Mayor Kerry Thomson boarded a sparsely-populated bus on Bloomington Transit’s Route 2 and talked with passengers Wednesday as part of her most recent Traveling Town Hall.
Riding for slightly over an hour, Thomson sat with passengers, asking them for feedback about the city and for her as the mayor. Residents brought up topics such as potential state redistricting, homelessness and issues with the transit system.
Most people she approached on the bus were willing to talk, although many were surprised to learn she was the mayor.
One woman, who identified herself as an employee of the Indiana Geological and Water Survey, asked the mayor to encourage any Indianapolis connections she has to push back against redistricting.
In an Oct. 10 meeting with lawmakers at the Statehouse in Indianapolis, Vice President JD Vance pushed for legislators to redraw Indiana’s congressional maps to be more favorable to Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
“Yes, I have sent that message to Indy,” Thomson said. “I’m not sure that my voice has as much weight.”
She later suggested that residents should call their elected officials to impact the issue.
As the bus drove past Seminary Park, a passenger pointed out people he thought were homeless and told Thomson he was worried about them littering.
After Thomson asked the passenger what he thought the city should do, he suggested fining people or making them pick up trash. Thomson pointed out that many homeless people wouldn’t be able to pay fines.
“I'm not sure how effective that would be, but I also wish people would pick up their own trash,” Thomson said to the passenger. “I would agree with you on that.”
Wednesday wasn’t the mayor’s first time meeting with members of the public onboard city buses. Before Thomson assumed her role as mayor, she held a similar event to understand how people experience transit in the city.
“Most of the folks on that bus actually came to ride with me,” Thomson said in an interview Wednesday. “And so they asked me questions, and I sort of stood at the front of the bus and answered them or listened to their comments.”
During Wednesday’s town hall, most of the passengers weren’t aware Thomson was on the bus until she introduced herself and asked them for feedback.
“I was really more interested today in literally, you know, treating this kind of like door knocking and sitting down with people and hearing personally what their experiences were, what was working for them in the city and what wasn't working so well,” Thomson said.
Near the end of the town hall, one passenger asked Thomson what she was most proud of during her time as mayor so far.
“I would say fully staffing (the fire department),” Thomson said. “That’s a huge one, and getting there with police. That’s where we’re more fully staffed than we’ve been in a long time. I think the redirection with Showers West and Hopewell coming up.”
Last week, Fire Station 3 reopened after a $4 million renovation. In June, the Bloomington Police Department swore in 11 new officers, the highest number sworn in in over three decades.
Hopewell is the city’s in-progress housing development project, located on the site of the former IU Health Bloomington Hospital.
In 2023, the city bought the Showers West building with the intent of relocating police and fire headquarters closer to city hall. The fire department has since moved into the building, although the BPD headquarters move to Showers West fell through in 2024, as the police union did not support plans and local businesses were hesitant to terminate their leases in the building.
On Sept. 2, Bloomington’s redevelopment commission approved key terms of lease termination agreements for two tenants in Showers West. While the city doesn’t have specific plans for those tenants’ spaces, the lease terminations are part of an effort to comply with the bonds issued in connection with the city’s purchase of the building.
“It doesn’t matter if you meet them on a bus or at their front door,” Thomson said. “People are experiencing the city in ways that sort of have themes, and I hear about the same themes wherever I go, and that helps me set my priorities for how I’m working.”
City Communications Director Desiree DeMolina told the IDS in a statement that Thomson was thrilled with how the town hall went.
“We’re always looking for creative ways to meet residents where they are—literally and figuratively—and make local government more accessible,” DeMolina wrote.
Thomson holds either a Traveling Town Hall or traveling office hours every month. During her office hours, community members can make appointments to talk to Thomson face-to-face. These town halls and office hours are in different city districts every month.
The next Traveling Town Hall is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 1 at the Monroe County History Center from 6 to 7 p.m. Councilmember Sydney Zulich and Planning and Transportation Director David Hittle will join Thomson for a panel discussion.
