There will be a contested Republican primary for Christian County judge-executive in 2022 following announcements this week from two candidates — Magistrate Jerry Gilliam and hemp promoter Katie Moyer. Both are involved in agribusiness.
The incumbent Democrat, Steve Tribble, said Wednesday he’ll be making an official announcement in seven to 10 days about his plans. If he runs, Tribble would be seeking his eighth consecutive term in office. Since taking office in 1994, he has faced a Republican challenger only once — Rachel McCubbin in 2002.
Gilliam is serving his first term as the District 7 magistrate. He works at Ag Quest Financial Services and previously was an instructor at Hopkinsville Community College, where he served as chief Community, Workforce and Economic Development dean.
“I believe Christian County needs a business-model approach to all spending and investments, I believe we need to focus on creating additional revenue sources that don’t unfairly burden residents, and I believe we need a focus on economic development opportunities that best fit our community,” Gilliam said in a news release. “While I can contribute to that progress as Christian County magistrate, I intend to lead that charge in a greater service capacity to the citizens of Christian County as county judge-executive,”
If either Gilliam or Moyer is successful in winning their party’s primary in May and then won the general election in November, they would be the first-ever Republican judge-executive in Christian County since that office was created after the 1975 constitutional amendment to reorganize the state’s judicial system. The new court system stripped judicial power from the office of county judges, and the General Assembly created the office of judge-executive, to oversee county government and fiscal matters, in 1976.
Christian County has also never had a female judge-executive, and only two women have served as magistrates on the fiscal court.
In a social media post announcing her candidacy, Moyer said, “I’ve filed my intent with the [Kentucky Registry of Election Finance], got a website ready to launch, and lined up support from across the Commonwealth. It’s amazing how many people have encouraged me to take this step, and I’m ready to rock. It’s time to shed the good old boy system and bring in a challenger who is young, effective, and uniquely experienced in government issues.”
The term for a judge-executive is four years. Along with county magistrates, they comprise the local fiscal court, which is responsible for overseeing the financial affairs of the county.
The filing deadline for candidates is Jan. 7. Ballot positions are determined in drawings by county clerks in Kentucky on Jan. 13.
The last day to register to vote in the primary is April 18. The primary election is on May 17.
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.
