Mike Wolanin | The Republic City Council incumbent Jerone Wood (District 3) answers a question during the Put People First Town Hall by the local chapter of Hoosier Action at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Columbus, Ind., Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. Members of the public listened to and engaged with candidates for city council and mayor about issues facing people living in Columbus.
A Columbus City Council member says he has missed just under half of the 2024 council meetings due to family and work obligations.
Jerone Wood, D-District 3, attended 13 of 23 city council meetings this year, an outlier number compared to other members on the council. There is one meeting left for the council in 2024. The council traditionally meets twice a month. City council members receive an annual salary of $16,464 for 2024.
Wood said his absences were due to obligations he has as head coach of boy’s track and field at Columbus East High School, along with additional duties coaching eighth-grade basketball at South Decatur Jr./Sr. High School. In addition, he mentioned that he tries his best to not miss his children’s events and activities.
“For the most part, I’ll miss most practices in order to not miss meetings. But if there’s a game, I’m the head coach, so I can’t miss those,” Wood said over the phone. “As far as my kid’s events, both my daughters are involved in sports, cheerleading and things of that nature. If I can make them—because a lot of time, because of my other engagements, I can’t even make those events— so if I can make those, I do everything in my power to make sure that I’m present at all those events.”
Wood said he also lets those in the city know in advance if he’s unable to attend and that his schedule was similar during his first-term as a council member.
“From what I’ve experienced, it’s understood. They all know that I’m involved in the community with all these different things, they all applaud me for that. So it’s something that hasn’t been an issue in the past,” Wood said.
Wood is in his second term as a city council member after defeating Republican Sue Norman-Chapple with 52.34% of the vote in 2023. He identified his priorities as affordable housing, working to address homelessness and promoting youth.
“They encouraged me to run again, they (felt) strongly about that, despite my schedule. Which I said, has been my schedule for quite some time. In my mind, I think they’re OK with that. I think there’s an understanding, as far as, I’m not just sitting at home missing a meeting.”
Ross Thomas, chair of the Bartholomew County Democratic Party, highlighted that as a party official, it’s not his role to determine how individual council members conduct their business, saying that he wasn’t worried about the number of meetings Wood has missed.
“I’m not concerned about it. I’ve certainly never gotten a complaint from constituents about Jerone. I think he’s well-known and well-liked in his district. One thing I would tell you is Jerone has taken some votes that were, what I would call courageous votes, where Jerone has been a voice for low-income housing, and he’s been a voice for working people. To the contrary of complaints, I’ve had a lot of people tell me that they’re happy with Jerone and that they like that he’s an independent voice.”
Thomas added that: “I wouldn’t say that attendance at public meetings is necessarily the most important aspect of being a city councilman.”
He went on: “The folks on the council can count votes, and they know when votes are coming up, and they know what’s important and what’s not important.”
Some of the votes Wood missed include a resolution to accept United Way’s Homelessness Initiative proposal on April 16, one to consent to the Columbus Redevelopment Commission’s purchase of the former Sear’s Building and adjoining parking lot for $4.2 million on May 21, as well as the first reading of an ordinance to annex 261 acres southeast of the city limits on July 16. The latter vote ended up being 4-3. Wood attended the second reading on Oct. 1 and voted no, deadlocking the count 4-4 after Jay Foyst, R-District 6, had to abstain.
On Oct. 15, with Wood absent, the council voted 8-0 to approve the second reading of an ordinance establishing the city budget for next year.
The most recently missed meeting on Dec. 6 included a project agreement to allow for a five-story, 120-unit development at 11th and Washington streets in downtown Columbus. The vote on the project agreement and the first reading of an ordinance to authorize a $6.4 million loan to the project’s developer were both 5-2.
When asked what other council members thought of Wood’s absences, Council President Frank Miller, R-District 5, said in his capacity he has no authority over whether council members attend or not.
Foyst missed four meetings this year, the second most missed by a council member. However, those came consecutively starting on July 16 after an Indiana appeals court ruled that he was not a valid candidate in the 2023 election because the Bartholomew County Republican Party failed to “meet a statutory deadline for filling a vacancy on a general election ballot” last year.
The appellate judges sent the case back to a lower court with instructions to declare his opponent, Bryan Muñoz, the winner. On Aug. 30, Foyst filed an appeal to the Indiana Supreme Court, asking the justices to vacate the July appellate decision and affirm the previous trial court’s decision that upheld his candidacy.
Since then, Foyst, who won his race against Muñoz with 59.5% of the vote while a lawsuit against his candidacy was still pending, has attended every meeting and voted, saying that he plans to represent his district until he has exhausted his legal options. But, Foyst was advised by his counsel to not cast any tie-breaking votes. This is because if the Indiana Supreme Court does not take up the case, votes where he was the deciding factor “would have to be brought back,” Foyst said earlier this year.
The Indiana Supreme Court has no obligation to take up the case and if the justices decide not to hear it, the appellate court decision will be final. If the court doesn’t hear the case, it would mean the balance of the city council would shift to the Democrats in control at 5-4.
While it’s true that votes rarely fall along party lines in local government, the inability of one member to cast a decision-making vote means the margins of the council can be much closer in split votes. It is not unusual for members to seemingly change their minds on matters after discussion during city council meetings.
In terms of the attendance of other members, council members Elaine Hilber, D-District 2, Tom Dell, D-at-large and Josh Burnett, R-at-large have not missed any council meetings. Council members Chris Bartels, R-District 1, and Kent Anderson, R-District-4, missed two meetings, with Miller and Grace Kestler, D-at-large, each have missed one.
“I think it’s a fair criticism, I think of anybody to say, hey why aren’t you there?” Thomas said. “But that doesn’t mean you’re not effective, and it doesn’t mean you’ve caused problems on the council, and it doesn’t mean you missed any important votes.”
