The political winds of change were blowing across the Tri-County area on Election Day as there were some big political shakeups in Laurel and Knox counties.
In Laurel County, longtime Judge Executive David Westerfield lost a close primary election to Walter T. Hulett. Incumbent coroner Doug Bowling also lost his bid for re-election to challenger Mike Masters.
In Knox County, incumbent Judge-Executive Mike Smith lost his bid for re-election to challenger Jeff Ketcham by a nearly two-to-one margin.
By contrast, there wasn’t much political change in Whitley County on Election Day.
Incumbent Whitley County Judge-Executive Pat White Jr. was not even challenged in his bid for re-election. Neither was Second-District Magistrate Mondo Cima.
Third-District Magistrate Michael Jarboe fended off challenges by two other candidates to win re-election with 44 percent of the vote.
Fourth-District Magistrate Raleigh Meadors won re-election with 58 percent of the vote against his lone challenger.
The only seat on the Whitley County Fiscal Court changing is that of First-District Magistrate. Incumbent Scotty Harrison instead opted to run for Whitley County Clerk after Carolyn Willis announced she planned to retire at the end of this year.
Harrison won with 47 percent of the vote.
Lloyd Carter won the First-District Magistrate seat besting four other opponents.
Incumbent Jailer Jason Wilson easily won re-election to his second term in office. Incumbent Sheriff Bill Elliotte held off a strong challenge from Scott Bunch in his bid for re-election.
Most other countywide office holders were unopposed on Election Day.
The only losing incumbent was Third-District Constable Jordan Davis, who was defeated by former Third-District Constable Jim Thornton.
Based upon the election’s outcome and the lack of challengers for most county office holders, I think it is fair to say most Whitley County residents seem pretty happy with county government overall.
We will see if the same holds true in Corbin and Williamsburg during the November General Election.
While neither Corbin Mayor Suzie Razmus nor Williamsburg Mayor Roddy Harrison is facing opposition, the same cannot be said for their respective city commissions and city councils.
All four incumbent Corbin City Commissioners filed to seek re-election, including: Allison Moore, James Gambrel, John Baker and Brandon Shepherd. In addition, former Corbin City Commissioner David Grigsby Hart, Walter Pennington and Michael Vito are also seeking election to the Corbin City Commission. The top four vote getters will get seats on the commission.
Incumbent Williamsburg City Council members Erica Harris, Loren Connell, Laurel Jeffries West, Richard Foley and Chelsey Karr Tyree have all filed to run along with first time candidates Adam Troy Siler and Glen Hall. The top six vote getters will be elected to the city council.
Incumbent Mary Ann Stanfill did not file to run for re-election.
Tyree was appointed last year to fill out the remainder of Patty Faulkner’s term in office after Faulkner resigned to become the new assistant tourism director and the city’s recreational director.
It will be interesting to see how these city elections go.
Before I conclude this column, let me say a big thank you to all the candidates, who ran for office and were on the ballot May 19 in Whitley County and across the state. Let me also thank all the candidates, who will be on the ballot this November.
Whether you win or lose, a lot of hours, hard work and money typically goes into running for office. There are pie suppers, long evenings knocking on doors until dark and shaking hands with a lot of people.
As much as I may give candidates and politicians a hard time, I will give credit where it is due. At least locally, most of our candidates running for office do so for the right reasons.
They want to serve their community and they want to make things in their little corner of the world better.
Plus, the system doesn’t work without good people running for and getting elected to office.
Good job to all our local candidates. You should be proud of the races you ran.
