When the deadline had passed Friday for candidates to file for Hopkinsville City Council’s 12 partisan seats, only one incumbent’s name was missing from the list.
Retired banker Wendell Lynch chose not to seek re-election to a fourth full term as the Ward 6 representative.
Lynch confirmed Monday to Hoptown Chronicle that he is considering another option — to serve a temporary appointment as mayor after Carter Hendricks leaves the office at the end of January.
The decision likely will be made within a month by the council, so Lynch declined further comment.
“That would be premature of me,” he said.
Lynch, a Democrat, was elected to the council in 2014, 2016 and 2018. His first election came several months after he was appointed by the city council’s unanimous vote to fill the unexpired term of Ann Cherry, who left office following a dispute with city police over allegations she interfered in a burglary investigation.
Hendricks, a Republican, is leaving office with three years left on his second term to become executive director of the South Western Kentucky Economic Development Council. The EDC board voted unanimously to hire Hendricks at a special meeting Jan. 6. At the same time the EDC board had gathered, Hendricks was meeting with his staff to confirm his expected appointment, which had been rumored on social media for a few days before it became official.
Under state law, the council has 30 days to fill a mayoral vacancy, City Administrative Officer Troy Body wrote in a memo to council members. Hendricks’ resignation would become effective on Feb. 4, which gives the council until March 5 to make an appointment. If the council did not meet that deadline, it would be the governor’s responsibility to appoint a mayor.
The person appointed mayor will serve until the end of 2020.
The last two years of the term will be filled by a candidate chosen in a special election on Nov. 3. The Democratic and Republican nominees for that election will be selected by the county executive committees of the two parties, said Deputy County Clerk Melinda Humphries.
The council has a special meeting of the Committee of the Whole at 6 p.m. Thursday in council chambers to discuss the process of appointing Hendricks’ replacement. Also on the agenda is discussion of recommendations from a committee that has been studying the impact of pension expenses on the city’s budget.
Hendricks was elected to his second term in office in November 2018. He previously was president of the Christian County Chamber of Commerce.
As mayor, Hendricks earns about $75,000. His salary will double to $150,000 with the EDC.
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.
