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Fort Wayne City Council elects Marty Bender president, Paul Inslee vice president for 2026
Summary
Council members nominated and voted to install Marty Bender as council president for 2026 and elected Paul Inslee as vice president (vote reported as Jeff Paddock 3, Paul Inslee 6). The meeting also included brief remarks and recognition of 2025 leaders.
Councilman Marty Bender was elected president of the Fort Wayne City Common Council for 2026 during the council's organizational meeting.
The council opened nominations for the presidency and, after a motion to close the floor, voted in favor of Bender with no opposition announced on the record. After the vote the body turned leadership duties over to Bender, who thanked colleagues.
The council then elected a vice president. Nominations produced two candidates, Councilman Jeff Paddock and Councilman Paul Inslee. The council recorded vote counts on the record as Jeff Paddock 3 and Paul Inslee 6; Paul Inslee was declared vice president for 2026. The transcript does not record individual roll-call votes by member name.
"I'm deeply honored," Bender said after the vote, thanking fellow members for their support.
"Just very briefly, thank you to my colleagues on the Fort Wayne City Council," Paul Inslee said after the election, adding that he looked forward to working with President Bender and the full council this year.
The leadership elections followed the formal adoption of the agenda and a roll call conducted at the start of the meeting. The roll call noted that all nine council members were present. No formal motions or amendments to the leadership results were recorded after the votes.
Next steps for the council were not set on the record in this session beyond the routine continuation of council business and the mayor's upcoming presentation to the body.
