Homegrown Hope: Mayoral Candidate Dustin George Envisions a Positive Future

By: Contessa Hussong

Take a look at Hartford City today, and you’ll see a very different city than the one mayoral candidate Dustin George grew up in. 

For this Hartford native, a lot has changed over the 40-plus years of economic recession, housing crises, and stimulus investments the community has experienced. 

Dustin George’s campaign for Mayor of Hartford City was inspired, in part, by the hope of creating a community that his daughter would be proud to call home. Photo courtesy of Dustin George’s Facebook page.

The Radioshack and hardware store have long been replaced by other businesses. Many of the he historic buildings and locations soon to be portrayed on the traffic boxes around town have been renovated or demolished. 

While the childhood memories George and other Hartford City residents may share are forever in the past, the city itself is slowly growing toward a hopeful future.

“We all have that special memory of what [Hartford City] was,” George said. “Unfortunately, it will never be that again.”

The concept isn’t one that seems defeating to George, however. Describing his commitment to his work as “aggressive,” the councilman is a man of action, something he learned over his time working for the county in various roles.

Most recently, this has meant serving on City Council for the past 16 years. It has meant leading the city under three mayors, enacting a plan for a 20-year sewer separation project, and creating a certified Nature Play children’s center just behind the Hartford City Library.

Citing the ways he’s put the community’s needs at the forefront of city planning, George has committed himself to trying to create a town that will not only meet residents’ needs in the present day, but will create better business opportunities for the future.

George works with fellow members of the Hartford City Urban Forest Greenscape Commission to beautify the square. Photo courtesy of Dustin George’s Facebook page.

“It’s going to be difficult to get someone [in business leadership] here now because, you know, are there challenges there? Oh, yeah,” he admitted. “Am I ready for them? [I] was yesterday. I’m ready for the challenge. When I see Hartford City, I see opportunity.”

George sees a lot of that opportunity in Hartford City’s future generation. As he watches children playing in the Nature Play center the councilman helped design, George believes the up-and-coming citizens of Blackford County deserve to have their future invested in now.

One proponent for George’s focus? His eight-year-old daughter, Baylor, whom George cited as the driving force behind his campaign.

“I’m 45 years old and thought to myself, you know, I’ve got to do this,” George said. “It’s important for my daughter. It’s important for the children of this community to be proud of this place that they grew up [in] and had somewhere special to call home.”

Remembering the downturn Hartford City has seen over the years is another spur to action.

The trend of loss continued most recently with closure of  the emergency room at Blackford Hospital. George hopes to ensure such discouragement ends with his campaign.

“If I was in that position [of leadership] when I had heard that news, my truck would have been parked in [Indiana University’s] front lobby,” George said. “You can’t do that to a small rural community.”

Turning around such a pattern of disappointment will be one of George’s chief challenges, should he be elected mayor. 

The Nature Play center at the Hartford City Public Library is one of George’s proudest projects. Photo courtesy of Kathryn Fenstermacher.

His plan remains to be resolute. If elected, George wants to begin his term by changing the attitude of residents.

“We don’t face any challenges that any other rural community does [not face],” George said. “It’s how we attack them. Are we going to be aggressive? Or are we going to just lie and die?”

Inspiring hope first, allowing residents to believe that the future truly can be better for themselves and for their families, is the lifeblood the candidate is pouring into his campaign.

As for whether he will have the opportunity to do so as Hartford City’s next mayor or will continue to do so from City Council, however, remains to be seen. George will be running against current mayor Dan Eckstein in the polls this year, although he notes his boss bears no ill-will against his candidacy. After representing District #2 in the City Council, his desire to do more for Hartford City will soon be challenged on the ballots.

Mayor Eckstein’s office could not be reached for comment on this story.

Nov. 7 will be election day in Hartford City, with a voting location available at the Lighthouse Community Center. Early voting is already underway. Visit the Blackford County Election Office’s website for more information.