Carla Clark | For The Republic Ross Thomas speaks during the Democrat watch party for the primary election at Bartholomew County Democratic Headquarters in Columbus, Ind., Tuesday, May 2, 2023.
COPYRIGHT, THE REPUBLIC, COLUMBUS
COLUMBUS, Ind. — A top official with the Bartholomew County Democratic Party is challenging the candidacy of a Republican nominee for Columbus City Council in the Nov. 7 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 stricken from the ballot.
Foyst
Foyst, 60, previously a salesman for 25 years and now a dump truck driver, was selected as the Republican Party’s nominee for during a party caucus held last month.
In the filing, Thomas 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 the nomination “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.
The bi-partisan 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” but referred further questions to the Indiana Election Division.
Should Thomas’ challenge prevail and Foyst be removed from the ballot, it would likely mean that Democratic nominee for District 6 Bryan Muñoz would run unopposed in the 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.
For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.
