Stacy Thurman leads council voting as two other newcomers are elected; John McDaniel loses seat

By Al Cross, Sierra McLean, Thomas Franconia and Ana Neal
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

As Mayor Grayson Vandegrift was being re-elected, City Council Member John McDaniel lost his seat in Tuesday's election.

McDaniel and political newcomer Danielle Doth were the losers among eight candidates running for six council seats.

Stacy Thurman

Stacy Thurman, manager of the Midway branch of the county library, had the most votes for council, making her the vice mayor. Thurman had 556 votes, followed by Council Member Sara Hicks, the current vice mayor, who had 474.

Thurman said, “I’m excited! Excited for those who have been elected, excited to get to work and excited for Midway!”

Thurman's job may have been an advantage. Brandon DeMoss, a state business analyst, said Thurman was the only council candidate he "really wanted to vote for," because he knows her from his son's visits to the library. "I know she's a good person," he said.

Others elected to the council were political newcomers Logan Nance (405 votes) and park manager John Holloway (401); and Council Members Kaye Nita Gallagher (405) and Bruce Southworth (403). McDaniel got 384 votes and Doth 238.

In May, McDaniel ran third in the Democratic primary for Midway-area magistrate on Woodford County Fiscal Court, which had a late-January filing deadline. The filing deadline for local nonpartisan races such as mayor and council was Aug. 14.

Council Member Steve Simoff did not seek re-election. Council Member Johnny Wilson, whom the council named to fill a vacancy, was appointed with the proviso that he would not seek a full two-year term. So, the council was guaranteed two new faces and got three: Thurman, Nance and Holloway.

Generally, voters said their choices for council were driven mainly by the names they recognized, but some had more details with which to pick and choose.

In selecting six candidates, John Colder, 68, operations director for Kentucky Wired, said "I wanted to make sure there was a variety, a wide spectrum of society, from young to old. We have a tendency to stick with our peers."

City voters lined up late Tuesday afternoon as the smaller county precinct polling place was less busy.

Other races: Democrat Joe Graviss was elected state representative for Woodford County, part of Franklin County and a small part of Fayette County. He defeated fellow Versailles resident Dan Fister 11,343 to 8,365. He carried both Midway precincts and won Woodford County 6,938 to 5,728.

State Rep. James Kay was unopposed for county judge-executive. County Clerk Sandy Jones, a Democrat and Midway resident, was re-elected over Republican Kent Miller, 7,326 to 5,261.

In the race for Congress in the 6th District, Republican Rep. Andy Barr lost only Fayette and Franklin counties in defeating Democrat Amy McGrath. He carried Woodford 6,932 to 5,878, or 53.6 percent to 45.5 percent. Minor candidates got 112 votes. In the city, McGrath won 507-330; in the county precinct, Barr won 295-249.

Republican Sharon Renee Muse of Georgetown was elected commonwealth's attorney over J. Keith Eardley of Georgetown, 23,113 to 17,783. Muse won Woodford County 6,193 to 5,940 and carried the Midway county precinct 269-255. Eardley won the city 412-359.

In other races in the Bourbon-Scott-Woodford County judicial district:

• Sarah Hays of Versailles was elected to one of the district judgeships, defeating Kelli Duffy Kearney of Georgetown, getting 52 percent of the vote and carrying Woodford and Bourbon counties. She carried Woodford 5,478 to 3,416 and won both Midway precincts. Mary Jane Wilhoit Phelps was unopposed for the other district judgeship.
• Appointed Circuit Judge Jeremy Mattox won an eight-year term, by defeating fellow Georgetown resident Ethyle Noel, 21,922 to 9,842. Mattox won Woodford County 5,925 to 2,833 and carried both Midway precincts.
• In another race for an unexpired term, appointed Circuit Judge Brian Privett of Paris beat three candidates. The vote totals, with Woodford's in parentheses, were Privett 10,729 (2,936), Perry Ryan 7,508 (1,997), Jimmy Brannon 5,631 (1,470) and James "Cam" Cantrill II 6,944 (1,940). Cantrill carried the city and Privett won the county precinct.

Rob Johnson, the former circuit judge whom Gov. Matt Bevin appointed to the Court of Appeals, lost to Fayette Circuit Judge Pamela Goodwine, who got 56 percent of the vote in the state's 5th Appellate District. In Woodford, Johnson got 5,607 votes to Goodwine's 4,772. He won the county precinct 222-192 and lost the city 294-377.