| Owen
County voters elected two new magistrates and a new PVA, and they
voted in incumbents in races for aheriff and judge-executive.
A large crowd gathered outside the county courthouse Tuesday night
to wait for vote totals to trickle in from the county clerk’s
office.
Votes were announced to the public at about 8:30 p.m., two-and-a-half
hours after polls closed.
In one of the closest county races, Democrat Jimmy Coyle edged
out Republican Troy Bramblett to become the next property valuation
administrator, replacing the retiring Lee Cochran. The two split
votes evnely in the South Owenton Precinct, and early reports
had them neck and neck.
But Coyle prevailed by 12 percentage points. He chalked the successful
bid up to hard work.
“I visited practically every house in the county twice,”
he said, adding that the race was close “because Troy’s
a quality person, (he) ran a good campaign. It was just going
to be a choice is what it amounted to.”
Bramblett waited with others on the courthouse lawn. Before results
were released to the public, he said he was nervous, but like
any other race he was feeling a lot of anticipation and excitement.
He praised his opponent, saying they both worked hard and campaigned
hard, and either one would be good for the job.
“I even asked Jimmy to vote for me,” Bramblett said.
In races for magistrate seats on fiscal court, Democrat Teresa
Kemper Davis defeated Republican opponent Matt Toftness to represent
the 3rd District, and Democratic candidate Jerry Jones bested
Republican J.T. Olds in the 1st District.
In other countywide races, Judge-Executive Billy O’Banion
and Sheriff Zemer Hammond were re-elected to an additional term.
It will be Hammond’s third term after he cruised to a comfortable
win.
“It sounds like they’re really satisfied with the
job I’m doing,” he said.
Judge-Executive Billy O’Banion was also elected to serve
a third term in his position. His plans for the next term include
following through on Owen 20/20 recommendations and moving forward
with new fiscal court members.
“I’m very excited to have another opportunity to serve,”
O’Banion said.
Problems at polling places in the county were relatively minor,
as voter turnout topped out at 54 percent, with 4,031 people voting.
Owen County Clerk Joan Kincaid had to deal with a little rain
and running out of registration cards on Election Day, but other
than that, she said the day went well.
“We’ve had no major problems,” she said, “so
that’s a blessing.”
While there were a few minor things, like slippery steps at one
voting site, Kincaid said there seemed to be a good flow of people
making their way to the polls.
A new voting machine may have helped things run smoothly.
“I think people are beginning to become more accustomed
to it,” Kincaid said.
The North Owenton precinct, like many in the county, had a solid
turnout.
“There were only about five minutes when we didn’t
have anyone,” said Teresa Perkins, who worked at the precinct.
Steve Miller worked at the Owenton Inc. precinct. He said the
turnout was fairly steady all day and that many people wanted
to vote on the older machines.
However, “Once they started using the new one, they liked
it,” he said.
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