Mike Wolanin | The Republic Columbus City Council District 6 candidate Jay Foyst and his wife Rachel look over election numbers during the Bartholomew County Republican Party election results watch party at The Forge on 4th in Columbus, Ind., Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023.
Republican Joseph Jay Foyst has been voted in as the first councilman for Columbus’s new District 6. However, a pending lawsuit could change the outcome of this race.
Foyst won the race with 454 votes (59.5% of the vote), with Democrat Bryan Munoz receiving 309 votes (40.5% of the vote).
However, Foyst is still the defendant in a pending lawsuit by Bartholomew County Democratic Party Chairman Ross Thomas, who seeks to declare the Republican as ineligible as a candidate.
“I feel good,” Foyst said as votes were coming in at 7 p.m. “You know, the voters of District 6 are having their say, and it looks good for me. I want to thank them and I look forward to going to work for them.”
District 6 was created with the city’s decision to adopt second-class status, with the change going into effect in 2024. It includes portions of central and north Columbus.
Munoz, who works for Music Travel Consultants, ran unopposed in his party’s primary. Foyst, a semi-retired dump truck driver, was initially selected as the Bartholomew County Republican Party’s nominee during a party caucus in July. The caucus was convened after no Republican filed to run for the office in the party’s May primary.
However, Thomas filed a formal challenge against Foyst, arguing that his candidacy was invalid because the GOP had failed to file its notice for a party caucus with the clerk’s office by the required deadline.
The election board upheld the challenge in August, but the Republican Party decided to hold another caucus and selected Foyst once again to fill the vacancy, pointing to a section in the Indiana Code that allows parties to fill a vacancy within 30 days under certain circumstances.
Thomas attempted to challenge Foyst’s candidacy again, but his request was denied by Bartholomew County Clerk Shari Lentz because the deadline had passed to file a challenge, prompting Thomas to file the lawsuit in early September.
He is seeking a declaratory judgment that Foyst is ineligible to appear as a candidate on the ballot.
According to online court records, the next hearing in the suit will be held at 8:30 a.m. on Nov. 28 in Johnson County Superior Court 4, with a backup date of Dec. 12.
Thomas told The Republic that if Special Judge K. Mark Loyd rules against him, he will immediately appeal the case, and he expects Foyst would do the same if things don’t go his way. Thomas added that he believes the law “is on our side.”
Foyst took an early lead Tuesday night, receiving 58% of the mail and walk-in absentee votes. This is his first time seeking office, whereas Munoz previously ran for Indiana Senate District 41 in 2022 but lost to Sen. Greg Walker, R-Columbus.
When asked if he was worried about the pending suit, Foyst replied, “No, I’m going to let my lawyer handle that.”
His focus, he said, was on the votes coming in Tuesday and serving the district starting on Wednesday.
