The public is invited to a farewell reception for Hopkinsville Mayor Wendell Lynch at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 11, at the James E. Bruce Convention Center.
Lynch, a Democrat, was serving as the Ward 6 councilman when his fellow council members unanimously picked him in February 2020 to serve as interim mayor for roughly 10 months following Carter Hendricks’ resignation to lead the South Western Kentucky Economic Development Council.
A retired bank executive, Lynch was the first Black resident to serve as Hopkinsville mayor for an extended period. The late F.E. Whitney was mayor for one week in May 1972 but didn’t garner enough support on city council for an interim appointment despite being the longest-serving council member at that time.
Lynch acknowledged the historic nature of his appointment during a swearing-in ceremony that attracted a large gathering on Feb. 23, 2020, at the Memorial Building. He spoke about searching for the gravesite of a great-great-grandmother who was born enslaved in 1827.
“I am black. I am white. I am red. I am yellow,” he said at the ceremony. “We represent everything that God has created. We are so blessed to be here together. Let’s support one another.”
A month later, he was thrust into overseeing city government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. For several months he conducted a weekly COVID-19 report to citizens through a video recorded at various locations in the community.
Lynch then ran to serve out the two years remaining on Hendricks’ term. He defeated Republican candidate James R. Knight Jr. by 1,567 votes in the November 2020 general election.
Lynch did not seek reelection this year, and Knight, who owns an appliance repair business, won the general election race against Democratic council member Alethea West.
A press release from the city lists several accomplishments during Lynch’s three years in the mayor’s office. During his service, the city’s cash reserves grew by roughly $4.95 million to $14.22 million. And with the advantage of pandemic relief funds, the city invested approximately $5.74 million in capital improvements.
In other noteworthy action, Lynch took the rare step of issuing a mayoral veto on July 10, 2020, three days after the council voted 6-to-5 in favor of a nonpartisan elections ordinance. He then appointed a 12-member Nonpartisan Elections Citizens Committee to study a potential switch in the form of elections for city offices.
The committee finished its review of the issues surrounding nonpartisan elections in May and presented the findings in a report to the mayor and council. However, there’s been no action to bring nonpartisan elections to a vote again.
Republicans have tended to support the idea of a switch to nonpartisan elections in Hopkinsville for several years; however, it’s not clear if that sentiment will stand following the party’s historic and overwhelming victory in the most recent election. In addition to winning the mayor’s race, Republicans won all 12 council seats.
Although Lynch chose not to seek a second term in office, another member of his family ran a successful political campaign in the general election. His daughter, Shayla Lynch, an attorney who is executive director of a nonprofit, defeated an incumbent for the Ward 2 seat on Lexington City Council. She’ll take office in January.
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.
