Candidates Troy A. Robertson (R), Kim Lambert (R) and Ronnie Stinson (D) listen during a meeting of the Barren Fiscal Court Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. Robertson is running for District 5, Lambert for District 2 and Stinson for District 6.
(BRENNAN CRAIN/WCLU NEWS)
GLASGOW — The Barren County Clerk’s Office continues to assist candidates in their pursuit of filing for office ahead of this year’s primary election.
A host of new candidates has filed since last Friday. Glasgow gained another mayor candidate among other filings.
Keith “Rolaid” Rowlett filed to run for mayor. He ran for Glasgow City Council in 2020, but he was not elected. The other mayoral candidate is Henry Royse.
Other recent filings include Stuart Huddleston (R) for Constable District 2, Patrick Nuckols (D) for Magisterial District 6, Charles Benham (D) for Constable District 7 and Joseph Ramey (R) for Constable District 7. View other filings here.
Candidates were given an extension to file for office earlier this month. The deadline is Jan. 25 at 4 p.m.
“The whole reason behind this came from redistricting at the state level,” said Barren County Clerk Helena Birdwell. “That is something that would’ve been done last summer. But due to the census numbers being delayed due to COVID, the legislators were not able to approve the lines.”
The Kentucky General Assembly made redistricting its priority at the start of the 2022 session. The lines must be redrawn after the census, according to law.
Birdwell said the filing deadline could have remained the same if legislators worked earlier to redistrict. Delayed census data and coronavirus concerns postponed most of the work.
Changes to state districts impacts mostly state office holders. Some judges may be impacted, too.
“Now, those individuals have to have the extra time to file to run for that office,” Birdwell said.
Local candidates in Barren County are not impacted by redistricting. Countywide redistricting is slated for 2023, Birdwell said. The magisterial lines are redrawn every 10 years.
“We would have done redistricting here at the local level last summer, and it’s my understanding that’s now been pushed onto next year,” Birdwell said.
The drawing for ballot positions has also changed. The Kentucky County Clerk’s Association rescheduled the drawing for Jan. 27 at 2 p.m.
The local drawing will be hosted inside the fiscal courtroom at the Barren County Government Center.