Mike Wolanin | The Republic Republican candidate for Columbus mayor Mary Ferdon thanks her supporters during the Bartholomew County Republican Party primary results watch party at Hotel Indigo in Columbus, Ind., Tuesday, May 2, 2023. Ferdon beat Republican Milo Smith in the primary for Columbus mayor.
A current leader in city government has been chosen as the GOP nominee for Columbus mayor.
Mary Ferdon easily won the nomination with 2,533 votes (62.93% of the vote), with former Indiana state representative Milo Smith receiving 1,492 (37.07% of the vote).
“I’m very thankful to the voters in Columbus, and I hope to do them proud moving forward,” said Ferdon, as Smith prepared to concede a little before 8 p.m. Tuesday, when final results were posted.
“I congratulated my opponent on a campaign that didn’t sling any mud in my direction from her and encouraged her to continue to run a clean campaign in the fall, which I think she’ll do,” said Smith.
The municipal primary is the first step for voters to choose the next mayor of Columbus. Incumbent Mayor Jim Lienhoop, also a Republican, is not seeking another term and endorsed Ferdon, who has served as the city’s director of administration and community development during his administration.
“I’m really pleased for Mary,” said Lienhoop. “She worked very hard to develop the name recognition that it would take to be a successful candidate, and credit goes to her and her team.”
Ferdon led the race from the first posting of returns of early voting and absentee ballots through each of the voting center results. She never relinquished the large lead of nearly 1,000 votes at the beginning of the night, carrying it through to the final voting center report.
While there is currently no Democratic candidate for mayor, the party could still select a candidate for the general election before noon July 3.
Though both members of the same political party, the two remaining mayoral candidates expressed differing views on several subjects.
During the campaign, Smith emphasized the importance of not putting too much of a burden on taxpayers, advertising that individuals who were “tired” of increasing taxes should vote for him. He also indicated that his approach to economic development would be more hands-off than the current administration, saying he would act as a “cheerleader” to encourage development.
Ferdon expressed support for projects such as NexusPark and the work done by the Columbus Redevelopment Commission, where the city has taken a more active role in development. She has also said that local leaders have to balance taking care of taxpayers with ensuring that city departments have the resources they need to operate effectively.
When asked what’s next for him, Smith said, “I don’t have any plans of doing anything next, if you’re talking about political office, but I won’t rule anything out in the future, if an opportunity presents itself, because I really feel called to serve people.”
“I have a lot of respect for Milo Smith,” said Ferdon as the results were still coming in. “I saw him at many of the voting sites, and I’m proud of the campaign that both he and I ran.”
Two potential candidates for mayor were on the sidelines Tuesday night.
Democrat Sean Webster previously filed to run for mayor in late January but withdrew his nomination after learning his residence, located in Wayne Township, is 195 feet outside the city limits.
Former Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers, a Republican, was the first individual to announce his candidacy and the first to withdraw, attributing the decision to a desire to move away from public service and into the private sector, as well as to spend more time with his family. He later endorsed Ferdon and donated $1,000 to her campaign.
