Fort Wayne, IN Republican Primary Upset - Threat to Plans?

I don't know if this is the place for political commentary, but I'll give it a shot and try to keep it objective.

Yesterday's primary election yielded an upset in the Republican Party, as dark horse mayoral candidate Matt Kelty defeated the party leaders' favored candidate, Nelson Peters.

This morning's Journal-Gazette attributed Kelty's victory to the complacency of Peters and his supporters. Peters ran a late-starting, lackluster, reactive campaign, and Kelty's evangelical base turned out in large numbers at the polls while Peters' supporters apparently didn't bother. When I went to vote at the Baker Street train station (precincts 583 & 584) just after noon, there were no other voters around. One person was arriving as I left.

Kelty has been outspoken from the start in his opposition to Harrison Square, and is said to be working on a counter-proposal to turn some downtown streets into a covered mall-like environment. He should visit Middletown, Ohio to see how spectacularly that works. Or for open-air downtown pedestrian malls, he could drive a short distance to Huntington or a little farther to Richmond or to Kalamazoo, Michigan, and see where theirs used to be, thirty years ago or more.

I think Kelty's support comes largely from upper-income families in recently-annexed suburban areas like Aboite Township, where there's still considerable resentment over annexation, and he has made it clear that his campaign will continue to emphasize family values.

Republicans who want Fort Wayne to move forward and become a stimulating, attractive environment for a diverse population are going to have to do some serious self-examination and accept that sometimes the community's future trumps party loyalty. Kelty's majority in the primary wasn't huge, and it wouldn't take a landslide of crossover voters to put his Democrat opponent in City Hall. Tom Henry has the backing of the business community at large as well as many of the people who live or own property in the city's core, and has pledged to carry forward the work that has already been done toward bringing back a vital downtown.