He is currently the Derek Bok Professor of the Practice of Urban Policy [1] and Director of Data-Smart City Solutions at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

O'Bannon overcame an early deficit in the polls by focusing on his long history of public service, his true Indiana roots, and the alleged mismanagement of the city of Indianapolis while Goldsmith was mayor.

The Goldsmith campaign was unable to successfully rebut "allegations of influence peddling" and accusations that cuts in spending had undermined the city's ability to process sewage.

[16] Goldsmith supervised the repair of the troubled CityTime employee timekeeping system [17] and initiated several public-private partnerships in the areas of energy, wastewater management, and parking.

[18] The New York Times suggested that his "short tenure was complicated by controversies, most notably after the city's slow response to a crippling snowstorm in December".

[21] On January 4, 2012, a Washington Superior Court judge found that Goldsmith was, as a matter of law, "actually innocent", and that there was no assault during the argument between him and his wife.

A ruling of "actual innocence" requires the defendant to appear before a judge and demonstrate proof that the offense did not occur - a higher standard than showing a lack of evidence of crime.