For a Job Well Done: City Councilman Glynn Hines (D-6th) Announces Retirement

Glynn Hines receiving the 2018 MLK Club Community Service Award from MLK Club President Bennie Edwards.

On March 17, Councilman Glynn Hines, 67, gave his 19th annual State of the 6th District speech at Links Wonderland.

The speech highlighted Pastor Cedric Walker’s Prosperity Heights Self Sufficiency Project that will help single parents with their education and employment goals, the new apartments at Vincent Village, and the continued improvements to infrastructure along Hessen Cassel, including sidewalk and curb installation from Oxford Street to Tillman Road.

“I annually provide updates in order to be accountable to the citizens and keep them abreast of quality of life improvements being made in the district,” Hines said. “This provides great transparency that the projects we announce are being accomplished.”

After the updates, Hines, the longest tenured member on the city council, announced that he would not seek re-election in 2019, siting health concerns specific to kidney issues and fatigue related to receiving dialysis treatments.

“I'm on the kidney list for a replacement, and I just get tired. Every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, it's hard to try to conduct business,” Hines said. “And I owe the community more than I'm able to give. Therefore, I've decided not to run.”

State Representative and fellow Democrat Phil GiaQuinta presented Hines with the governor-bestowed Sagamore of the Wabash award, one of Indiana’s highest honors.

Hines and Geoff Paddock (D-5th) are the only two democrats on the nine-member council.

“I don't think Glynn has ever ducked on any substantive discussion or any big issue that's affected not just the 6th District but the entire community,” Paddock said. “The leader, the giant we are losing will be felt not only by me but for all of us for years to come.”

Republican councilmen John Crawford and Tom Freistroffer, present for the announcement, also spoke highly of Hines.

Glynn Hines was appointed to city council in April 1999 when councilman Cletis Edmonds died. He won election in November later that year. (In the 2015 general election, Hines won with more than 80 percent of the vote.)

A graduate of the shuttered Central High School, he majored in history and speech and drama at Manchester College. Hines attended graduate school at Temple.

He was instrumental in several projects on the city’s southeast side including the Coca-Cola plant on Pontiac Street which was turned into housing, Prosperity Heights housing and retail development, and Vincent Villages. Hines was also instrumental in development of Southtown, which now boasts such businesses at Walmart and Menards.

Hines also supported the expansion of the Grand Wayne Center and Allen County Public Library. He voted in favor of downtown development, including the building of Parkview Field.

Currently, Hines serves as Chairman of the Board at Citilink; he was instrumental in placing the Rosa Parks seat on every Citilink bus. He also serves on the Fort Wayne Commission for the Social Status of African American males.

Hines's last day in office will be Dec. 31, 2019.

Reporting from NewsChannel 15 and the Journal Gazette was used for this article, along with information provided by Councilman Hines’s press release for the event.