Rymer top vote-getter for commission

Aaron Snyder, The Daily Independent, Ashland, Ky.
Updated ·2 min read

ASHLAND In his second appearance in a political race, D.J. Rymer was atop the pool of Ashland city commission candidates in the primary election.

Rymer tallied the most votes Tuesday with 1,204, becoming one of eight to move past the first round of cuts. The eight candidates remaining will vie for four commission seats in the November general election.

“I am deeply humbled by the overwhelming support I have received in this primary election,” Rymer said on Tuesday night. “Finishing first is a clear message from the voters: they are ready for a return to fiscally responsible governance.”

Only Ashland residents were eligible to officially weigh in on the race. The commission race garnered 8,262 total votes. It featured 2,022 undervotes — which means eligible boxes left blank. In other words, people could cast up to four votes in this category. If a voter, for example, filled in only two boxes, that would result in two undervotes.

The votes flowed in as follows: Rymer (1,204), Richard “Sonny” Martin (1,194), Marty Gute (793), Tim Renfroe (738), Larry Brown (654), Cheryl Spriggs (622), Amanda Clark (608), Dwain Porter (586), James Moore (488), Sean Farrington (470), Fred Unrue (407), Lana White (301) and Anthony Kyle Gibson (197).

Moore, Farrington, Unrue, White and Gibson did not make the final eight and will not appear on the November ballot.

Gute, Spriggs and Clark are incumbents.

Rymer ran for county clerk in Boyd in 2022. The 28-year-old is fresh off of coordinating Repair Affair, which included 59 community service projects in the city.

“Ashland is a wonderful community,” Rymer said, “filled with citizens who simply want to go to bed at night knowing their local government is working for them, not the other way around.”

Rymer’s father, David, has worked in the city’s sanitation department for about 40 years. His dad’s work inspired Rymer to get into public service. Rymer, himself, is currently a city employee in the community development department.

If elected in November, Rymer said he will resign from that employment in order to be sworn in.

“I am committed to meeting with even more Ashland’s to ensure that every voice is heard and every concern is addressed,” he said.

Martin, a former longtime city attorney and current Catlettsburg attorney, finished just 10 votes shy of Rymer. There was a wide gap in between second and third place, with Gute gathering 401 fewer votes than Martin.