Barton "Bart" R. Peterson (born June 15, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician who served as mayor of the U.S city of Indianapolis, Indiana.

to easily cruise to re-election in 2007 as no well-known Republican candidates entered the race, leaving relatively unknown political newcomer Greg Ballard as his opposition.

[citation needed] Prior to the election, both Democrats and Republicans considered Peterson a political star, and he had been mentioned as a candidate for governor or the United States Senate.

[2] In December 2007, Peterson was mentioned as a possible candidate in the special election to fill the seat of recently deceased Congresswoman Julia Carson.

At Harvard he led study groups on urban politics that he confronted in his time as mayor, including building arts communities, education reform, sports facilities, and homelessness.