Matthew Handy, 23, a Republican candidate for Ward 12 on Hopkinsville City Council, gave brief remarks about his campaign on Tuesday during a Hopkinsville League of Women Voters’ forum. He did not participate in a question-and-answer session because his primary opponent, Elizabeth Draude, has withdrawn from the race.
“To say that it is time for a change would be a huge understatement,” Handy said. “Now I have the utmost respect for my opponent, Mr. [Phillip] Brooks, but it goes without saying that 30 years on the council is quite a few years too many — and during his extensive tenure on the council, the city’s population is steadily on the decline while the city’s budget has doubled.
“Homelessness in our town has become an unspeakable subject and the crime, especially in Ward 12, has reached a record high. Ward 12 and the citizens at large deserve better than complacent leadership, which is why I’ve decided to run. As new problems arise they cannot be met with the same dull and out-of-touch approach. And as our neighboring cities are surely growing swiftly and advancing, we can no longer lag behind due to this inconsistent and incompetent leadership. It is time for a young, fresh, vibrant and innovative approach — innovative thinking that represents the best of Hopkinsville’s generation of leaders and citizens.
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“My top priorities include education, mentorship, citizen security and safety, financial empowerment, quality-of-life incentives, inner-city development, homeownership incentives and small business and entrepreneurial empowerment.”
Handy is a permanent substitute teacher at the Gateway Academy to Innovation and Technology.
He will face Brooks, the Ward 12 incumbent and a Democrat, in the November general election. Brooks, a school teacher, defeated Handy in a close race two years ago.
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.
