Two Republicans and two Democrats are in the race for Hopkinsville mayor, creating contested primaries for both parties in the May 17 election.
James R. Knight Jr., who owns and operates Knight Appliance, and Vince Farrell, pastor of Journey Church on Millbrooke Drive, will meet in the Republican primary.
It’s Knight’s second run for the office. In a special election in 2020, he lost to retired banker Wendell Lynch, a Democrat who chose not to seek re-election in 2022.
Farrell has been highly visible as the administrator of a Facebook page, TEAMHoptown, that promotes events and businesses in the community.
In the Democratic primary, retired firefighter Michael Pendleton will face Ward 3 Councilwoman Alethea West.
Pendleton served as the Hopkinsville Fire Department’s public information officer, among other duties, and he has helped raise money for the restoration of the Alhambra Theatre.
West, an educator and owner of Bridging Gap Learning Center, is the first woman to run for mayor since Sherry Jeffers’ election in 1981. Jeffers was the only woman ever elected Hopkinsville mayor, and she served one term.
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City Council
Along with the mayoral hopefuls, there are 24 city council candidates who filed to run by the Jan. 25 deadline, which was extended from Jan. 8 because state lawmakers had not finished legislative redistricting.
Republicans outnumber Democrats 2 to 1 among the council candidates, and all four of the contested primaries for council are among Republicans.
Each of the 12 council wards has at least one Republican candidate, but Democrats are represented in just eight of the ward races.
The strong showing by Republicans mirrors the party’s growth among registered voters in Christian County. Democrats still outnumber Republicans 27,112 to 22,263, according to a December count by the Kentucky Board of Elections, but the gap between the two parties has been declining because of GOP gains since the 1980s. In December 2017, there were 27,573 registered Democrats and 18,921 Republicans in Christian County.
Council members are elected to two-year terms. The mayor serves a four-year term.
Hopkinsville is one of a handful of Kentucky cities that still have partisan elections for mayor and council. A committee is currently studying the potential impact if Hopkinsville shifted to nonpartisan elections. That decision will be up to the city council later this year.
The candidates in the 12 council wards are (*incumbents):
Ward 1
Vance Smith, D
*Natasha Sophia Francis, R
Ward 2
Bruce Smiley, R
Ward 3
Donald Marsh, R
Karen Bass, D
Ward 4
*Chuck Crabtree, R
Ward 5
*Amy Craig, R
Anna Norris, R
Ward 6
*Travis Martin, R
Nichelle (Niecy) Hillis, D
Ward 7
William Coleman, D
Doug Wilcox, R
Mark Graham, R
Ward 8
Robert Terry Meek, R
Twyla Dillard, D
Ward 9
Jamie Lynn Lienberger, R
Ardell Owens, R
*Patricia Waddell-Bell, D
Ward 10
*Steve Keel, R, incumbent
Ward 11
Jose Quinonez, D
*Jason Bell, R
Ward 12
Elizabeth Draude, R
*Phillip Brooks, D
Matthew Handy, R
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. She spent 30 years as a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition.
