Hopkinsville City Council passed an ordinance on final-reading changing city elections from partisan to non-partisan at Tuesday’s meeting, following lengthy public comments.
Numerous citizens spoke strongly against non-partisan elections during public comments, with many of them saying it would suppress the votes of minorities and those of lower socioeconomic status. Javonte Mahone spoke against, saying that it will hurt under-represented populations and decrease voter turnout.
Alethea West says she’s angry and tired of begging council to make decisions for the good of the whole community and that the citizens should have had the chance to vote on it themselves. She says this decision will affect the city for years to come.
Councilman Phillip Brooks put forth a motion to send the ordinance back to the Committee of the Whole and allow for Mayor Wendell Lynch to create a committee that would research non-partisan elections and get the public’s input, but it failed on a 6 to 5 vote. The motion to change the local election to non-partisan then passed 6-5 on second-reading, with councilmembers Patricia Bell, Jason Bell, Phillips Brooks, Darvin Adams and Kimberly McCarley voting against the measure.
Councilmember McCarley says she was against it, because it will result in the majority controlling the minority.
Councilman Jason Bell did vote against the ordinance, but says that was because he wanted the council to have more information before making a decision—he himself supports non-partisan elections.
The ordinance takes effect in 2022 and allows for nonpartisan elections of city council members to take place utilizing the current ward system, with the nonpartisan primary candidates to be voted upon exclusively by the eligible voters of the ward. The two candidates with the most votes would go onto to face off in a general election, which would be citywide. No change in the election of city officers will be made earlier than five years after the enactment of the ordinance.