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Public Service or Self-Service? Sheila Niezgodski's Path from Vendor to Chair of Public Works
- Logan Foster
- 27 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Public Service or Self-Service? Sheila Niezgodski's Path from Vendor to Chair of Public Works
Date: 04/24/25
Author: Logan Foster
SOUTH BEND, Ind.—Concerns about public officials abusing power have long captured the attention of citizens and media alike. While recent headlines have focused on those indicted for fraud or under active investigation by authorities, Sheila Niezgodski, a South Bend Common Council member and prominent Democrat, presents a third category of scrutiny, those who soon could be under active investigation. Her path from managing a family business that receives government contracts to overseeing the governing body that awards those contracts raises critical questions about conflicts of interest and the conduct of elected officials.
From Plumbing Office Manager to Public Office
Sheila Niezgodski entered the political arena after being elected to South Bend's Common Council in 2019, representing District 6. A Democrat, she ran unopposed in the 2019 and 2023 general elections. Before taking office, Niezgodski served as the office manager for her family business, Niezgodski Plumbing, Inc., a company in which 80% of its ownership was held by her, her husband (Indiana State Senator David Niezgodski, also a Democrat), and their dependents.
While Sheila Niezgodski's political career may appear unremarkable on the surface, public records obtained from the city of South Bend suggest a different narrative. Since Niezgodski assumed public office, her family's plumbing company has reportedly received close to $3 million from the City of South Bend for various public work. A breakdown of the yearly payments reveals a steady flow of funds:
2020: $679,600.47
2021: $693,367.72
2022: $776,988.67
2023: $771,889.91
2024: Waiting For Public Records
Given her position on the South Bend Common Council, the significant revenue directed toward Niezgodski Plumbing, Inc.
raises questions of transparency and potential self-enrichment.
Niezgodski's Committees
Niezgodski's committee responsibilities on the Common Council exacerbate the ethical concerns surrounding payments to her family business. She chairs not one but two influential committees: the Public Works and Property Vacation Committee and the Personnel and Finance Committee.
As the city describes it, the Public Works and Property Vacation Committee "oversees the various activities performed by the Building Department, the Department of Public Works, and related property vacation issues." This responsibility inherently connects Niezgodski to the department awarding contracts to her family business.
Similarly, as chair of the Personnel and Finance Committee, she oversees budgets, appropriations, and fiscal policy, positioning her within discussions influencing city expenditures, including those tied to municipal contractors. With such authority, one might ask whether monitoring the Board of Public Works while her family's plumbing company profits from city contracts creates more than a perceived conflict of interest.
A Conflict of Interest
Conflicts of interest are not new phenomena in American politics, yet Niezgodski's circumstances provide a case study of blurred lines between public service and private gain. According to her 2021 "Uniform Conflict of Interest Disclosure," she openly declared the family's 80% ownership stake in Niezgodski Plumbing, Inc. Despite this disclosure, her continued oversight of the department responsible for awarding contracts to the company begs the question of appropriateness.
A reasonable observer might argue that someone with such ownership stakes should recuse themselves from any decisions or oversight involving the Board of Public Works. However, as far as we know, no such actions have been taken. In fact, in 2024, during a public meeting, the South Bend Common Council stated that neither Sheila nor David Niezgodski had contracts or a pecuniary interest in Niezgodski Plumbing. Yet, Sheila Niezgodski's most recent conflict of interest filing admits that David Niezgodski is still an owner of the company in 2025. So, one must ask themselves why the governing body would be dishonest about something as simple as the ownership of a plumbing company.
Prominent Democrats on the South Bend Common Council, along with Democratic Mayor James Mueller, continue to support Niezgodski in her oversight over taxpayer money. Critics have likened her influence and her husband's scandal to that of South Bend's equivalent to Bill and Hillary Clinton, pointing to political donations the Niezgodski's have made to Democratic candidates and causes across Indiana as further evidence of their entrenched power.
What's Next?
Public service should inspire trust, not suspicion. Whether Sheila Niezgodski's actions breach that trust is a question that South Bend residents and governing bodies can no longer ignore.
Redress South Bend will continue to document and study this ongoing saga. When appropriate, a formal complaint will be filed with the appropriate party(s) for an official investigation.