For voters who live in the Hopkinsville city limits, it can take some time just to learn the names of all the mayoral and city council candidates before casting a ballot in the general election.
There are two hopefuls in the mayor’s race and 22 candidates in 11 contested council races among the city 12 wards.
To help voters keep all the city races and candidates straight, Hoptown Chronicle has compiled a list with basic biographical information about each one running for office.
Council members are elected to two-year terms, and it bears repeating that city residents cast a vote in every ward during a general election. (In the primaries, voters pick only a candidate in their ward and by party affiliation.)
A mayor serves a four-year; however, in this year’s general election, Republican challenger James R. Knight Jr. and incumbent Democrat Wendell Lynch are running to complete the last two years in the unexpired term of Carter Hendricks, who left office early this year to become the county’s lead industrial recruiter. Lynch, a former council member, was appointed to serve as interim mayor until the election.
Here are all of the candidates in the city races. Voters can also learn more about them by watching videos of the League of Women Voters candidate forums earlier this month.
Age: 50
Address: Tremont Drive
Political affiliation: Republican
Occupation: Co-owner, James Knight Appliance
(incumbent)
Age: 69
Address: Steeplechase Lane
Political affiliation: Democrat
Occupation: Retired bank president
(withdrew from the race for health reasons)
Republican James R. Knight Jr. and Democratic incumbent Wendell Lynch participate in a candidate forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Hopkinsville.
A map of the 12 city council wards is available for voters looking to find their ward.
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.
