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Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry has passed away after a brief battle with cancer.

Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry Wins Third Term

Lisa Ryan, WBOI News
Mayor Henry is the first democrat to win a third consecutive term as mayor.

Democratic Mayor Tom Henry won Tuesday’s race for Fort Wayne mayor, becoming the first democratic mayor to win three consecutive terms.

Henry received nearly 57 percent of the approximately 42,000 votes.

Henry says he doesn’t normally read his horoscope, but he did on Election Day.

“And it said that today I would transform an ordinary thing into something that people would remember,” Henry said.

Henry says he will continue to invest in the city.

“You know the great philosopher Yogi Berra, he once said, it ain’t over til it’s over. My fellow citizens, it ain’t over,” Henry said.

He was running against Republican Mitch Harper, who says he’s still optimistic about the political future of Fort Wayne. He says he sees the benefit in Republicans winning a majority of the City Council seats in this election, and encourages them to fight on the issues important to them.

“I’ve talked to several of our council members that they need to lean into their jobs as legislators,” Harper said. “They need to bring in ideas. Even if they don’t win on them initially, they can begin the public discussion, and I certainly hope that they do that.”

Yesterday’s elections pushed the Republican majority in the council to 7-2.

Harper also says he plans to continue to live under conservative ideals, both professionally and personally.

“You serve folks in the working class, you serve the poor, you pay attention to the people that maybe were not given a leg up in life,” he said. “That’s how I grew up in New Haven, that’s how I served on council, and I’ll continue to do it.”

Henry congratulated Harper on his campaign, and thanked him for running for office.

“You went the distance, and you certainly made my staff and I stay on our toes.”

Zach joined 89.1 WBOI as a reporter and local host for All Things Considered, and hosted Morning Edition for the past few years. In 2022, he was promoted to Content Director.
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