There were no major disagreements between mayoral candidates James R. Knight Jr. and Wendell Lynch when they addressed several questions in a candidate forum Tuesday, but voters got an opportunity to hear their approaches to issues ranging from crime, poverty and homelessness to nonpartisan races, home ownership and downtown improvements.
“I know we all want great things for our community and have different ideas about how to get there” Knight, the Republican challenger, said in the League of Women voters debate. “I am running for office-based primarily on the desire to rein in unnecessary spending, living within our means, creating an environment that caters to development and sustaining both small and large business … and making sure we are working with our schools and community college to grow our workforce for the future.”
Lynch, the incumbent Democrat, stressed the need for leadership to get the city through the pandemic and other problems.
“In the middle of the pandemic, that is one of the greatest challenges we face is to keep things going forward in a positive way and be prepared when we emerge out of this pandemic to really be a shining star and to move forward,” he said. “All communities want that … I think I can lead the charge. I know that I can. I have been doing that all of my professional life. It is my choice to be a servant in our community …”
Lynch, a retired bank president, was chosen interim mayor in mid-February by fellow city council members after Carter Hendricks resigned one year into his second term. He left the mayor’s office to become the community’s chief industrial recruiter.
Knight and Lynch, both Hopkinsville natives, are running to complete the last two years of Hendricks’ unexpired term.
Knight, who owns his family’s appliance business, is making his first bid for elected office.
On nonpartisan elections, Knight said he supports the shift for city elections but would want to give voters that choice in a referendum. He argued nonpartisan elections would create more informed voters because they would be forced to learn about candidates for council and mayor rather than relying on political party labels
Lynch, who recently vetoed a city council vote that approved nonpartisan elections, said he could support the change if local voters had more time to learn about the process and if the city could avoid “white-washing” the council, meaning the possibility of removing or greatly reducing Black representation on the council.
Hopkinsville is the most racially diverse community in the state, outside of the largest cities, Louisville and Lexington. Approximately 30% of Hopkinsville residents are Black, according to the 2019 Census estimate.
Lynch is only the second Black resident to serve as Hopkinsville’s mayor and the first to hold the position for an extended period.
On the question of whether the city has racial problems, Knight said he would work hard to prevent any divide. “I bleed red, you bleed red, Mr. Lynch bleeds red. We are all God’s children,” he said.
Lynch noted he was involved in organizing a Unity Summit to give the community a forum to discuss race but it was postponed because of the pandemic. It will be rescheduled later.
“We do have racial issues,” he said, but added they are not “insurmountable.”
The candidates agreed homelessness is a serious issues, especially downtown.
“Some of our downtown merchants feel unsafe,” Knight said, adding that numerous people who have been sleeping in bushes and culverts can been seen coming out early in the morning.
The city should try to deter people traveling to the city who don’t have a place to stay but added, “If they are going to be in our city, we have an obligation to take care of these people, somehow, someway.”
Lynch said he’s looking to gather a group of faith leaders and others to come up with solutions beyond the financial assistance the city provides to Salvation Army and other agencies that have services for people experiencing homelessness.
“We have to figure this out. I don’t have an answer for it right now. It’s a very difficult issue because a lot of people who are homeless, that is by choice,” he said. “Those that don’t want to be homeless, I think we could develop a plan.”
Lynch said one of his priorities will be finding ways to increase home-ownership. Currently, more than half of local residents live in rental property. The percentage is too high, he said.
He suggested more programs to teach people how to qualify to buy homes and incentives to improve older neighborhoods. One idea is to encourage current homeowners to buy adjacent vacate lots. There’s also a need to get more people living on the upper floors of downtown buildings, he said.
Knight said many residents need more income to afford homes. He also mentioned opportunities to develop a large number of vacant lots in the Eastside and Westside neighborhoods.
The general election is Nov. 3. The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 5. Information about registration and voting is available in this guide. A video the mayoral debate is available online.
(Editor’s note: Independent candidate Walter Shamble did not participate in the mayoral candidates’ forum. WHOP radio reported Shamble is dropping out of the race because he has prostate cancer.)
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.
