All 12 Somerset councilors file for re-election bids

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January 27, 2012

By BILL MARDIS, Editor Emeritus Commonwealth Journal The Commonwealth Journal Fri Jan 27, 2012, 07:00 AM EST

Somerset —

With the filing deadline for most candidates in the 2012 election cycle less than a week away several interesting scenarios have already developed.

• All 12 incumbent Somerset city councilors have filed for reelection and, as of Thursday morning, five have opposition. A primary contest has developed in Ward 2 where there are three candidates, including the incumbent.

• A Democrat and Republican have filed in the 80th House District for the seat to be left vacant when Danny Ford retires at the end of the year.

• The national GOP presidential candidates’ battle moves to Kentucky. Both Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have qualified to be on the May 22 presidential preference primary.

• George Flynn, circuit clerk in Pulaski County for a quarter century, has filed for another term, and Commonwealth’s Attorney Eddy F. Montgomery of the 28th Judicial Circuit is seeking reelection.

• Pulaski countians, many of whom were prepared to vote for Vernie McGaha, won’t get to vote for a Kentucky senator this year. McGaha said he won’t seek another term and most of his 15th District, including Pulaski County, was shifted to the 16th District. Senator David L. Williams, who represents the 16th District, won’t have to seek reelection until 2014.

One thing for sure, busy ballots will face Pulaski county voters during both the primaries and general election. Among those to be elected are councilors and commissioners in five cities, and school board members in three districts.

As of early Thursday morning, four filing days before the January 31st deadline, Somerset City Council lineup of candidates was as follows:

In Ward 1, incumbent Jim Rutherford will be faced by Marvin Allan Coomer.

In Ward 2, incumbent Linda Stringer has filed as well as former councilor Clarence Floyd and Rick Stringer. As it stands now, the three candidates will compete citywide in a May 22 primary election in Ward 2. The top two vote getters will move on to the November general election.

In Ward 3, incumbent Jerry Wheeldon had no opposition as of Thursday morning.

In Ward 4, incumbent Mark Beasley will be opposed by James C. (Jimmy) Eastham.

In Ward 5, incumbent Jerry Girdler will be opposed by Claude “Jr.” Philpot.

In Ward 6, incumbent Mike New had no opposition as of Thursday morning.

In Ward 7, incumbent Donna Hunley had no opposition as of Thursday morning.

In Ward 8, incumbent John Ricky Minton had no opposition as of Thursday morning.

In Ward 9, incumbent Jim Mitchell has no opposition as of Thursday morning.

In Ward 10, incumbent Pat Bourne will be challenged by Tim Rutherford.

In Ward 11, incumbent Jerry Burnett had no opposition as of Thursday morning.

In Ward 12, incumbent Tom Eastham had no opposition as of Thursday morning.

Somerset, a third-class city with a mayor-council form of government, has a rather complicated method of electing council members. If more than two councilor candidates file in any ward, there is a citywide primary election (May 22) in that ward to reduce the number of candidates to two. The two highest vote getters square off in the November general election.

If only two candidates file in any ward, both skip the primary and the winner is determined in November in a citywide vote. If only one candidate files in any ward, that candidate’s name is on the November ballot and he or she is elected without opposition. Of course, legally declared write-in candidates are permitted during the November general election.

In multi-county elections, Mary Lou Rossetti, a Democrat from Hustonville, and Roger Coldiron, a Republican from Mt. Vernon, have filed for the 80th House seat to be vacated by Ford. Pulaski County voters in Ansel No.21, Eubank No.25, Estesburg No.26, Goodhope No.28 and Hazeldell No.29 are in the 80th District.

Sara Beth Gregory has filed for reelection to a second term in the 52nd House District and Tommy Turner will seek reelection in the 85th District. Jeff Hoover filed this week for reelection in the 83rd District.

Because of recent realignment of House districts, the 24th District, represented by Terry Mills, a Democrat from Lebanon, is no longer a part of Pulaski County.

Despite an earlier report that Fifth District Congressman Hal Rogers had filed for reelection to a 17th term in the U.S. Congress, his office said Thursday “ ... he has not filed but he does plan to file for reelection ... his (filing) papers are ready.” Realignment of congressional districts are subject of controversy and may end up in the courts.

Back home again, smaller cities in Pulaski County will elect councilors and commissioners. These candidates have until 4 p.m. August 14 to file petitions of election.

Burnside and Ferguson, both fifth-class cities with mayor-council forms of government, do elections differently from Somerset. These smaller cities are not divided into wards and voters in each city select the top six candidates on the ballot for two-year terms on the city council.

Incumbent members of Burnside City Council are Frank Deniro, Joyce Gregory, Dwayne Sellers, Becky Huff, Lula Jean Thompson-Burton and Willis Eadens. Incumbent members of Ferguson City Council are Nora Anderson, Tony DePrato, Linda Hughes, Paul Moody, Sue Poynter and Betty Wallace. Deadline for filing for election or reelection is 4 p.m. August 14.

Burnside Mayor Ron Jones and Ferguson Mayor Allen Dobbs were elected for four-year terms that won’t expire until the end of 2014.

Science Hill, a sixth-class city, has a mayor-commission form of government. Mayor Bill Dick was elected for four years in 2010 and will hold the office through 2014. All members of Science Hill City Commission will be elected or reelected this year. Incumbent members of Science HIll City Commission are Mike Hall, David Phelps, Jeff Wesley and Terry Wesley.

At Eubank, Mayor Frey Todd has three more years in his current term. All seats on the sixth-class city’s board of commissioners will be elected or reelected this year. Incumbent members of Eubank City Commission are Eddie Hicks, Curt Todd, Connie Belcher and Alton Fulcher Jr.

In sixth-class cities, the top four vote getters on the ballot are elected to the commission for the next two years.

Jim Wilson, serving by appointment, was elected in November to continue in the Division 2 seat on the Pulaski County Board of Education for the remaining year in Samantha Ping-Steven’s term. Wilson, if he wants a full four-year term, will have to run again in November.

Also, terms of Olivia Minton, Division 1, and Phillip Wilson, Division 5, expire December 2012. These seats on the Pulaski County Board of Education will be up for election this year. Terms for Cindy Price, Division 3, and Edwin Sellers, Division 4, expire December 2014. The will be up for reelection in 2014.

In the Somerset Independent School District, board of education members Gretchen Cole and T. Jeffrey Adams will be up for reelection this year. Board members with time remaining in their current terms are Scott Gulock, Sharon A. Brown and Elaine Wilson.

Two of five members of the Science Hill Board of Education will be elected or reelected this year. Current members are Mike Elliott, Bruce Phelps, Jeff Leigh, David Sayers, Jr., and Sherrie Childers. Up for reelection will be Leigh and Childers.

Also up for election or reelection this year are four members of the Pulaski County Soil and Water Conservation District. Members whose terms expire at the end of 2012 are Jack DeBord, Tim Tarter, Donald Minton and Barbara Fulcher. Board members with time remaining in their terms are Lyndon Woods, Rodney Dick and Wayne Cox.

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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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