Ashland, Flatwoods feature riveting races

Area voters viewed the primary election ballot as a bit “blah” overall, but a few races piqued their interest.

Ashland citizens were eager to play a role in deciding who will represent the city on the board of commissioners.

A staggering 13 candidates tossed their names into the figurative hat. Voters determined the eight who will vie for four spots in the November general election.

Barbara Gail Delaney, a teacher at Boyd County Middle who lives in Ashland, didn’t shy away from voicing her support for Sean Farrington as a city commissioner. This is his first time in the political fray.

“He really cares about the people of Ashland,” said Delaney, who added Farrington supported a recent performance by her students.

One Ashland business owner said he and his spouse were particularly vested in the city commission race because “we want the right people leading our city.” He said current commissioner Amanda Clark has “done a really good job,” and he thinks D.J. Rymer and “Sonny” Martin would be suitable for the seats, too.

Duane Church, a lifelong resident of Ashland, said he’s noticed aesthetic progress in the city.

“I’m seeing the city starting to look better and prettier,” Church said.

He hopes to see even more restaurants and other businesses pop up in the near future.

A male state employee who voted at Poage said he’s “sometimes not pleased” with decisions made by the current commission — Clark, Josh Blanton, Cheryl Spriggs and Marty Gute. He said he’s heard from others express their displeasure about the mini-roundabouts that are part of the ongoing Winchester Avenue streetscape project. It’s not so much the mini-roundabouts themselves, he said, but “how it was presented.”

“And it seems like some of them (the commission) are acting like, well, it doesn’t matter what you think anyway,” he said.

Max Bowling, of Cannonsburg, said he’s lived in this area for 50-plus years. He’s 66.

Bowling was not eligible to vote for city commission as he does not reside within city limits, but he viewed it as an important race.

“It’s important enough to come out and vote,” he said, “but there’s not much on the ballot. Now, in town, I’m keeping an eye on city commission. Like, the situation with the roundabouts, personally I thought it was a bad decision.”

Standing in front of the Boyd County Public Library, Bowling said he’s seen division between Boyd County and the city of Ashland over the years, but he did acknowledge that relationship appears to be “somewhat better.”

Bowling said he’s voted in every election since he turned 18.

A woman who cast her votes at Crabbe Elementary had a simple reason for visiting her polling place.

“People think it’s not important because it’s a primary, but it is, and I wanted to show that by voting,” she said.

Another Boyd Library Midland Branch voter didn’t hesitate when asked about what drove him to the polls.

“To get rid of Biden, plain and simple!” he said.

A woman following behind him chimed in. “I second that,” she said.

Greenup County

Despite nearly 30,000 registered voters county-wide, voters in Greenup County didn’t have to worry about waiting in line around the lunch hour at the old courthouse, the location serving as the voting center for all 29 precincts.

Greenup residents Ella Stiltner, Jessica Womack and Joe Mauk each stated there was no particular race or candidate they were particularly excited about casting a vote for, rather they only ventured to the ballot box to exercise their civic duty.

Poll worker Carrie Bruch echoed the importance of exercising that right, adding she still remembers the feeling in the air the first time she casted a vote.

“I’m thankful,” Bruch said. “Election Day is one of the best days to meet people, vote and exercise our privilege.”

Bruch said she was most interested in casting a vote to narrow the presidential candidates for the 2024 general election, but it was the poll work that added to the importance of the day.

Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed before 5 a.m., Bruch said she felt honored to have the ability to greet voters as they trickled in, although, only a little more than 100 voters had cast a ballot by midday.

“It’s slower than the previous years,” Bruch said.

Traveling down U.S. 23, Raceland-Worthington’s Central Office served as the polling location for more than 3,500 registered voters from the Raceland and Worthington precincts.

Poll worker Tyler Morris stood at the front entrance of the building, passing out the iconic “I Voted” stickers.

Morris said the polling spot had seen roughly 200 trickle in throughout the day, with the largest pop of voters occurring at the beginning of the school day as parents dropped off students at the neighboring elementary, middle and high schools.

“We’ll probably get another pop when school lets out,” Morris said. “It’s overall been pretty smooth.”

Over in Red Devil country, Russell High School welcomed voters from three total precincts, two of which from Flatwoods.

Poll worker Ken Aulen, who has worked during the past six elections, said the turnout was “moderate” but not quite as expected.

With a controversial alcohol ordinance on the ballot for Flatwoods-based voters, Aulen said the polling location had been assigned extra workers to account for the anticipated influx of voters.

“We expected heavier because of the wet/dry vote,” Aulen said, as a handful of voters replaced the previous handful exiting.

“Certainly less than the general turnout,” Aulen added.

A poll worker in Flatwoods said she noticed people turning out just for the wet/dry decision on the ballot.

“One lady never voted in her life, but did today,” the poll worker said.

Approaching one of the polling location doors in Flatwoods was Linda Whitt, 72, who said the passing of the ballot measure would “fuel” growth, possibly bringing more businesses into the city.

“It would bring in opportunities,” Whitt said.

Russell’s location serves nearly 4,000 registered voters from the three precincts combined, but Aulen said in addition to the presidential race, the alcohol ordinance was the catalyst.

“There’s strong opinions on both sides,” Aulen said.

Sandy Bramblett, who had just voted, proved Aulen’s assumption correct, as she stated the alcohol ordinance was the main reason she had casted a ballot.

Another woman who exited shortly after Bramblett said, “Nope,” as The Daily Independent attempted an introduction.

Voters casting their ballots at Greenup County High School were “pretty steady” trickling in during the 1 o’clock hour. Many comments like “just exercising constitutional right,” “just wanting to vote,” “to show the importance to the young ones” and “it’s our right” were heard consistently.

“I always vote, I never miss an election. It’s vital to participate; even if you are outnumbered, it’s still vital to participate,” Duane Skaggs, 51, said.

Poll workers told The Daily Independent permission was not granted to talk to voters entering the building or taking pictures inside the building, which was found to be false.

Andrew Imel, Greenup County Clerk, called and apologized stating “a lot of new poll workers” had joined the team this election, bringing confusion and informed the newspaper it had every right to be there talking to voters.