Kruzan to face challenger in Democratic May primary

In 1978 Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan had his first shot at becoming part of a Bloomington legend.

The then-freshman from northwest Indiana was in some of the crowd scenes of “Breaking Away,” the l979 film about IU’s Little 500 bike race.

“I love that movie because it is a time capsule of what the campus and the community were like then, and you see so many fond memories of downtown and of the community,” Kruzan said. “I look at that movie now, and I think ‘I can’t believe I’m the mayor of that city that’s in that movie.’”

Kruzan is running in the May 3 Democratic Mayoral Primary Election against challenger John Hamilton. This would be his third term as mayor of the City of Bloomington.

“I am from ‘The Region,’ what people refer to as ‘Da Region’ of northwest Indiana,” he said.

Kruzan first came to Bloomington in 1978 to study journalism at IU. But after a brief stint writing for the Indiana Daily Student, he found his true passion.

He was working for the Gripe Vine at the IDS, which he said investigated and reported on complaints from students about the University.

“A question came in about the student government, and I started to work on that, and I thought, ‘You know, I could do this,’” Kruzan said. “I see a huge similarity between journalism and government. You’re asking questions in order to make things better. It’s advocacy.”

So Kruzan shifted from a professional journalism track to a more political focus.
Kruzan got involved in the IU Student Association, where he lobbied the state legislature on issues important to IU students and was elected student body president.

He said it was those years working at IUSA that started to shape him into a politician.

“I didn’t come from a political family. I didn’t even have a political party identification when I came to IU,” Kruzan said. “That’s really why I became a Democrat — advocacy of student issues. I just felt that the Democratic Party was on the side of students having access to affordable higher education.”

But Kruzan said he never saw his work with IUSA as political. He was always focused on advocacy, and the best way for him to do that was by working through student government.

After he graduated from IU in 1982 with degrees in journalism and political science, Kruzan went on to the IU School of Law.

“Quite honestly, law school was what I was ‘supposed to do,’” he said. “People expected that. You’re the student body president and so what’s next? Political science, journalism, why don’t you go to law school? If I had to do it over again, that’s a decision I would not have made.”

Kruzan said if he could make the choice again, he would have taken some time off before he went to law school. He said he went because he didn’t know what else to do, and he doesn’t believe this was a good enough reason.

But law school kept Kruzan in Bloomington, the city he said he loves. It also gave him access to growing political opportunity.

Kruzan volunteered for then-state Rep. Marilyn Schultz, D-Bloomington, continuing his advocacy for some of the same issues he focused on as an undergraduate in IUSA.
When Schultz opted not to run for re-election in 1986, Kruzan had his first opportunity to break into the real world of politics as a candidate when campaigning began in 1985.

“She was easily going to win re-election, and when she decided not to do it and a couple of people said I should think about this, I literally laughed,” Kruzan said. “I don’t mean that as a false modesty, I don’t mean that just to make a point. I literally laughed out loud. It made no sense that a student would run for the state legislature.”

But Kruzan won.

It was a close race, he said, but he kept the seat until 2002.

“I never had a life agenda to run for office,” Kruzan said. “And when I got into it, I didn’t do it out of an interest in politics. I did it because it was the next step in working on issues.”

During his time in the Indiana House of Representatives, Kruzan rose through the ranks to become the Democratic floor leader from 1996 to 2002.

When he chose not to run for re-election, he said he decided to attempt to win the mayoral election.

“When I left the legislature, I was the No. 2 person in the house and people wondered, ‘Why are you leaving? You’re high up here,’” Kruzan said.

But he said he felt strongly that being the mayor of Bloomington would give him a new set of challenges and opportunities to improve the community.

He followed the advice of then-Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives John Gregg, who said he would leave the state legislature to be mayor of only two Indiana cities.

“One was Indianapolis because it’s the state capital,” Kruzan said. “And two was Bloomington, because it’s Bloomington. That literally became the slogan for my first campaign: ‘Because it’s Bloomington.’ There’s no other place like it in the state of Indiana.”

Kruzan won the 2003 mayoral election and has been the mayor ever since.

“There are people who viewed it as demoting myself to go from state government in the capitol to local government,” Kruzan said. “I saw coming from the state government to local government as an incredible opportunity to do even more from the community, more direct impact on making Bloomington more livable.”

Kruzan said he loves the fact that Bloomington mixes big city opportunities with the atmosphere and livability of a small town.

“There’s no other place like it in the state of Indiana and that, to me, is worth protecting,” he said.

In his role as mayor, Kruzan said he continues to fight for IU students, faculty and staff.

“I fought for better wages for faculty and staff in the legislature. It’s still important to me because students, staff and faculty, the stronger their purchasing power, the better it is for this community,” he said. “Indiana University is an economic engine for the city of Bloomington, and I value their participation, students included.”

Kruzan said he certainly has his own IU connections beyond those of an alumnus.
“I think I’m the only mayor who has been an IU student, an IU staff member and an IU
faculty member,” he said.

He was an adjunct professor at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs for 12 years while he was serving in the state legislature and worked as an hourly employee during his student years.

But when the mayor’s not running the city, running his campaign or working on issues, he likes to take a moment to get away, he said.

“For me, the place I find my best escape from work is music,” Kruzan said. “It is today’s music, literally back to the 1920s. That is my hobby and maybe some would say addiction. It’s constant immersion into artists and music, and this is the right community for it.”

He is also dating the head coach of IU’s women’s volleyball team, Sherry Dunbar.

He likes to take advantage of the cultural opportunities Bloomington has to offer, from events on campus and downtown to walking his dogs on the city’s trails, he said.

“It broadened my horizons, and it was a special place that had a special impact on me, and I want to preserve that for this generation and the next generations,” Kruzan said.