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NEWS
Kelley, Hogsten advance in race for Ashland mayor
CATLETTSBURG, Ky. -- Former Ashland Police Chief Tom Kelley received the most votes for Ashland mayor, according to the unofficial totals Tuesday night from the Boyd County Clerk's office.
Kelley finished with 2,428 votes compared to 2,279 for City Commissioner Paula Hogsten. Both will advance to the November general election for a four-year term as mayor. Mayor Steve Gilmore, who is resigning at the end of June to take over as Ashland's superintendent of schools, received 524 votes. Gilmore withdrew from the race after the ballots had been printed up. David N. Madden received 256 votes.
"I am overwhelmed with the people who have backed me and supported me," Kelley said Tuesday night. "It's been an interesting experience" he said of his first political campaign. "There's a lot of work involved. I will continue to work hard."
Hogsten, a member of the Ashland Board of City Commissioners for less than a year-and-a-half, was "very pleased" with her close, second-place finish. "The first time I ran I finished sixth in the primary and ended up third in the November. I appreciate the support from the voters and my friends."
"I'll continue to work hard as a commissioner," Hogsten said. "I'll continue to ask the hard questions and look at the issues on the citizens' behalf. We all have a lot of hard work to do. I think it's pretty neck-and-neck. All in all, I'm very pleased."
In the Democratic primary for the 100th district state representative seat, Kevin P. Sinnette won the nomination with 3,006 votes, while Bobby Jack Woods had 2,750. C. Cyrus "Cy" Reynolds, who earlier withdrew since he doesn't live in the district, finished with 764 votes. Sinnette, the assistant city corporation counsel in Ashland, will face Mike Stewart, a former city commissioner, in the November general election. Stewart was unopposed in the Republican primary.
Once again, City Commissioner Kevin Gunderson collected more votes than any other candidate for city commissioner. Gunderson, a former city police officer wounded in the line of duty, has been a city commissioner since 1990.
"It's very flattering to do this well, especially in an anti-incumbent environment," Gunderson said.
There were 10 candidates on the ballot for city commissioners. Two of them were eliminated in the primary, Estill Eugene Mills and Leo J. Ranjo Jr.
Advancing to the November general election were Gunderson, City Commissioners Larry Brown and Cheryl Wooten Spriggs along with former City Commissioner Larry Branham. Also advancing were James W. King, Donald R. Maxwell, Marty Gute and James L. Moore. Four will be elected to two-year terms in the Nov. 4 election.
Gunderson had 3,356 votes, Brown had 2,835, Spriggs had 2,769, Branham had 2,362, Gute had 2,119, Maxwell had 1,869, King had 1,313 and Moore had 1,134. Mills finished with 589 votes and Ranjo had 356.
