Meet Dakota

I'm a born-and-raised Hoosier committed to hard work and bottom-up housing.

I studied journalism at Ball State, where I learned how to listen with intention and tell stories that bring communities together. I won IndyStar’s competitive Pulliam Fellowship as a senior and then followed a full-time reporting role to Carmel. My wife and I later put down roots here.

I started advocating for bottom-up housing after watching from my Gramercy West living room as working-class apartments were torn down and replaced by upscale options. Just around the corner, working-class homes were being razed to make room for $1 million-plus projects.

Something didn’t sit right. Growth is important, but at what cost? And what does this mean for Carmel’s long-term trajectory?

I’ve searched for answers in books like Walkable City, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, City Limits, The Housing Trap, and The High Cost of Free Parking. I’ve met with City Councilors, urban planners, developers, and other municipal leaders to better understand where Carmel has been and where it ought to go next.

I hope to earn your vote as we fight for housing working families can afford and retail spaces where local businesses can thrive.

I enjoy weekly pick-up basketball games, look hard for excuses to take easy bike rides up the Monon and spend all the time I can spare in State Parks and local green spaces like Cool Creek and Meadowlark Park.