Incumbents Pruitt, Thomas and Whitt round out next city commission
Kelsey Hargis surprised many—including herself—as the top vote getter in Tuesday’s Henderson City Commission election.
“Honestly, I was not expecting that in the slightest,” she said.
In fact, she said she spent a good part of Tuesday rehearsing what she might say to reporters both if she won and if she lost.
“I really had no idea,” she said.
Hargis’ 5,654 votes outdistanced her from second place finisher Rodney Thomas, who tallied 5,006 votes.
Third went to Robert Pruitt with 4,510 votes and rounding out the commission voting was Nick Whitt, who finished with 4,282 votes.
Thomas, Pruitt and Whitt are all incumbents. Thomas said that he had hoped that the incumbents would get recognized by voters for the job they’ve done the past years—“and we did,” he said.
Thomas was referencing the different projects—including an ever-growing downtown—and industry—including the opening of Pratt Paper—as some of the progress the city has made recently.
“We really do work well together,” he said about the commission. He said the most recent commission has set goals, accomplished them and then set out to see what it can get done next. And he’s ready for the next term.
“Kelsey will be a great addition,” Thomas said.
Pruitt said the next term will be his seventh. He wasn’t surprised with the verdict in the election, but did say that the number of candidates that were well-known was bound to split up some of the votes.
Pruitt said he received some pressure from the state Democratic Party last year to run for the Kentucky State Representative Dist. 11 seat. A Democrat didn’t enter the race, leaving newcomer Republican J.T. Payne to run unopposed in that race.
But ultimately Pruitt said he wanted to do more for Henderson residents and he said he could do more as a local elected official rather than in state government.
“Here, people can give me a call today and I can help them today,” he said.
He said for the next term he wants to work on providing more affordable housing and have a plan in place if the southbound Twin Bridge is closed once I-69 is completed.
Whitt and Thomas said they both felt good about the field they ran against. Whitt said he wouldn’t have lost any sleep if he’d not won because the other candidates “had very good qualifications.”
Whitt said his top concerns involve “focusing on those areas that have been overlooked.” He said that will include working to bring more affordable housing, helping the homeless and developing the inner city.
As top vote getter, Hargis will be mayor pro tem, which means she’ll reside over city commission meetings if Mayor Brad Staton is absent.
As she begins her first term, Hargis said she’ll need to get into the position and understand the processes before she sets any big agenda. But she did say that winning the seat allows her another avenue to work for the community.
“Henderson has my heart,” she said.
Henderson City Commission results
Kelsey Hargis 5,654
Rodney Thomas 5,006
Robert Pruitt 4,510
Nick Whitt 4,282
Tom Williams 3,846
Dwight Williams 3,261
Jay Randolph 206
Check back as the Hendersonian makes updates on other races.