Two Republican and three Democratic races will be contested in the June 23 primaries when Hopkinsville voters cast ballots for the city’s 12 council representatives. And at least six city council races will be contested in the Nov. 3 general election.
In all, 26 candidates, including one Independent, have filed to run for a two-year term on the council. Only two incumbents are unchallenged — Democrat Kimberly McCarley, of Ward 2, and Republican Amy Craig, of Ward 5.
A summary of each race is listed below.
Voter information
Voters can confirm their registration by going to the Kentucky State Board of Elections website.
A map of the 12 city council wards is also available for voters looking to find their ward.
For the city council primary races, Hopkinsville voters cast ballots only in their party’s primary and within their ward. However, in the November general election, city voters cast ballots in all 12 wards.
Ward 1
- Darvin A. Adams, D, of Mechanic Street (incumbent)
- Thomas Grant, D, of East First Street
- Natasha Sophia Francis, R, of East Seventh Street
The Ward 1 race includes the same three candidates who ran two years ago. Grant, who previously served three terms on city council, lost in the 2018 Democratic primary to Adams. Francis lost to Adams in the general election.
Adams, 44, is a Christian Methodist Episcopal preacher and works in his family’s business, Adams Funeral Home. Grant, 63, is a maintenance supervisor for Denso Air in Commerce Park.
Ward 2
- Kimberly McCarley, D, of Talbert Drive (incumbent)
McCarley, 49, is the only candidate in her race.
Ward 3
- Alethea West, D, of Colonette Drive
West, 47, is an adult education instructor for Hopkinsville Community College at Fort Campbell. Incumbent Don Ahart, a Democrat, had filed for re-election but later withdrew from the race because of health concerns.
Ward 4
- Paul Edward Henson, D, of Mark Drive (incumbent)
- Bradley Garabrandt, I, of White Street
Henson, 79, is seeking his seventh term in office. He is retired from Dana Corp. He will face the Independent candidate, Garabrandt, in November.
Ward 5
- Amy Craig, R, Morris Circle (incumbent)
Craig, 44, does not have a challenger.
Ward 6
- Paula Knight, D, Candy Drive
- Kenneth Hatzakorzian, D, Greenwood Drive
- Travis Martin, R, Steeplechase Lane
The incumbent representative in Ward 6, Wendell Lynch, did not seek re-election to the council, and was selected in a unanimous vote by the council to serve as interim mayor following Carter Hendricks’ resignation to become executive director of the South Western Kentucky Economic Development Council. (In a split vote, the council later chose Republican Travis Martin to fill Ward 6 vacancy. Martin, 38, is a real estate agent.)
In the Democratic primary for Ward 6, former council member Knight, 69, seeks to regain the post she left in 2004 after four terms. Knight is semi-retired from her family’s appliance business. Her primary opponent, Hatzakorzian, 69, is a retired banker.
Ward 7
- Terry Parker, D, of West Riverwood Drive (incumbent)
- Dustin Gilbert, R, of Tanglewood Drive
- Richard Covington, R, of Par Place
Parker, 49, an employee of Tennessee Heating and Cooling and a former Hopkinsville police officer, does not have a primary challenger. In November, he’ll face the winner of the Republican primary race between Gilbert, 36, a real estate agent with West Kentucky Realty Team, and Richard Covington, 68, a nursing home administrator. Covington is also a former city councilman and lost in a run for mayor in 2010.
Ward 8
- Tom Johnson, R, of Sherinton Place (incumbent)
- Twyla Parris, D, Sivley Road
Johnson, 54, a civilian contractor at Fort Campbell and a U.S. Army veteran, is seeking his third term in office. Parris, 54, works in accounts payable at the T.RAD plant in Commerce Park. Neither has a primary challenger.
Ward 9
- Patricia A. Waddell-Bell, D, of Church Street (incumbent)
- Ardell G. Owens, D, of Bussell Street
Waddell-Bell, 73, is a retired banker. She was first elected to the council in 1998 and now seeks her 12th term. Her primary opponent, Owens, 57, has worked in local food service jobs for 30 years. He currently works at the Max Café on West Seventh Street.
Ward 10
- Jimmy Dossett, D, of South Iris Drive (incumbent)
- Steve Keel, R, of South Main Street
- Robert Almy, R, of Dell Drive,
- Nichole Eastman, R, of Alumni Avenue
Three Republicans — Keel, 43, Almy, 66, and Eastman, 39 — make up the primary contest for Ward 10. The winner will face Dossett, who is seeking his sixth term in office. Dossett, 64, is retired from Rogers Group and drives a school bus. (Eastman dropped out of the race before the primary.)
Ward 11
- Jason Bell, R, of Rose Drive (incumbent)
- Steve Hoover, D, of Thomas Street
Bell, 38, who owns The Car Spa, an automobile detail and clean-up shop, is seeking his second term in office. His challenger, Hoover, 39, works for the Christian County Road Department.
Ward 12
- Phillip Brooks, D, of South Virginia Street (incumbent)
- Matthew Handy, R, of High Street
Brooks, 54, an educator, served on city council from 1992 to 2006 and returned to office in 2008. Handy, 21, works in produce at a Nashville Walmart store. He commutes from Hopkinsville.
Kentiucky’s primary has been postponed from May 19 to June 23 because of the coronavirus outbreak.
This story has been updated.
(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. 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.
