The government as it stands

November 2026

The mayor: James Mueller, the city's 33rd mayor, sworn in on 1 January 2020 and re-elected in November 2023, holds the office as this section closes. His chief of staff since 1 June 2026 is Troy Warner, who concluded six years of service on the Common Council on 15 May 2026 to take the post — a succession that changed the council's roster mid-term, as the next paragraph records.

The council: The Common Council as it stands in November 2026, from the council's own organizational-meeting minutes of 5 January 2026 and the changes since: Canneth Lee of the 1st District, council president, re-elected to the presidency for 2026 at that meeting; Sheila Niezgodski of the 6th District, vice president; Ophelia Gooden-Rodgers, 2nd District; Sharon L. McBride, 3rd District; Heidi Beidinger, 4th District; Sherry Bolden-Simpson, 5th District; and at large, Oliver Davis, Rachel Tomas Morgan, and Karen L. White. The one change since the organizational meeting is the 4th District seat: when Warner resigned it in May 2026, a Democratic caucus on 20 May 2026 chose Heidi Beidinger to fill it; she sat first on 26 May 2026 and serves through 31 December 2027, and the city's 2027 Budget Priorities document, filed in the clerk's office on 22 June 2026, lists her in the seat. All nine members are Democrats. The next city election is 2 November 2027.

The clerk: Bianca L. Tirado is city clerk, in the term running 2024 through 2027; she presided over the council's officer elections in January 2026, and her office's stamp stands on the budget-priorities filing of June 2026. The clerk's office sits in Suite 300 of the new City Hall.

The address: City Hall is the former South Bend Community School Corporation administration building at 215 South Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard — six stories, 55,000 square feet. The city bought it from the school corporation for $2,800,000 under a Board of Public Works resolution of 27 September 2022, after a $7.8 million renovation appropriation approved in March 2022; the school corporation's own move out of the building preceded the purchase. Mayor Mueller opened the building as City Hall on 13 October 2025, and the renovation's final cost stands in the Board of Public Works completion affidavit of 14 April 2026 at $7,921,618.86. The full mayoral roster and the building's predecessors stand in the Government section of this history.

Sources:

1. City of South Bend — "Meet the Staff" and the mayor's office record (Mueller, 33rd mayor, sworn 1 January 2020, re-elected November 2023); the city clerk's office page (Bianca L. Tirado; Suite 300, 215 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd).
2. Common Council organizational meeting minutes, 5 January 2026 (docs.southbendin.gov) — the 2026 officers and roster; the council's 2027 Budget Priorities document, filed 22 June 2026 — Beidinger listed in the 4th District.
3. South Bend Tribune, 20 May 2026 — the Democratic caucus choosing Heidi Beidinger; Warner's council service concluded 15 May 2026, chief of staff from 1 June 2026; Beidinger's first meeting 26 May 2026, term through 31 December 2027.
4. Board of Public Works — Resolution 45-2022, 27 September 2022 (purchase, $2,800,000); the March 2022 appropriation ($7.8 million); the building's opening, 13 October 2025; completion affidavit, 14 April 2026 (final cost $7,921,618.86).
5. The Government section of this history — the 33-mayor roster and the City Hall record in full.