Stockton launches bid for District 6 Bloomington city council seat
Joshua Stockton has announced a run for Bloomington City Council District 6, the seat Sydney Zulich is leaving to run for mayor. His campaign stresses housing affordability, infrastructure and keeping more city contracts and economic activity local. He's seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination.
Left: Map of District 6 by The B Square [dynamic version of map] Right: Photo provided by Joshua Stockton.
Joshua Stockton has announced a run for Bloomington city council District 6. The district is in central Bloomington, with the Indiana University campus and nearby student housing making up most of it.
The seat will be open in 2027, because Sydney Zulich, the incumbent councilmember representing that district, is running for mayor.
Stockton’s announcement identifies housing affordability, road and water infrastructure, and the local economy as the main issues for his campaign.
An Indiana native who says he has lived in Bloomington for six years, Stockton has a bachelor’s degree in public affairs earned in 2024 from Indiana University and is now pursuing a master’s degree in public affairs with a concentration in local government management. He also has a Purdue University certification in watershed management. His announcement also says he is pursuing an accounting certification.
Stockton’s city government experience includes work beginning in 2025 as a water treatment operator. More recently, he completed an internship with Bloomington’s engineering department, where his announcement says his work focused on street-lighting infrastructure. According to Stockton, that work revealed “minimal planning and no comprehensive inventory of our street lighting assets.”
On transportation infrastructure, Stockton’s announcement calls for continued work on crosswalks, potholes, street lighting and pavement, with an emphasis on safety for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists.
On housing, Stockton calls for changes to local regulations that would allow smaller and less expensive housing, while preserving existing affordable housing. He also calls for zoning changes intended to make construction cheaper and faster.
Some of the wording in Stockton’s announcement echoes themes in Sydney Zulich’s mayoral campaign launch just six days earlier. Zulich is also a recent IU grad.
Zulich’s announcement said she is running “to create lasting affordability, invest in the city and keep Bloomington local.” It also quoted her saying: “We’re in a spiral of corporatizing our city and hiring out-of-town consultants to solve our problems.”
Stockton’s announcement uses similar language: “A strong local economy requires remaining local.” He continues: “This means working with local partners to complete projects and consulting inquiries. It means promoting local businesses, not outside entities.”
Stockton’s announcement does not state a political party affiliation, but he confirmed to The B Square that he will be seeking the nomination of the Democratic Party.
No candidate can formally file a declaration for a 2027 Bloomington city office until Jan. 6.
The District 6 seat has not had a contested primary since 2011. The historical turnout in the area covered by District 6, which has a high percentage of college students, is notoriously low.
In the general election for secretary of state in 2022, just 475 votes were cast for that office by District 6 voters. Here’s how that stacked up against other city council districts that year:
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