Photo // Rafael Tortolero“SOUTH BEND’S BEST DAYS ARE AHEAD.” Mira Costello, Editor-in-Chief of The Preface, interviews South Bend Mayor James Mueller on March 20 in his conference room at the County City Building. On March 25, Mueller delivered this year’s State of the City address on the IU South Bend campus, and his team offered The Preface an exclusive interview ahead of the speech.
In exclusive interview, Mueller talks hopes, challenges, division and unity
By: Mira Costello
Editor-in-Chief
This year, South Bend Mayor James Mueller held his State of the City address in IU South Bend’s Northside auditorium. His message was a hopeful one, sharing examples of success and growth in 2024 and assuring South Bend residents that despite tumultuous times, the city will continue to progress boldly.
Mueller highlighted new projects including the Opportunity Fund, the New Neighborhood Homes Initiative and the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dream Center, which will be completed soon and provide financial empowerment resources for families. He also expressed pride in downtown development, noting that Downtown South Bend is currently looking forward to a $1 billion investment and thanking residents and local organizations participating in the Downtown Plan 2045 to share ideas for the future of the city.
On crime, Mueller noted that the number of murders in 2024 was the lowest since 2010; fatal shooting victims had decreased by 75% since 2023; detectives solved 100% of homicide cases in 2024, compared to the national average of 58%; and major crimes had decreased 30% since 2019, but were “still too high.”
The workforce increased by 1,060 in 2024, and the Wall Street Journal ranked South Bend in the top 10 U.S. real estate markets. Mueller underscored the importance of immigrants and minority- and women-owned businesses.
“Without immigrants South Bend would be a stagnant or declining city,” he said. “If we are going to continue our resurgence, we will need more immigrants, not fewer.”
He noted immigrants constitute about 10% of the city’s GDP and 80% of recent population growth.
Mueller also addressed challenges and threats to the city’s future.
“Despite all that’s going right for South Bend, our most recent election results charted a dramatically new direction for our state and federal partners,” he said. “We will have to navigate around extreme, anti-growth policies from higher levels of government. And we all must power through the seemingly daily chaos from Washington that threatens to derail our entire economy.”
He spoke clearly against threats to DEI programs.
“South Bend knows that we all do better when there are more opportunities for everyone,” he said. “Diversity, equity and inclusion efforts to eliminate discrimination and break down barriers to opportunity are critical to our city’s future and the wellbeing of all residents. Increasing opportunities for everyone must become a unifying cause.”
Mueller also denounced cuts to federal funding and programs.
“Cuts to federal research and development efforts will limit our growth potential into the future and are already leading to job losses locally,” he said. “Punitive taxes on our nation’s great research universities that are currently under consideration by Congress, if enacted, will also stifle future growth and hit our economy here at home.”
Specifically, he expressed concern about Indiana Senate Bill 1 (SB1), a property tax bill he said will hurt infrastructure, public services and economic growth.
In an interview with The Preface a few days before the address, Mueller shared more about his background as a South Bend native, his values and his perspective on the nation’s current political climate.
Mueller grew up near IU South Bend, eventually attending St. Joseph High School and later Notre Dame. He parted with the city for a few years, working in the U.S. Senate, then at George Washington University, before returning home in 2015 to be chief of staff for his high school friend, Mayor Pete Buttigieg. In that role, he created the first government-level Diversity and Inclusion office in the state. When Buttigieg took on a presidential run, Mueller decided to run for mayor, and is now serving his sixth year in the role.
He said South Bend has changed dramatically since his formative years.
“When I was growing up, you know, really success was anonymous with getting out,” he said. “My brothers and sisters, they all went to Notre Dame as well, and then they all moved away for a period of time. Any way you look at it, the population was declining in South Bend. Because of that, we weren’t able to keep up on infrastructure.”
While he acknowledged that it would take time to overcome those “decades of disinvestment,” Mueller expressed excitement for the future.
“We’re starting to make progress for basically the first time in my lifetime,” he said.
Although Mueller called this an optimistic time for the city, he said many serious challenges still exist, especially following the transition of power.
“We have a new governor, a new state government and a new president. It’s one thing to disagree on policy, but they’re kind of throwing all sorts of things all at once, and that’s causing a lot of disruption,” he said. “There are funding cuts coming from our state level and our federal level at this point. I don’t know how we’re going to make more progress for our kids by slashing the funding for education.”
Although Indiana city governments don’t have official authority over school districts, advocating for education has been a central part of Mueller’s career, including higher education.
“It’s about providing opportunities for our kids. No matter which neighborhood they grow up in, what background they have, they should have access to opportunities and the ability to live a thriving livelihood,” he said. “It starts with our education system.”
And colleges?
“They’re anchor institutions. Universities can’t easily pick up and move locations, and so they’re fully committed to the community. They’re here, and their success depends on and helps our success as a community, and vice versa,” he said. “Over the years you’ve seen more and more collaborations between our universities, higher ed institutions and the community. Our destinies are intertwined and need to work together in a positive way.”
Mueller implored students to take action for causes they believe in, even if they are apprehensive.
“If you don’t get involved, you’re leaving it to the ideologues or the narcissists or the people who are seeking power for its own sake, not for the right reasons,” he said. “Don’t be discouraged – I mean that. It seems like there is an effort to discourage people, or discourage dissent, and that’s not healthy. That’s not democratic values.”