Last month, attorney and school board member Julia Church Kozicki announced her candidacy for mayor of Noblesville.
Kozicki, 49, joins Mike Corbett and Chris Jensen who have announced candidacies for the May 7, 2019, Republican primary election.
“Our family has always believed in service,” Kozicki told Current. “My grandparents served in multiple organizations in their communities, and my parents (Kathy and Doug Church) have been very involved in Noblesville. It’s just always been a family value. My kids are Eagle Scouts, so it’s just sort of what we do.”
For the past 12 years, Kozicki has served on the Noblesville Schools Board of Trustees.
“It’s been an incredible honor to serve on the school board for the past 12 years, but I knew the last time that I ran, because I believe in self-term limiting, I felt that three (terms) was a good number for that,” she said. “I’ve been thinking over the past couple of years, you know, what’s my next step going to be? Noblesville is my home. I brought my husband back (to Noblesville) after school, so it’s just so important to me that we are thoughtful in our direction in where the city is going. We are, have been, and will continue to be a growing community, so how we approach that growth in a thoughtful manner is just critical to me. As I continued to think about it and talked to people and pray, here I am.”
HER PLATFORM
Downtown
“Our focus needs to be on maintaining and enhancing our downtown, which is our core and makes us unique,” Kozicki said. “I grew up two blocks from downtown, so it’s very special to me. The downtown that I walked downtown to on the way to the library, which is now City Hall, is not the downtown that was there when I moved back from school, and it’s not the downtown it is today. Things have changed, and growth has happened and will continue to happen, and the question is are we being thoughtful and responsible in those choices to maintain the atmosphere that we have developed?
Workforce development
“We need to look at projects that are going to develop the kind of jobs that our kids want to have,” Kozicki said. “We’ve done a lot of work in Noblesville Schools on preparing our kids for all kinds of (careers), but I think about the kind of work my kids are interested in, and I’m hopeful that there are positions in those areas, but I’m not confident. So, I want to make sure we’re continuing to work across a broad strand of opportunities for everyone. I hope kids want to come back to Noblesville, and I hope there are opportunities for them to do so.”
Finance and taxes
“I think we need to continue to develop our tax base,” Kozicki said. “Overall, it’s important that we’re having public and open conversation about projects that are happening in city government so that people understand. In all forms of government there are tradeoffs. The supply of money is not endless, and people don’t want to pay a zillion dollars in taxes. So, what are the choices we’re making, and how are we choosing to spend out resources and are we spending them wisely?”
GET TO KNOW HER
Kozicki graduated from Noblesville High School in 1987 and from Indiana University in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in economics with honors. After that, she graduated from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 1994.
Kozicki is a licensed attorney and spent eight years as a law clerk for Federal Judge Allen Sharp. For the past 16 years, she has been general counsel for Sigma Kappa Sorority at its national headquarters in Carmel.
In the community, Kozicki is president of the Hamilton County Leadership Academy board. She also is an academy graduate. Kozicki also was president of Tri Kappa and is on the Indiana School Board Association board of directors. She also has chaired the corporate counsel section of the Indiana State Bar Association. Through her school board service, she is on the board of the Noblesville Schools Education Foundation and is on the Youth Sports Association steering committee. She also has served in the PTOs in the schools of her children, from Forest Hill Elementary to Noblesville High School. She is a member of Noblesville First United Methodist Church, where she is in the chancel choir and serves on various committees.
In her personal life, Kozicki is married to Jeff Kozicki and has lived in Noblesville nearly her entire life. Together they have two sons, J.D., 20, and Josh, 17. J.D. is a sophomore at Indiana University majoring in physics. Josh is a senior at Noblesville High School.
Favorite book: “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen
Favorite movie: “Princess Bride”
Favorite musician/band: “Your State Fair champion, the NHS Marching Millers.”
Favorite sport/sports team: Indiana Hoosiers
Favorite Noblesville park: Forest Park (and the Forest Park Aquatic Center)
Favorite downtown restaurant: Rosie’s Place
Favorite free-time activity: Reading
