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SUMMARY:
With early voting underway, Rev. Tony Alexander and Pastor David W. Greene Sr. spend this episode in conversation with Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears, who is seeking another term. Mears describes his path from a west-side Indianapolis upbringing to the prosecutor’s office, his decision to stop prosecuting simple marijuana possession, and community-driven programs such as the Second Chance Workshop, a Saturday youth program, and an annual book bag giveaway. The hosts contrast his approach with elected officials they say ignore community input, citing Flock cameras and data centers. The second half turns to the two constitutional questions on the November ballot: Public Question 2 (judicial residency) and Public Question 1 (denying bail). Mears and both hosts urge a “no” vote on each, argue that Marion County’s appointed judges are unaccountable to local voters, and say Mears’s answer is simple: let Marion County elect its judges. A caller, Denise, asks how to get the word out; the hosts fault party leadership for not making the questions a turnout issue sooner. The show closes with a push for early voting and the Saturday, October 24 “March to the Polls.”
WHAT’S INSIDE
00:00:00 — Show open, prayer, and introduction of Prosecutor Mears
- Alexander welcomes listeners and previews the guest, who is “putting his hat back in the ring” for prosecutor
- Greene opens in prayer for local, state, and national leaders
- Alexander brings Mears on and asks him to share his vision for the office
00:03:46 — Mears’s background and the marijuana decision
- Mears: prosecutor since 2019 and a 20-year veteran of the office; from Indianapolis’s west side and a graduate of Cardinal Ritter High School
- Became the elected prosecutor in 2019 when Prosecutor Curry became ill
- One of his first acts was to stop prosecuting simple possession of marijuana, citing racial disparities between usage rates and who ended up in the system
- Says he wants resources focused on violent crime and on building relationships so contact with the office isn’t only “after something bad has happened”
00:06:44 — Second Chance and disparities in enforcement
- Mears describes the Second Chance Workshop, which helps people get driver’s licenses reinstated and convictions removed from their records
- Alexander: a youthful mistake can follow a person for life, and some communities pay for those mistakes longer and harder
- Greene: the programs are packed, and word spread in the community that they aren’t a setup
- Mears’s example: a student caught with marijuana on a college campus gets an administrative write-up, while the same act elsewhere in the city used to mean arrest and prosecution
00:08:49 — Why presence in the community builds trust
- Alexander says Mears stands out for being active in the community — youth events, basketball leagues — rather than an “us against them” prosecutor
- Mears credits the Concerned Clergy president for the advice to be with the community rather than against it
- Argues trust cannot be earned “by sitting in your office”; leaders must meet people where they are
- Says the Concerned Clergy’s power comes from its footprint in the community
00:11:02 — Community distrust of the system
- Alexander notes community distrust about whether people will be treated fairly, and that few other elected officials make comparable efforts
- Greene commends Mears’s outreach and says he “raised the bar” for elected officials
- Greene: relationships are the key to trust and can’t be built with an us-versus-them mentality
00:13:38 — Ideas that come from the community
- Mears: the driver’s license program grew from people who said they were afraid to drive their kids to school or get to work
- Says many of his best ideas are “stolen” from community members
00:15:30 — Partnerships: expungement, youth basketball, and book bags
- Mears: the Second Chance Workshop grew from a man who said he was fine with doing the time but not with a “life sentence” of convictions following him; Indiana’s expungement law made the program possible
- Partnered with Don Carlisle, head coach at Ben Davis, on his Underdog program, which opens the gym on Saturdays for basketball and leadership development
- Runs an annual book bag giveaway with Pastor Moore and Pastor Greene, after the pastors told him there was a need
00:17:32 — Officials who listen and officials who don’t
- Alexander: it’s frustrating to bring community feedback to other elected officials who won’t receive it, and refreshing to see one who does
- Greene: many officeholders are self-serving, hard to reach, and skeptical of the community, and go on the defense over issues like Flock cameras and data centers
- Greene says decisions are implemented first and the community is labeled “troublemakers” afterward, and that some plans for 2027–28 are known to officials but not discussed with residents
00:21:35 — Council response to Flock cameras and data centers; first break
- Alexander: on Flock cameras, body cameras, and data centers, the community raised concerns up front and was brushed off by the City-County Council and the mayor
- Says officials now present moratoriums and limits as heroic when they could have had the conversation from the start
00:23:40 — Violent crime, conviction rates, and who decides
- Alexander reintroduces Mears and Greene and asks how he responds to critics who question his commitment to prosecuting violent crime, noting Marion County doesn’t select its judges
- Mears: conviction rates are the highest they’ve been in a number of areas, including homicides and cases involving children
- Says he watches jury trial numbers closely because they reflect the community’s verdict on the office
00:25:53 — Mears on Public Question 2: judicial residency
- Mears urges voters to watch for the question on the ballot to amend the Constitution so judges don’t have to live in the county
- Says Marion County already can’t vote for its judges, who are appointed by Governor Braun, whom Mears says couldn’t get more than about 40% of the vote in Marion County
- Warns judges could live in places like Hamilton County and have no connection to the community, calling it “a recipe for disaster”
- [Note: Alexander reads the ballot language as follows: the Constitution would be amended “to permit the judge of a city or town court to reside in” the county where the court is located or the bordering county closest to the city or town. WFYI’s 2026 voter guide describes the amendment as covering city and town court judges, who hear misdemeanor, traffic, and city ordinance cases. The speakers discuss it as applying to Marion County’s appointed judges generally; that characterization does not appear to match the ballot language as read.]
00:28:07 — Alexander reads Question 2; Greene on how Questions 1 and 2 combine
- Alexander puts the question on screen and reads it
- Greene: taken together with Question 1, voters would have no way to address a judge who “goes rogue,” a possible “slippery slope” toward no-bail decisions
- Greene says the Concerned Clergy, the Baptist Minister’s Alliance, and the General Association of Missionary Baptists in Indiana issued a statement urging “no” votes and calling the changes harmful to Marion County and the state
- Notes the governor is appointing two more judges who retire at year’s end
00:31:07 — Judges in rural counties vs. Marion County
- Greene: it’s problematic for Marion County, Lake County, and other counties with many Black and brown residents, and asks why electing judges works in other Indiana counties but not here
- Argues rural judges are part of their communities and can be voted out; Marion County voters can’t do that
- Alexander: Marion County keeps having things “taken away,” and its resources support other communities; teases the bail question after the break
00:33:40 — Public Question 1: bail and the Constitution
- Alexander explains Question 1: judges would gain discretion to deny bail beyond murder and treason, which are the only exceptions now
- Notes judges already have discretion over bail and bond amounts
- Mears: bail has been a constitutional right since statehood to prevent governments from punishing people, including for political reasons
- Says a bail decision isn’t really appealable and that the decision-maker would have no connection to the community
00:37:22 — Caller Denise: how do we get the word out?
- Denise thanks Mears for acknowledging racial disparities and says she will vote for him
- Asks how to spread the message that Questions 1 and 2 should both be “no,” especially to younger voters, and worries about judges brought in from small towns
- [Note: Denise says Donald Trump was “found guilty” of rape and “did not get due justice.” Trump was found civilly liable for sexual abuse and defamation in the E. Jean Carroll case and was separately convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records; he was not criminally convicted of rape.]
00:40:37 — Mears: a role for the parties; the question is “intentionally confusing”
- Mears says he was at a community meeting discussing this very issue and sees a role for the state and local Democratic parties
- Calls the bail question’s wording “intentionally confusing” — he says he had to read it three times, despite being an attorney for 20 years
- Credits the Concerned Clergy, the Baptist Minister’s Alliance, and other groups for educating the public
00:41:26 — Hosts on getting information out
- Alexander agrees and says the question is confusing and that the show is trying to help voters understand it
- Greene: the party should already have been talking about it, because it could have been a lever for Black turnout
- Greene’s fear: rural voters know to vote for it while Marion, Lake, and Vanderburgh County voters either skip it or vote “yes” on the word “bail”
- Says people are already voting and “we need to be shouting from the rooftops”
00:43:52 — Unopposed Democrats and the stakes
- Alexander: Democrats running unopposed should treat these referendums as their opponent and campaign against them rather than “go on vacation”
- Greene: the changes will hit Black and brown people hardest — “this is ICE for Black people”
- Greene is disappointed that on October 14 the party hasn’t been louder, saying it should have started in June or July and that “the community is driving it”
00:46:37 — Mears on sentencing, accountability, and electing judges
- Alexander asks how the changes could affect prosecutors’ sentencing recommendations
- Mears: people want a fair system, and without guidelines and checks the result is abuse
- Says decisions of appointed Marion County judges are “not really reviewable” and bail rulings can’t realistically be appealed
- His “simple solution”: make Marion County’s judges elected so they must answer to the community, and not amend the Constitution
00:49:04 — How to support the Mears campaign
- Mears: find the campaign on social media and on its website, and volunteer or join him on Election Day
- Says the most important thing anyone can do is vote — for him and against both constitutional questions
- Alexander thanks him for joining and begins wrapping up the program
00:50:05 — Early voting and the march to the polls
- Alexander mentions early voting at the City-County Building;
”March to the Polls” is October 24th (a Saturday)
- Greene: the Concerned Clergy is part of the Hoosier voting coalition, with groups including Indivisible and MADVoters, organizing “March to the Polls” events next to each satellite early-voting site in every township
- Greene: Marion County’s turnout will have a big impact on statewide races and on any “blue wave”
