The entire lineup of 19 Hopkinsville City Council candidates who are in contested May primary races have confirmed they will participate in the League of Women Voters’ forums on April 4, 8 and 11, the league announced.
The forums at the Hopkinsville Municipal Center, 715 S. Virginia St., will be open to the public. They will also be livestreamed on Facebook and on the city’s Spectrum Channel 376.
Thursday, April 4
- 5 p.m. – Ward 1: Republicans Vance Smith and Natasha Francis
- 5:30 p.m. – Ward 9: Democrats Ardell Owens, Angelique Victor and Monike Jones
- 6 p.m. – Ward 9: Repbublicans Jamie Lienberger and Brittanie Bogard
Monday, April 8
- 5 p.m. – Ward 7: Republicans Mark Graham and Clayton Sumner
- 5:30 p.m. – Ward 4: Republicans Chuck Crabtree and Faye Hendricks
- 6 p.m. – Ward 5: Republicans Amy Craig and Shannon Trogden
Thursday, April 11
- 5 p.m. – Ward 10: Republicans Mike Velez Sr. and Steve Keel
- 5:30 p.m. – Ward 10: Democrats Angelita Atkins and Andra Gold
- 6 p.m. – Ward 12: Republicans Elizabeth Draude and Matthew Handy
Hopkinsville is among a small number of Kentucky communities that still conduct partisan city races — meaning candidates run by party affiliation.
During the May primaries, Hopkinsville voters cast ballots only within their ward and only for candidates of their political party. During the November general election, city residents vote in all 12 wards.
This year seven of the 12 city council wards have at least one contested primary among Republicans and two of wards also have a contested Democratic primary. Five wards attracted just one candidates, in each case a Republican. There are 27 candidates in all running for city council.
The primary election in May 21.
Kentucky residents who are not already registered must register to vote by 4 p.m. local time on April 22 to be eligible to cast a ballot in the primary.
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.
