Ross Thomas
A top official with the Bartholomew County Democratic Party is challenging the candidacy of a dump truck driver who is running for Columbus City Council on the GOP ticket in the upcoming municipal election.
The challenge, filed last week by Bartholomew County Democratic Party Chair Ross Thomas, seeks to have Republican nominee for Columbus City Council District 6 Jay Foyst removed from the ballot.
Foyst, 60, previously a salesman for 25 years and now a dump truck driver, was selected as the Republican Party’s nominee for District 6 and fill a vacancy on the ballot during a party caucus last month. No Republicans had filed to run for District 6 during the primary.
In the challenge, Thomas, an attorney, alleges that the Bartholomew County Republican Party failed to comply with state election laws in the run-up to the party caucus. More specifically, Thomas claims that local GOP officials failed to file a required notice of the party caucus with the Bartholomew County Clerk’s Office before a state-imposed deadline, which he argues makes Foyst’s candidacy “void and of no effect.”
“Because the procedures set out in Indiana law were not followed here, Joseph Foyst is not a valid candidate and should not appear in the 2023 general election municipal ballot,” Thomas states in the challenge.
Should the challenge prevail and Foyst is removed from the ballot, Democratic nominee for District 6, Bryan Muñoz, would likely run unopposed in the Nov. 7 general election.
District 6 is a new district that was created due to the city’s decision to adopt second class status. It includes portions of central and north Columbus.
The bipartisan Bartholomew County Election Board said that it plans to hold a pre-hearing conference on the challenge on Thursday. Bartholomew County Clerk Shari Lentz said the purpose of the hearing is to “gather information.”
The challenge cites provisions of the Indiana Code that state that notice of a party caucus must be filed with the county clerk’s office and sent via first-class mail to everyone who is eligible to participate no later than noon 10 days before the caucus is held.
The caucus during which Foyst was nominated took place July 1, which would mean that notice would have had to be mailed out and filed with Bartholomew County Clerk’s Office no later than noon on June 21, Thomas states in the challenge.
County records included with Thomas’ challenge suggest that notice of the caucus was mailed out to precinct committee members on June 19 but not filed with the Bartholomew County Clerk’s Office until June 22 — nine days before the caucus.
Bartholomew County Republican Party Chair Luanne Welmer said she could not comment as she had not yet seen the challenge filed by Thomas.
The challenge comes about three months before Columbus residents head to the polls to elect a new mayor and city council. It also comes as the Democrats seek to defend their first majority on the council in decades.
In 2019, the Democrats won a 4-3 majority on the city council by the smallest of margins when Democrat Jerone Wood defeated Republican incumbent Dascal Bunch by a single vote. It was the first time that the Democrats had won control of the council since 1983.
Thomas told The Republic on Tuesday that “the law is real clear.”
“Republicans write the laws in this state,” Thomas said. “So, if there is an issue about it, take it up with them.”
