More than 80 people showed up to learn more about local Republican candidates at a Thursday evening forum at the Henderson County Public Library.
The forum grew out of an abundance of local Republicans seeking office in the upcoming primary election on May 19 and later November’s general election.
Republican Party Chair Dwight Williams laid out the questions that were asked to all candidates. They were:
- Introduce yourself and tell why you’re running for office.
- What are the three greatest challenges in the next term?
- What are three other goals you want to pursue?
- A closing statement including why you’re the best candidate.
County Judge-Executive
Leading off the night were incumbent Brad Schneider and challenger Timmy Dunn.
Among other achievements, Schneider mentioned $1.1 billion in investment during his years as judge-executive, 800 good-paying jobs have been added in recent years, and the county’s financial position, which he said is the best it’s even been in. He said I-69 will bring even more opportunities that he’s preparing for.
Schneider said the current national and international landscape presents the greatest challenge locally because current wars overseas and the effects from those could lead to challenges here in Henderson, especially because the local industry deals a lot with the car industry.
He also said drainage problems in the county and keeping good employees—with good benefits and pay—are issues he’ll work on.
One of his goals is to fill the one million square foot build-ready pad currently at the Four Star Industrial Park. He said there’s no greater igniter of positive energy than bringing more good-paying jobs and will work with partners to do that.
The judge-executive also said he wants to continue to govern with financial discipline and to look at zoning and codes and make them more user friendly.
Schneider ended by saying he’s the only candidate with experience in the job that manages a $42 million operation and 200 employees. And he’s got a 10-year track record as judge-executive in which he’s built relationships that can benefit the area.
Dunn, meanwhile, said he got into the race because he believes there are a lot of people out there feeling like they are not being represented. After much thought and prayer, he decided to get into the race to provide representation and “just to be a good public servant.”
He said three challenges are population decline, over-taxation and taxation without representation—“A lot of people want to know where their taxes are going,” he said.
Regarding his other goals, he said he’d like to look at lowering taxes and pay attention to law enforcement and volunteer fire departments. He wants to look at affordable housing and bring new businesses to the area, he said.
Finally, he said he wants to preserve the rural community. He said he was born and raised in Robards, adding Ky. 1299 doesn’t look like it did when he was young.
“I think people are ready for a public servant, not a politician,” he said. “We need new ideas, change. I call it a hard reset.”
Jailer
Eddie Vaught, who currently is a captain at the Henderson County Detention Center, said leadership starts from the inside. He didn’t deny that the jail has problems. “And I’m going to fix them,” he said.
He said remaining fiscally responsible is going to be a challenge. Staying in the black—he said the jail has been in the black for 20 years—with the coming expansion of HCDC that will bring 100 additional beds to the facility is something he can do, he said.
He also said that the community service program of inmates growing a garden needs to get back up. And he wants to start a campaign to publicize some of the things that deputies do so that people know positives coming from the jail, not just negatives.
He pointed out there’s a difference between walkaway and escape. Recent escapes from the jail should actually be termed walkaways because the inmates just walked away when doing outside work and there weren’t any barriers.
Another priority for Vaught is taking care of the mental health of deputies who work at HCDC. For years, mental health has not been something that people who work in jails talked about, but now Vaught wants to start programs dealing with that and hopes it can spread across the state and nation.
Working in corrections is rough, he said, and it’s important that those who look after the community are taken care of.
Anthony Willett worked 10 years at the jail before moving over to the sheriff’s office, where he’s been for 14 years. Willett, who said he’d wanted to move over to the sheriff’s office years ago, said former Jailer Ron Herrington gave him his blessing if Willett got the jail running right, he said. He said he got HCDC running correctly all those years ago and soon transitioned over to the sheriff’s office. Willett said he began holding trainings at the jail in 2020 and felt that something was off with the leadership. In 2024, he said current Jailer Bruce Todd asked him twice to fix problems at the jail. When Todd asked a third time, according to Willett, he said he was just going to run for jailer and fix the problems when elected.
Willett said challenges are recidivism among inmates, safety and security of the facility and fiscal responsibility. He said he wants to work with local employers to help inmates find work opportunities ready for them when they are released.
He also contended that a recent escape, or a walkaway, should not have occurred as the prisoner had a history of escapes and should not have been outside on a work crew.
Willett said he’s recently invited deputies currently at the jail for dinner to discuss issues at HCDC, and he said 22 have taken him up on that, with many of them upset about the leadership at the jail.
More and better training is needed at the jail, he said. Currently, the jail requires 16 hours of training before a deputy works the floor, Willett said. He wants that to be increased to two weeks of training, followed by two weeks shadowing a current deputy. He also said if elected he’s going to implement a public information officer to increase transparency.
He said he’s fixed the jail before and will do it again.
Coroner
Dewayne Reneer, who is both a deputy sheriff and a registered nurse, said the aspects of both jobs—crime scene work as a deputy and medical training as a nurse—will help him as coroner.
He said pooling local resources from all different departments is needed for coroner work and other emergency response work. He said the coroner’s office needs more equipment to deal with dangers and staff need mental health resources.
One of his goals is to create a leave-behind checklist which will be a list to assist those who are survivors of a death, many of whom are left without needed information after a loved one’s death and don’t know how to continue on.
He said his career has offered him experience in all aspects of what the coroner’s office requires.
Shelia Patterson took over as coroner in January 2025 after former Coroner Bruce Farmer resigned because of health problems. She cited her current position and 19 years in the coroner’s office as well as decades as a registered nurse at Methodist Hospital, where she was a house supervisor for 32 years.
She said challenges in the coroner’s office are dealing with deaths in the indigent population and keeping all deputies trained.
She said she’d like to get some of the deputies recognized for the work they’ve done in the office. Some, she said, have served for 20 to 30 years and worked hundreds of cases. There are awards for that, and she’d like for them to get recognition for all their hard work.
Patterson said the caseload at the coroner’s office has gone up from 60-70 cases in 2007 to about 165-170 case per year now. She said she has the requirements, experience and contacts at the state level to continue on at the job.
District 1 Magistrate
J.R. Stanley said friends and neighbors from both sides of the aisle asked that he run for the magistrate seat. In former positions, notably the streets superintendent for the city of Henderson, Stanley said he has been a “problem solver for most of my life.”
He said the greatest challenges coming up will be dealing with renewable energy projects in Henderson. He said that there will be drainage and wildlife issues, among others, connected to the projects and he’ll listen to voters and do the research to solve the problems.
Stanley, currently the president of the Baskett Community Fire Department, also said that volunteer fire departments are very underfunded and very understaffed. He said dealing with drainage issues connected to solar and getting more funding for fire departments are some of his other goals.
He said he’s got practical, hands-on experience and will communicate with constituents and be responsible, accessible and a voice for the people.
Keith Berry, the incumbent, said he worked for 30 years as a deputy sheriff and the past eight as a magistrate, and with this 38 years experience and his work ethic, he is the best choice for the district one seat.
He listed a host of challenges, among them economic development, becoming more business friendly, providing more education and retaining young people.
He added that the current Henderson Fiscal Court has been great stewards of county tax dollars and the county is more financially secure now than at any time in history.
Berry said he wants Henderson County to be a destination for entrepreneurs, businesses and new residents, and he said the current court works well together, though they don’t always agree, to try to solve problems. “I think we do well,” he said.
He said his experience, work ethic, and fair and honest decision-making are reasons to vote for him.
District 2 Magistrate
James Franks said he’s a volunteer firefighter as well as a small business owner and decided to seek office “to leave this place better than how I find it.”
Franks said rebuilding trust between the fiscal court and the community is the number one challenge. “We have a very unfriendly relationship currently,” he said. Fixing trust will happen by being transparent, open, keeping public office hours and moving fiscal court meetings to the evening when more people can attend, he said.
A second challenge is to prohibit or create appropriate ordinances for renewable energy projects. Franks said outside foreign developers preyed on the county’s lack of ordinances and lack of preparedness as renewable projects came to the county.
Franks said he sees an aging population in the county that will require additional emergency runs and said he wants to fund staffing firefighters at two to three stations throughout the night to be able to go on runs immediately. Currently, to go on a run, he needs to wake up at his home, drive to the station, and then get on the firetruck there.
Franks also said he wants to continue to work on Henderson County Water District infrastructure. He also said he wanted to work for more development in the agriculture sector, bring more affordable housing and more jobs.
He said he’s a successful small business owner and believes his business experience and service as a firefighter is a combination that can get things done.
Incumbent Taylor Tompkins did not attend the forum as he was out of town with work. The Hendersonian reached out to him Friday and asked the same four questions.
Tompkins said he wanted to finish what he started in his first term as a magistrate. He said he’s hopeful for a strong ordinance or prohibition regarding renewable energy.
He also mentioned a lot of the good work the fiscal court has been a part of in his 3 ½ years on the court, including helping to bring hundreds of jobs, cutting the insurance premium tax in half, helping to bring fiber internet to the county and funding volunteer fire departments $1.1 million for new equipment. Additionally, he said 85-plus miles have been paved, with 9-plus formerly being gravel. Roads are a piece of infrastructure he wants to continue to work on.
He said he wants to work on renewable energy ordinances while also bring more affordable housing and continue to work on making the community more business friendly. He said affordable housing and being business friendly go hand-in-hand because having places to live for workers in new companies is key. He wants to work with Habitat For Humanity to build homes and construct high-end residences, too.
He said “nobody’s going to work harder to represent district two or be more truthful than I am.”
District 4 Magistrate
In 2024, as he was mulling what to do once he retired in 2026, Kevin Morgan said what came to him were church sermons that said “we have the duty to share our gifts and talents with everyone in the community.”
He said the greatest challenges will be dealing with industrial scale alternative energy projects. Morgan also said that a data center will locate in Henderson County. “We’re going to have to prepare for that,” he said.
He also said keeping an eye on fiscal spending is crucial.
Beyond that, he said it’s important today—and in today’s media and social media landscape—to go to the people with information. To go out and explain to people what we’re doing, he said. To that end, he wants to hold monthly public meetings with constituents.
Morgan wants to move fiscal court meetings to 6 p.m. when more people can attend. And he wants to work on civility and goodwill across the community while striving for shared goals.
Morgan pointed to his experience and skills—he’s been in numerous professional roles through the years—and his lifetime in the East End and district 4. “I’ve walked a mile in your shoes,” he said to East Enders.
Jay Randolph said he’s vying for the seat because a large number of people reached out to him and asked him to run for office.
He said district four is 99% within city limits and most of the issues there involve the city of Henderson, and not Henderson County Government.
He said he wants more community involvement—“If you want change you have to get involved,” he said.
He said he was frustrated during January’s snow storm when he called the county to get help about icy and snow-covered roads in the East End and was told it’s a city issue.
Randolph wants to review the county’s policies and procedures and look at financial funding. He said those who say the county is in good shape need to prove it.
Other issues he wants to work on/work with are green energy, volunteer fire departments, jailer issues and the sheriff’s office.
As to why people should vote for him, he said that you stand up for the people you protect.
“It’s who I am,” he said.
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Republicans vying for a spot on the Henderson City Commission, which is a non-partisan seat, were also given the opportunity to respond to the questions. They include Chris Thomas and Kristie Randolph.
Thomas said he wanted to focus on fiscal responsibility, take a look at the city’s codes and ordinances and compare them to other nearby cities, and ensure there are enough skilled labor jobs and a qualified workforce.
Thomas also said he has been a part of Henderson organizations and nonprofits, is raising a family here and will be here for the long haul.
“I’m very passionate about the future direction of Henderson,” Thomas said.
Kristie Randolph provided a list of goals she wants to work on if elected: bring trust back when dealing with city government, economic development, address economic concerns on the 41 Strip and the East End; deal with empty buildings, increase affordable housing, provide more help for law enforcement, address mental health concerns in the community, among others.
She said she works as an advocate in town and will work for the people.
Read a past story about all the Henderson City Commission candidates here.
