Two candidates are set for the special mayoral election in November following announcements Thursday from the local leadership of the Republican and Democratic parties.
Democrat Wendell Lynch, a retired banker who is currently serving as interim mayor, will face the Republican nominee, Hopkinsville businessman James R. Knight Jr., in the Nov. 3 general election. The outcome will determine who serves out the last two years of former mayor Carter Hendricks’ term.
Hendricks left office in early February, roughly one year into his second four-year term, to become executive director of the South Western Kentucky Economic Development Council. On Feb. 18, city council voted unanimously to appoint Lynch, who had been the Ward 6 representative since 2014, interim mayor for the remainder of 2020.
“In this time of uncertainty, I pledge to work to reopen our community to its fullest potential and develop a tax system that works for the people not against them,” Knight said, referring indirectly to the coronavirus, in a news release.
The Christian County Republican Party announced the nomination of Knight on its Facebook page and listed the candidates seven priorities:
- Reppening Hopkinsville’ economy to its fullest potential
- Focusing city government to live within its means without raising taxes
- Recruiting large and small employers to Hopkinsville
- Supporting growth at Fort Campbell and our military
- Supporting local farmers and agriculture business to improve their bottom line
- Strengthening our education system for workforce development
- Improving Hopkinsville’s infrastructure and transportation system
- Knight and his family run a home appliance business in Hopkinsville.
- He pledged to be a voice for other small business owners, especially in light of the coronavirus.
Lynch’s nomination was announced in a news release from Jeff Taylor, chairman of the Christian County Democratic Executive Committee. He noted state law requires the local parties to select primary election nominees when a vacancy occurs in an office less than 160 days prior to the primary.
That process eliminates polling in the primary election for mayoral nominees, but voters will decide the outcome of several contested city council races in the primary. Because of the coronavirus outbreak, Kentucky’s primary election has been postponed from May 19 to June 23.
(Jennifer P. Brown is the editor and founder of Hoptown Chronicle. Reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org.)
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
