COLUMBUS, Ind. — A Democratic candidate has entered the Columbus mayoral race but there are questions about whether he meets the residency requirement.
Sean Webster, 34, filed his declaration of candidacy Monday morning. However, officials from the City of Columbus-Bartholomew County Planning Department and the county surveyor’s office told The Republic his residential address is not within Columbus’s city limits. According to the county’s GIS system, it is technically in Wayne Township.
Columbus is currently a third class city but is set to officially become a second class city in 2024. Per Indiana Code 3-8-1-26, a candidate running for mayor of a second or third class city must live in the city for at least a year before the election.
In discussing the matter, Bartholomew County Clerk Shari Lentz said that while Webster’s address is not within city limits, her department is instructed by the state to accept all filings.
“We are not the candidate police, is what they always tell us,” she said. “So we are to accept all filings. However, if someone would file and they do not live in the city or for various reasons is ineligible, that would be up for a challenge by someone or a party that lives in the district where the person would be on the ballot.”
Filings are completed in person at the Bartholomew County Clerk’s office at the courthouse. The deadline to file for the primary is Feb. 3, and the deadline to withdraw as a candidate is Feb. 10. Per the state of Indiana’s 2023 candidate guide, Feb. 10 is also the deadline to file a challenge against a municipal primary election candidate.
For more on this story, see Tuesday’s Republic.
