Six precinct committee members will pick a new member of the Franklin City Council after an elected official resigned due to a post he shared on social media.
A caucus will be conducted in February to replace Joe Ault, a longtime Republican member of the elected city council. His term was set to end at the end of 2019, but he resigned this month due to public reaction to his post on Facebook that used a derogatory term to refer to Democrats, voters and certain nations.
The Johnson County Republican Party is organizing the caucus to select a resident to finish Ault’s term. He represented District 1, which means the next member of the city council must live in the district and will be selected by precinct committee members of that district.
The caucus is set for Feb. 15. No one has applied for the job yet, said Beth Boyce, county Republican Party chairperson.
The six precinct committee members who will cast secret ballots to pick the next council member are Pam Ault, Eric Fredbeck, John White, Kirby Cochran, Dan Richards and Jim Martin.
District 1 includes a portion of downtown Franklin, roughly bordered by Graham and Younce streets on the east, U.S. 31 on the west, Washington Street and Parkview Court on the north and Youngs Creek on the south. A portion of the district also runs east, south of Kings Street, to just beyond Forsythe Street.
Interested residents can become candidates by sending a letter to Boyce by Feb. 12.
The new council member will join the seven-member board that sets the city’s operating budget, approves annexing or rezoning land and makes decisions, such as setting the city’s smoking ban, joining a federal lawsuit against the makers and distributors of opioids or growing the police or fire departments.
Council members are paid $7,374.35 this year.
This will be the third caucus to replace a Franklin elected official in just more than a year. Last year, then-Mayor Joe McGuinness resigned in the middle of his term to become commissioner of the Indiana Department of Transportation, and city council member Steve Barnett was selected as the new mayor.
Bob Heuchan was selected to replace Barnett on the city council in a second caucus.
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Deadline
Residents who want to join the city council and live in District 1 must apply in writing by 7 p.m. Feb. 12 to Johnson County Republican Party Chairwoman Beth Boyce at 845 Richart Lane, Greenwood, IN 46142.
Republican Party Caucus
Franklin’s Republican Party precinct committee members will conduct a caucus to select a new member of the city council
When: 7 p.m. Feb. 15
Where: Franklin City Hall, 70 E. Monroe St.
The event is open to the public.
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