Hopkinsville real estate agent Travis Martin is the new city council member representing Ward 6.
Martin was selected from seven candidates the council considered at its meeting Tuesday night.
In a 6-to-5 vote, the council choose Martin over Bernard Standard, who recently retired as executive director of the Hopkinsville Human Rights Commission.
Martin will serve the remainder of the unexpired term of Wendell Lynch, through the end of this calendar year. Lynch gave up the Ward 6 council seat to become interim mayor after Carter Hendricks left office early this year to become executive director of the South Western Kentucky Economic Development Council.
In an interview session with the council before the vote, Martin said his work as a real estate agent makes him an advocate for the community.
“I think it’s time for younger professionals to step up,” he said of his motivation to seek office.
Martin stressed growth as the solution to many of Hopkinsville’s problems, including the financial crunch brought on by rising pension expenses.
The council’s vote for its new member followed racial lines.
The six white members — Don Ahart, Paul Henson, Amy Craig, Terry Parker, Tom Johnson and Jimmy Dossett — voted for Martin, who is white.
The five black council members — Darvin Adams, Kimberly McCarley, Patricia Bell, Jason Bell and Phillip Brooks — voted for Standard, who is black.
The other five candidates for the Ward 6 seat were Mary Ellen Martins, Paula Knight, Ken Hatzakorzian, Gregory Watkins and Chris Dudley. None of them received any votes.
Martin, a Republican, could face a Democratic challenger in the November general election. Knight and Hatzakorzian both filed to run in the Democratic primary.
After the vote, Martin immediately recited the oath of office, administered by Lynch, and took his seat with the council.
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.
