Incoming Zionsville Mayor John Stehr Talks Vision and Areas of Focus

Writer / Renee Larr
Photographer / Michaela Marshall

When former WTHR broadcast journalist John Stehr retired in 2019, he sought ways to get involved in the Zionsville community where he raised his five children. As a frequent user of the parks system, he felt it was only natural to join the Zionsville Parks and Recreation board.

“When I retired, I was looking for ways to get involved in the community because I have a great affection for it, because I’ve lived here so long,” Stehr says. “It means a lot to me and I wanted to do something positive to play a part. Joining the parks board was a great way to do that because I use the parks daily and appreciate our park system.”

During his tenure on the board, the parks system experienced tremendous growth and development, including the opening of Overley-Worman Park, extending the Rail Trail north and south, and the completion of a new trailhead on Zionsville Road.

“Many of these improvements were in motion before I started on the board so I can’t take credit for those,” Stehr says. “It takes the effort of several different people. When it all comes together it’s a wonderful thing, from which the whole community ultimately benefits, so I was glad to play a small role in those projects.”

Stehr says from his position on the parks board, he had an insider’s view of the town government. He says he saw a breakdown of communication, and conflict. He saw the opportunity to run for mayor to step up his community engagement in a productive way.

With the support of his wife and children, Stehr decided to run for mayor of Zionsville. His campaign vision included restoring faith in town government, ensuring public safety is a top priority, supporting sustainable growth, rebuilding the south entrance to the village, and building a community recreation center.

“I want to bring people together and create consensus among residents,” Stehr says. “It’s not about me and what I can do. It’s about what we can all do together positively. I think we need to lower the temperature on politics. This is not a red or blue situation. This is about basic town services like trash pickup and snow plowing.”

Stehr says his goal is casting a vision of where residents want Zionsville to be in the next 18 to 20 years. He says he wants to leave more significant social issues to the legislature and congress. Stehr says his focus will indeed be at the municipal level.

“We need to construct a comprehensive plan for Zionsville, and it hasn’t been done since 2003,” Stehr says. “I think it’s extremely important to consider what the people in Perry Township, Union Township and Eagle Township want. I want to strive to hear what everyone wants.”

Stehr also thinks the south entrance to the village is vital. He says the quaint charm of brick-lined Main Street is the heart and soul of Zionsville. He wants the south entrance to have its own personality, to complement the business district.

“If the heart isn’t beating and the soul isn’t there, the rest of the body isn’t going to do well either,” he says.

He also wants to bring a community center to Zionsville. He says when residents go to other locations for the same kind of experience, it’s taking memories out of Zionsville, and he’d rather residents make their memories where they live.

“A community center isn’t just a noun, but a verb,” Stehr says. “Having different generations of people coming together in a central point in Zionsville creates a better sense of quality in the community. It’s important to me that we build that sense of community right here.”

Stehr takes office on January 1, and has been working on his vision for Zionsville for the last few months. He took advantage of running unopposed and started creating a transition team of local leaders. He says the group met with different departments, boards and committees, and compiled a report providing information on each. Stehr plans to meet with each department head to learn more about each one’s functionality.

“One thing I keep hearing over and over is the morale of our town employees is not where we want it to be,” Stehr says. “I am pledging to meet with every town employee within the first month just to make sure they understand that they’re valuable. The town cannot function without them. Their work is invaluable to the city, their friends and neighbors. I want them to know I take pride in their work, and feel supported.”

John Stehr says consistency in town leadership is critical to moving Zionsville forward, and he is looking at running for another term in the future with the support of his family. He credits his transition team for assisting him in accomplishing so much already.

For more information on John Stehr, visit zionsville-in.gov/mayor.