{s-bef|before=Lorenzo Arredondo}}
{{s-ttl|title=Democratic nominee for Indiana Attorney General|years=2020}}
{{s-inc|recent}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Weinzapfel, Jonathan}}
Category:Georgetown University alumni
Category:Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law alumni
Category:Mayors of Evansville, Indiana
Category:20th-century members of the Indiana General Assembly
Category:21st-century mayors of places in Indiana
Category:21st-century members of the Indiana General Assembly