Candidates continue to throw hats into 2010 ring

Local News

September 21, 2009

By BILL MARDIS, Editor Emeritus The Commonwealth Journal Mon Sep 21, 2009, 09:00 PM EDT

Somerset — Candidates for local offices subject to the 2010 elections keep popping out of the woodwork. Some of the latest to toss their hats in the ring or say they will seek another term include:

• Frey Todd, the only mayor Eubank has ever had, said “... I’ve got so much going on I probably will run again.” He was referring to projects upgrading Eubank Water System and renovating an old skating rink into a senior citizens center. Todd was elected to the Eubank Town Board in the mid-1960s and was named chair of the board, equivalent to mayor, in 1972. He became mayor when town boards became commissions and has been mayor since.

• Craig Richardson, a member of Burnside City Council, will run for mayor of Burnside, according to Jim Brooks, a former mayor of Burnside. Efforts to reach Richardson to confirm his candidacy have been unsuccessful. Incumbent Mayor Chuck Fourman did not immediately return telephone calls concerning whether he will seek reelection.

• Mayor Bill Dick of Science Hill said “ ... I’m 99 percent sure I will seek a second term.”

• Ferguson Mayor Allen Dobbs did not immediately return a telephone message concerning plans to seek another term.

Candidates for public office in 5th and 6th class cities are not involved in the May primary and have until August 10, 2010 to file for the November general election.

County offices, particularly the position of magistrate, are attractive.

• Richard Gossett, a truck driver who lives in the Science Hill community, told the Commonwealth Journal he will run for magistrate in the 2nd District.

• David Rogers, a resident of Green Meadows, said he will be a candidate for magistrate in the 5th District.

• Darwin Harris, currently a deputy jailer, said he will run for magistrate in the 4th District.

• Bill Lippert, a retired Cincinnati-area high school mathematics teacher, told the Commonwealth Journal he will seek the office of magistrate in the 5th District, a seat now occupied by Mike Strunk.

• James Cothron, who served 13 years as magistrate in the 4th District before being ousted by Glenn Maxey in 2006, has moved to town and says he will be a candidate in the 3rd District. If Cothron files for office he will face incumbent magistrate Tommy Barnett.

• Maxey said he will be a candidate for reelection in the 4th District,

• Eugene Harness said he will be a candidate for magistrate in the 2nd District, now represented by Mike Wilson.

• Jimmy L. Wilson, former animal control officer, has filed a Letter of Intent with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance as a candidate for Kenny Isaacs’ 1st District seat on Pulaski Fiscal Court.

• Gene Palmer said he will run for constable in the 3rd District.

Bert Minton, Jimmy Dalton, Darrell BeShears, Steve Kelley and incumbent Barty Bullock, all Republicans, are in the race for judge-executive. Minton filed as an independent with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance but he assured the Commonwealth Journal he remains a registered Republican and emphasized the filing in Frankfort does not mean he will run as an independent. The Letter of Intent allows Minton to raise funds and campaign ahead of the November 4 date to file, but has no bearing on how he officially files at the Pulaski County clerk’s office. Kenny Isaacs, the only Democrat member of Pulaski Fiscal Court, reportedly is campaigning for the office of judge-executive.

Martin Hatfield, a Somerset attorney and former federal and state prosecutor, has indicated he will challenge incumbent Bill Thompson for county attorney.

Alan Stringer, a former county coroner, is talking like he may run against incumbent Richard New. New is nearing the end of his second term in the office and will seek reelection.

Shane Douglas Haste, 636 Old Salts Road, filed a Letter of Intent to run for coroner. He has not returned numerous telephone calls from the Commonwealth Journal asking for confirmation of his candidacy.

Incumbent Sheriff Todd Wood will seek another four-year term. Since David Biggerstaff said he will not challenge Wood, he, (Wood) at the moment, is the only one mentioned for that office.

Terry Gilreath, a retired state employee and currently a farmer in the Science Hill community, is campaigning for state representative from the 85th District. Incumbent Tommy Turner says he will seek reelection.

Mike Harris says he will seek another term as jailer. Nobody else has told the Commonwealth Journal they are interested in challenging Harris.

Nonpartisan Somerset governmental officials are subject to the same January 26 filing deadline as countywide candidates. Former Mayor JP Wiles and Larry Wesley, chief deputy for the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department and former Somerset police chief, both have said they will challenge incumbent Eddie Girdler for the mayor’s office.

This report does not portend or anticipate the more than 100 candidates who normally are on the ballot during a local election. The newspaper tries to contact potential candidates for major offices and include those who express their intentions to seek an office.

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Pulaski carries Girdler to win

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, it was impossible to miss the colorful signs dotting nearly every Pulaski roadway. The names in the race for the 15th State Senatorial District seat popped out: A.C. Donahue. Chris Girdler. Mark Polston.

Once citizens hit the ballots, however, the results mirrored the dimensions of the signs themselves: Chris Girdler stood the tallest.

Girdler, deputy district director for Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, ran away with the votes inside Pulaski County’s borders, earning 3,926 votes for 62.05 percent of the total number cast.

That number more than doubled the next highest vote-getter, businessman Mark Polston, who raked in 1,624 votes for 25.67 percent.

However, Polston — who owns Classic Carpet, a home-flooring business located just off the southern 914 bypass — can claim a moral victory ... three of them, in fact. In all three counties in the district other than Pulaski — those being Adair, Casey, and Russell Counties — Polston actually edged out Girdler.

In Adair, Polston beat Girdler 629 to 394. In Casey County, it was 538 to 417, and in Russell, it was 1,862 to 1,038.

Polston said he just “couldn’t pull it out with the numbers” and that “the machine worked for” Girdler in Pulaski County.

“I think that was their strategy — I think they had a Pulaski County strategy all along,” said Polston. “They played the political game well.”

Polston said the difference between his and Girdler’s campaigns was that “mine was a very, very grass roots campaign,” he said. “I did not have a political machine behind me. I understand how this process works, and in this instance, he prevailed.”

As for why Girdler didn’t take three of four counties, the winning candidate — since there are no Democrats in the race, winning the Republican primary was effectively a final victory for Girdler — said he didn’t have an answer for that.

However, “I believe things happen for a reason and I hope the long and strenuous campaign will only heighten my desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past,” said Girdler.

“Regionalism is a goal of mine, and I look forward to helping all four counties,” he added, noting that he campaigned heavily in each of them.

Sen. Vernie McGaha, the long-time state senator whose seat the candidates were vying for, actually supported Polston after Liberty’s Todd Hoskins dropped out of the race earlier this month.

Donahue, a local attorney, got 556 votes in Pulaski County, 8.79 percent of the vote. He only received 145 votes in Russell County, 74 in Adair County, and 75 in Casey County, where hometown candidate Hoskins almost matched him with 71 votes despite no longer being officially in the race.

Polston said he’s “still digesting” what happened, and though “the process has been a very good experience for me,” he wouldn’t commit to running again in the future. “I wouldn’t shut the door to anything, but I’m not opening any doors either.”

Still, “I think I got a lot of people involved in the process that had not been involved before and would not have been otherwise,” he said. “A lot of people got out and worked really hard, got motivated to talk to friends and neighbors. I think a lot of people became involved through this campaign that are going to be involved for a long time.”

Girdler stressed his “positive message” and said that Rogers is a “mentor and good friend” that he would turn to for advice in dealing with a frequently combative legislative body in Frankfort, one for which Girdler hopes to help change the culture.

Girdler said that he was “confident and optimistic” during the day Tuesday because he’d “worked extremely hard.” Nevertheless, the realization that he’d won gave him “chill bumps,” he said.

“I’m absolutely honored,” said Girdler. “The position of state senator is more than an honor, more than an office. It’s a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.

“I pledge to be the people’s state senator,” he added. “I look forward to working with everyone to move this region forward.”

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