Carmel City Council member Jeff Worrell wants to rebuild civility in his hometown.
Driving the news: More than 300 Carmel residents packed into the Carmel Clay Library last week to attend an event organized by Worrell that was part book discussion, part town hall.
- The featured speaker was Alexandra Hudson, author of “The Soul of Civility” and adjunct professor at the Indiana University Lilly School of Philanthropy.
- Why it matters: Carmel is still recovering from its first attack-laden mayoral election in decades between Republican Sue Finkam and Democrat Miles Nelson.
- The race garnered national attention as it devolved into back-and-forth mud-slinging.
The big picture: Coming out of that battle and acknowledging the tense state of the nation at large, Worrell felt that trust in government was at an “all-time low” and wanted to do something to reverse that trend locally. He added that as Carmel rakes in best place to live accolades, he wants to see the city become the “number one civility community in America.”
Zoom in: Worrell said he was motivated after reading Hudson’s bestselling book, which analyzes humanity’s history with incivility and aims to guide readers on how to develop true respect for the dignity of others. “I suspect from looking at the size of this crowd, and my hundreds of interactions with you, there is an underlying anxiety concerning our behavior towards each other,” Worrell said.
