Muncie’s mayor says he won’t run for a third term in the 2019 mayoral election.  As IPR’s Stephanie Wiechmann reports, a lot has happened for the city since he ran unopposed in 2015.

Muncie Mayor Dennis Tyler says at 76, after being a firefighter, state Representative, and two-term mayor, he’s ready for a change.

“I am at a place in my life where I want to spend more quality time with my wife, my children, and my grandchildren.”

Tyler was elected in 2011, beating an incumbent mayor in the 70,000-person city by 800 votes.  In 2015, he ran unopposed for his second term.

But since then, there’s been an FBI investigation of the city that indicted Tyler’s appointed building commissioner.  There’s been a lawsuit from the former city police chief over possible tampering of that FBI investigation – something Tyler denies – and another lawsuit over a loan to the MadJax makerspace project.

Tyler says it isn’t the problems that’s keeping him away from a third term.  And, he reminded the crowd at a press conference that he’s still got time left in the mayor’s office and he wants to –

“ – continue to grow our downtown as it gets out into our surrounding neighborhoods.  Continue to work to try to improve and rebuild the McKinley neighborhood over across from Muncie Central High School.  Continue to bring people together for different types of economic development throughout our city.”

Two people have already filed for May’s mayoral primary.  Republican Nate Jones is Delaware County’s veterans affairs officer and Democrat Andrew Dale is a design and construction management consultant whose great-grandfather and great-uncle were both Muncie mayors.  Republican city councilman Dan Ridenour has also announced he’ll run for the seat, but hadn’t yet filed paperwork as of Wednesday.

Tyler says it’s too early to say if he’ll endorse anyone in the primary.