No BOE races for first time since 1998;
McKenzie, Nolan will join four incumbents on Louisa city council
LOUISA, Ky. — The citizens of Louisa and Lawrence County are obviously satisfied with the way things are going at Louisa City hall and at the Board of Education as there will be no real “elections” for the six open council seats and all three BOE incumbents will be unopposed in the November 8 General Election .
Board members will run unopposed for the fist time since 1998 according to records in Clerk Chris Jobe’s office. That year Dave Sammons, Mort Mullins and Laura Parker had no candidates sign up to run against them in districts 1, 3 and 4 and this year Heath Preston, Jim See and Barbara Robinson have no opposition in those same districts. This is remarkable considering the rankling that has gone on for the past two decades during the administrations of Jeff May and Mike Armstrong.
Current Schools chief Dr. Rob Fletcher has an ace up his sleeve to go with youth and ability — he is not a native of Lawrence County and has no axes to grind. Student test scores have improved during Fletcher’s two years here and the BOE has more money in the bank than at any time in recent years.
“I have been pleased with the progress that our school system has made over the past few years,” See told The Lazer in a prepared statement, “Are we there yet, NO there is still much work to be done! However, I believe if a school system is to move forward you must have good leadership and parent involvement. I think the students from Lawrence County are going to surpass our expectations with future results.”
Current board chairman Heath Preston also issued a statement today.
“…Four years ago I decided to run for school board. I knew the heart of this school system was this community and the heart of this community was the school system,” Preston said. “I wanted to do what I could to continue all the pride that our community has everytime we put on our Bulldogs, Dragons, and Wildcat shirts and we talk about our schools. You see, this school system had a huge impact on my life and I have always wanted to return the favor. I also believed my experiences in life could help lead Lawrence County Schools to what it’s full potential could be. In the last 4 years we have been able to accomplish some amazing progress.”
Former city council member David McKenzie, a prominent Louisa businessman who served on the council ten years ago signed up at about 2:00 pm today beating the deadline by just two hours and completing the six chairs open for the council, Jobe said.
Incumbents Lisa Schaeffer, Mitch Castle and Tom Parsons signed up to run for re-election Friday and Monday and former council member John Nolan registered nearly two months ago — to make sure he didn’t miss the deadline like he did two years ago when he had to run a write-in campaign which garnered over 100 votes but not enough to win. Incumbent Ron Cordle also registered early.
Louisa Mayor Harold Slone did not reply when told that incumbent council members Gloria Johnson and Angie McGuire had not registered to seek reelection.
McGuire, who served only one term, was the leading vote getter two years ago but has raised some eyebrows because she is the wife of a major city department head in Public Works director David McGuire. Slone said Mrs. McGuire “has been an excellent council member and there has been no problems at all with her ethics in the position.”
Ms. Johnson has served at least four terms on the council but decided to step away this year because the job was taking too much of her time. “I have grandbabies to watch and a lot of other volunteer jobs so I decided I didn’t need the hassle of being on the council,” Johnson said. She has been involved in many projects that have helped improve the city and also formerly served as city clerk.
