SPECULATION STARTS EARLY FOR 2010 COUNTY JUDGE RACE

The current county administration is essentially half over which means that people will soon begin to seriously consider running for various offices. Naturally the first office that comes to mind is that of the county judge as it is the focal point of local politics.

The next race promises to produce a crowded field at least for a short period of time. In fact many people may only enter the foray within their own minds. There have been several names mentioned as possibilities and some of those are probably mentioned only to observe the reactions of a few people.

Names I have heard include Jonathan Westbrook, David Voegele, Kevin Eldridge, Scott Davis, Doug Wampler, Stan Clark, and Paula Gish. Everyone is “assuming” that Judge Duane Murner will not run for a second term of office. Indeed, this would be a crowded field and should yield more than an ample amount of lawn ornaments (political yard signs) by election day. This list does not include any of those who might run as democrats or independents.

The obvious slight front-runner will be Kevin Eldridge, as he will likely be supported by Judge Murner and the developers who so heavily funded Murner’s campaign and now appear to control him. After all, Murner has been “grooming” him from day one through his appointment of chairman on the widely touted, though ineffective Vision Council and more recently of the Stormwater District. Previously he was the chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission. To quote a term once stated to me by a current magistrate, “he has been anointed.” However, his term as chairman of the Planning and Zoning commission undoubtedly has left him with some baggage that he cannot discard as people are beginning to view the excessive development in the county as regressive. Also, the developers have not been doing anything to improve their image lately. On the other hand, they have demonstrated before that they are willing to put their money where their mouth is and we all know that money does talk.

As for Jonathan Westbrook, he probably lost any short-term chance of becoming county judge with his high visibility position as chairman of the Airport Board. His handling of the second public meeting was viewed by many people as abysmal. Also, at this point the idea of an airport has not been popular. So, I would scratch him from any list of prospects for any elective office in the near future.

Then, there is David Voegele. He is the current magistrate for the second district and is in his first term. The plus side for Magistrate Voegele is that he is willing to voice his opinion. However, many people just don’t agree with his opinion. The biggest problem with Voegele is that he sees himself as a person just learning for the first time. He has often made the excuse that this is his first time on the court and that he is “just learning”. I don’t see the people voting for a “trainee” for the county judge position. Finally, let us not forget that he did change from democrat to republican and many people believe that he did that for political purposes and it angers them. Oh well, wasn’t Kevin Eldridge a democrat not so long ago?

Doug Wampler currently works for Oldham Ahead which is a preservationist group. Without question, Wampler stays abreast of what is happening in Oldham County and the website which he maintains for Oldham Ahead is an excellent place to find many articles about current events in Oldham County. While tending to remain neutral on most issues, the site and presumably Wampler do place the blame for some of the county’s problems at the feet of developers. Could Wampler garner the money that is necessary to run for the office of Judge? He would certainly have the support of many members of Oldham Ahead. However, he has not held elective office before – at least not to my knowledge.

Scott Davis is currently the magistrate for the sixth district. In his short time in office he has been aggressive in attempting to represent what he believes to be the beliefs of his constituents and the other residents of Oldham County. In doing this he has obviously alienated other members of the court who have shown a tendency to go with the flow created by the county judge. His fiscal conservativeness and willingness to contain the growth of government seems to have been a novel idea with this administration. Certainly the present administration would not support him. On the other hand he appears to have an extremely loyal group of people who believe in what he is trying to do and would be united in supporting him. Additionally, he is confident and has an extremely high level of energy that could prove to be very valuable in a long campaign. It is almost certain that the electorate will be looking for a fiscal conservative if the economy continues in a downward spiral instead of someone looking to continue spending and then raising taxes. That would be an obvious plus for Davis.

Then there is the outstanding runner, Stan Clark. The problem is that his running experience has been as a “distance” runner. Running for a political office would certainly be a different experience for him. Clark is the county treasurer at the present time and as such, has an excellent grasp on the financial situation of the county. Without question he would be a formidable candidate just based on his inside position. However, running “for” office is very different from running “an” office. He may well be better suited for the office of Deputy Judge where he could run the day to day operations and would prove to be a very valuable asset for the county judge.

The last person on my list is Paula Gish who is the current deputy judge. In addition to her present position, Gish has also been a county magistrate having represented the first district. I have heard many rumors that Gish would be the next county judge. However, in order to be elected to that position she would need the support of the present judge. As I previously stated, I believe that he will throw his support to Kevin Eldridge whom he seems to have been grooming for the position. Without his support Gish would be left to fend for herself. It is doubtful that her successor, Steve Church, would support her as he owes his loyalty to Judge Murner for having nominated and supported him as her replacement. Additionally, it is unlikely that the developers would allow this to happen behind the scenes. Perhaps Judge Murner could sooth her hurt of being spurned by having Eldridge continue her in the position of deputy judge should he be elected. Oh, I forgot; I said that position would be a great fit for Stan Clark.

And now you have the first glimpse of the 2010 race for county judge as seen by this writer. In addition to the race for judge there will certainly be other hotly contested races in the county. There have already been rumors about the race for Property Valuation Administrator. But that topic and others will be left for another day.